Top Ten Winners & Losers In California Politics This Week -

Each week we pick ten people or groups that had a particularly good or bad week, and label them winners or losers! This is for the week ending 10/24/25

Below is our Top Ten List of Winners and Losers for the Week. This feature available to all of our subscribers, free and paid. However, at the bottom of the column, past the firewall is something extra, just for paid subscribers as a thank you!

⏱️ 4 minute read

This is where we look over state and local politics (or national with a California angle), and highlight people (or groups) that have had some solid wins, or who have just had a really rough week. If you want to make your own suggestions for this list — just send in an email (you can just hit reply to any of these e-mails) and suggest away! I promise to keep confidential the people making suggestions!

Starting with this week we are adding a video winner or loser, where we pick one our honorees and I record a short video about them.

Oh yes, thank you to our thousands of subscribers, and if you know something you think would like this, forward it along!

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Top Ten Winners & Losers This Week in California Politics

⬇️ LOSER: GAVIN NEWSOM, GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA

Instead of deploying the National Guard for emergencies or public safety, he announced they’ll help distribute food benefits during a potential federal shutdown. Using military personnel for charity work might make for good headlines, but it’s far from their core mission. Californians expect leadership that strengthens institutions—not one that treats the Guard like a political prop or volunteer workforce.

⬆️ WINNER: FESIA DAVENPORT, CEO – LOS ANGELES COUNTY

By quietly securing a $2 million settlement while still in her position, she turned public service into personal gain with minimal scrutiny. The payout was approved in closed session and tied to changes in her job triggered by Measure G—highlighting how leverage and timing can yield outsized rewards. Supervisors put a measure on the ballot to make the CEO an elected position. Lesson? Go Karen, get rich.

⬇️ **VIDEO LOSER FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI**

See the video Above, but Pelosi should have retired earlier, maintaining a lot more control over her successor, who might even have been her daughter. Now it’s going to be a circus.

⬇️ LOSER: BROOKE JENKINS, DISTRICT ATTORNEY OF SAN FRANCISCO

The district attorney’s job is to uphold the rule of law, yet she suggested that entering the country illegally doesn’t make someone a criminal unless they commit another offense. Worse, instead of focusing on prosecuting lawbreakers, she’s signaling that her real targets are federal law enforcement officers who enforce immigration laws. It’s the wrong message on crime, sovereignty, and accountability.

⬇️ LOSER: SOUTH LAKE TAHOE CITY COUNCIL

After the city saw its mayor resign amid a $300,000 embezzlement scandal, the remaining council members installed Cody Bass as interim mayor—despite his own legal baggage. Bass was arrested on misdemeanor charges of trespassing and harassment following a September nightclub altercation, with investigators citing surveillance footage that showed him as the aggressor. The appointment raises serious questions about judgment and credibility. I probably should have made the voters of South Lake Tahoe the losers — they need to make better choices.

⬆️ WINNER: INDIGENT CRIMINAL DEFENDANTS IN SAN FRANCISCO

San Francisco judges are now releasing accused criminals from jail because the city can’t provide them public defenders. Instead of fixing the system or prioritizing public safety, the courts are turning inmates loose — even in a city already overwhelmed by crime and repeat offenders. Those who break the law get a pass, while law-abiding residents are left paying the price.

⬇️ LOSER: ROB BONTA, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF CALIFORNIA

By settling a lawsuit that effectively bans plastic bag sales in California, he pushed a broad restriction that risks inconveniencing everyday shoppers rather than targeting actual littering behavior. Instead of focusing enforcement on littering individuals and cleanup efforts, this move imposes a blanket consumer burden and misses the mark on addressing the root of the waste problem.

⬆️ WINNER: TAYLOR SWIFT, POP SUPERSTAR

A photo of her wearing a Monterey Bay Aquarium sea otter T-shirt sparked a wave of fan donations, with Swifties sending $13 contributions that quickly topped $2 million. Her casual nod to the California landmark unexpectedly became a major fundraising boost and brought fresh national attention to its conservation work.

⬆️ WINNER: SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON, UTILITY COMPANY

Thanks to late-hour tweaks in California legislation, the company can shift potential billions in wildfire liability costs—stemming from the destructive Eaton fire—onto ratepayers rather than absorbing them itself. What critics call a “fine print bailout” strengthens its financial protection, allowing shareholder interests to be prioritized over the utility’s responsibility for safety and accountability in the Golden State. Looks like all of those political contributions and behested payments had the desired effect — you get what you pay for.

⬇️ LOSER: JIM NEWTON, CONTRIBUTOR, CALMATTERS

I have seen a lot columns for any against the gerrymandering in Prop. 50 — but Newton is the only person I have read who attempts (with a straight face) to write a column that seems to make the case that gerrymandering districts does not really pre-ordain outcomes. A naive, unsophisticated take, at best.

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Now that you see what this column is all about, keep your eyes peeled. If you have someone to suggest to be considered for featuring in this column next week, drop me a note. I will keep confidential the names of those who make the suggestions! Four of the awardees above came from suggestions from subscribers!

Now for our paid subscribers I have a treat below the pay wall. I actually made three more awesome cartoon images that ended up not making the column. But they are great. LA County CEO Davenport as whiny Karen, It’s a party in the SCE Boardroom, and that San Francisco Judge letting people out of jail…Try a free week of busting through our paywalls below!