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 9/9/25!

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 — 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! Three of our “honorees” this week came from reader suggestions. Here we go…

Top Ten Winners & Losers This Week in California Politics

⬇️ LOSER: ORANGE COUNTY SUPERVISOR KATRINA FOLEY

Katrina Foley’s jaw-dropping admission during a Board of Supervisors discussion on voter roll scrutiny—saying she wants to remove ineligible voters, “especially those who don’t support my core values”—hands her 2026 opponent, Assemblywoman Diane Dixon, a potent campaign weapon. Dixon will likely hammer this gaffe to portray Foley as prioritizing partisan loyalty over electoral integrity, swaying voters in the Republican-leaning 5th District. Who says the quiet part out loud?

⬇️ LOSER: Incoming State Senate President Monique Limón

Monique Limón falters with a hypocritical move, sneaking a budget bill carve-out to block a 270-unit apartment project in wealthy Santa Barbara. While California grapples with a housing crisis, her targeted exemption for just one city reveals a selective stance, undermining statewide housing progress to appease affluent constituents in her district.

⬆️ WINNER: HOWARD JARVIS TAXPAYER ASSOCIATION

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (HJTA) triumphs as their grassroots campaign, fueled by voter calls, forced the withdrawal of Senate Bill 423. Co-authored by Sen. Lena Gonzalez and Assemblymember Tina McKinnor, SB 423 aimed to cut Measure ULA’s property sales taxes for newer buildings, but only if HJTA’s Save Prop. 13 initiative, restoring Proposition 13’s taxpayer protections, failed to qualify for the 2026 ballot. This “poison pill” sought to starve HJTA’s campaign of real estate support. By stopping SB 423, HJTA lets the measure keep steaming along. Want to help? SaveProp13.com

⬇️ LOSER: SAN FRANCISCO MAYOR DANIEL LURIE

San Francisco’s supposedly moderate Mayor Daniel Lurie flops with a tone-deaf plan to raise property taxes to bail out Muni’s $322 million deficit. Ignoring streamlining, privatization, or reining in overpaid public workers, he opts for a lazy tax hike. Meanwhile, San Diego’s MTS tackles its budget crisis with fare hikes and service cuts, avoiding new taxes.

⬇️ LOSER: KAMALA HARRIS

Kamala Harris falters by waiting nearly a year to reveal in her book that she viewed President Biden’s late exit from the 2024 race as “recklessness.” Her delayed criticism of Biden’s ego-driven delay, coupled with complaints about his team’s undermining, paints her as a weak person who could not call the shots as the VP and Presidential nominee.

⬆️ WINNER: GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE STEVE HILTON

Steve Hilton earns a win for boldly filing a federal lawsuit against Proposition 50, challenging Governor Newsom’s mid-decade redistricting plan. While campaigning for California governor in 2026, Hilton steps beyond self-interest, tackling a power grab that threatens fair representation. His fight in Orange County’s federal court could reshape California’s political landscape and influence national electoral integrity. Though it may be that the courts delay hearing the complain until after the election, if Prop. 50 passes.

⬇️ LOSER: – JOE GAROFOLI, SF CHRONICLE COLUMNIST/REPORTER

Joe’s column on Charlie Kirk’s killing leaned heavily into casting conservatives as villains while overlooking how often the media itself uses loaded and inflammatory language. It’s a classic case of throwing stones from a glass house. Joe and I go back decades, and I respect him, but this was not his best work. In moments like this, Americans need reporting that unites, not commentary that widens divides — and journalists have to hold themselves to that standard too. Joe also does double duty as a reporter and a columnist, and should pick one. Or can you be two things?

⬇️ LOSER: THE ENTIRE SANTA MONICA CITY COUNCIL

The Santa Monica City Council crashes as a total failure amid a fiscal emergency declaration, driven by $229 million in payouts for sexual abuse scandals and more claims looming. City Manager David White quit in February, while Police Chief Ramón Batista resigned in August over clashes with the new administration, fueling a public safety crisis with rising assaults and longer 911 responses. It’s hard to show up their big neighbor Los Angeles for dysfunction, but they are trying hard.

⬆️ GOOD GUY RECOGNITION: PASTOR ROB MCCOY

The assassination of Charlie Kirk is still painfully fresh, and his killer remains at large. In the midst of that darkness, Pastor Rob McCoy has stepped forward as a steady faith leader at Turning Point U.S.A., offering strength and comfort to those reeling from this tragedy. I had the privilege of traveling to the Holy Land with Rob, and I can’t imagine anyone better suited to shepherd this community through such grief. His leadership is a blessing right now. It didn’t see right to call anyone a “winner” out of this senseless tragedy.

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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!

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