WEBVTT - The Becerra Bump Shows Up In Another Poll 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:03.280 And we continue at two h five in the afternoon 0:00:03.320 --> 0:00:08.000 on the John Phillips Show, mister Randy Weggs in Culver City, John. 0:00:07.800 --> 0:00:11.280 We have the latest poll coming out from the California 0:00:11.320 --> 0:00:13.880 Democratic Party. This is the poll they commissioned to try 0:00:13.920 --> 0:00:17.120 to get the lower polling candidates to drop out. And 0:00:17.200 --> 0:00:21.520 this poll all but confirms the Bakaia bump is real. 0:00:21.760 --> 0:00:22.279 Scrub it. 0:00:22.800 --> 0:00:27.920 Messerah tied for first place with Steve Hilton at eighteen 0:00:28.040 --> 0:00:33.879 percent and who's coming in third Bianco at fourteen. Then 0:00:33.920 --> 0:00:37.839 he got Styre at twelve, Porter at eight, may Hen 0:00:37.920 --> 0:00:41.920 at seven, Via Goose at two, Tony thurmot at Ion, 0:00:42.680 --> 0:00:47.080 Betty Ee, and Swallwell still at one. 0:00:47.320 --> 0:00:50.360 Well, that still shows what four or five of them 0:00:50.400 --> 0:00:52.120 within the margin of air of one another. 0:00:53.320 --> 0:00:56.240 It still could be anybody's race. But we have definitely 0:00:56.280 --> 0:00:59.400 seen in several polls, and this is a poll where 0:00:59.400 --> 0:01:02.440 it tracks the same people over the course of weeks 0:01:03.000 --> 0:01:07.280 that people are moving to Bessera. Why couldn't tell you, 0:01:07.480 --> 0:01:09.080 but they're moving to Bessara. 0:01:09.800 --> 0:01:11.840 I would say, And you and I sat in the 0:01:11.840 --> 0:01:15.959 front row for the last debate. To my eye, Besserah 0:01:16.200 --> 0:01:18.759 was the least impressive candidate on stage. 0:01:19.760 --> 0:01:23.800 You're assuming everybody watched that debate, but of. 0:01:23.680 --> 0:01:26.440 Those who did, wasn't Was that your impression too, or 0:01:26.520 --> 0:01:28.880 was there someone else you thought did a worst job? 0:01:29.240 --> 0:01:32.080 No, I think Besarah was the most embarrassing person on 0:01:32.120 --> 0:01:36.559 that stage, and I'm not. Yeah, I will say for 0:01:36.640 --> 0:01:39.120 sure that's how I feel about it. I also don't 0:01:39.160 --> 0:01:41.560 think that Bianco had a very good night. Now, when 0:01:41.560 --> 0:01:46.760 you look at this poll originally in March seventeenth, the 0:01:46.880 --> 0:01:50.920 first time they pulled these people, three percent were for Bessara. 0:01:51.760 --> 0:01:57.200 By April fifth, four percent were for Bessara by April seventeenth, 0:01:57.640 --> 0:02:03.680 after Swallwell News eighteen percent and May second eighteen percent. 0:02:06.600 --> 0:02:10.840 So if that poll is correct and those numbers hold, 0:02:10.919 --> 0:02:15.320 we could be looking at a Hilton versus Besera November ballot, 0:02:15.360 --> 0:02:19.200 in which case Besera would be a huge favorite. However, 0:02:19.440 --> 0:02:21.600 we don't know if he's going to be indicted before 0:02:21.639 --> 0:02:25.040 that November election, because when we did the story on 0:02:25.120 --> 0:02:28.799 Dana Williamson last week, it certainly looked like there is 0:02:28.840 --> 0:02:32.840 a money laundering operation going on, and his name appeared 0:02:32.919 --> 0:02:36.880 in those federal documents literally thousands of times. 0:02:37.440 --> 0:02:40.799 If you have any of those documents, Xavier. Yeah, might 0:02:40.919 --> 0:02:42.240 want to scrub it. 0:02:44.639 --> 0:02:46.880 Just be careful you don't get caught, because sometimes the 0:02:46.960 --> 0:02:51.600 cover up's worse than the crime. So that's what's going 0:02:51.639 --> 0:02:54.919 on in the governor's race. Then let's shift gears here 0:02:54.919 --> 0:02:57.400 for a second, because California is in the middle of 0:02:57.440 --> 0:03:01.680 an insurance crisis where people are dropped from their policies 0:03:01.919 --> 0:03:06.160 right and left. California homeowners and small business owners are 0:03:06.160 --> 0:03:10.520 having a very difficult time finding companies who are willing 0:03:10.560 --> 0:03:14.800 to sell them a policy. In addition, people whose homes 0:03:14.800 --> 0:03:17.880 have burned down in the fires and Pacific Palisades and 0:03:17.960 --> 0:03:21.839 Alta Dina are having the very difficult time getting their 0:03:22.040 --> 0:03:26.120 insurance companies to pay them what they are owed. From 0:03:26.200 --> 0:03:30.079 top to bottom, the state of California is experiencing an 0:03:30.080 --> 0:03:33.840 insurance crisis. As all of this is going on, the 0:03:33.919 --> 0:03:38.440 state Insurance Commissioner, instead of sticking around here in California 0:03:38.760 --> 0:03:40.440 and trying to get to the bottom of a lot 0:03:40.440 --> 0:03:44.440 of these problems, he's traveling around the world, going from 0:03:44.480 --> 0:03:49.480 hotspot to hotspot, from resort to resort, and being entertained 0:03:49.520 --> 0:03:51.480 by DJ Kitty glitter. 0:03:51.880 --> 0:03:53.880 Child Basing is rarely comfortable, you. 0:03:55.080 --> 0:03:58.240 But thankfully he's turned out and we get to replace 0:03:58.320 --> 0:04:02.040 him in the next election. What we have to do, however, 0:04:02.520 --> 0:04:05.880 is replace them with someone better, because if we replace 0:04:05.920 --> 0:04:08.480 them with someone worse, none of us are going to 0:04:08.560 --> 0:04:10.880 be able to buy insurance in the future either. 0:04:12.320 --> 0:04:16.120 What's interesting is this may be the first election where 0:04:16.160 --> 0:04:20.440 people actually are paying attention to who is running for 0:04:20.600 --> 0:04:25.520 insurance commissioner, because it affects everybody in the state, whether 0:04:25.560 --> 0:04:28.240 you're a property owner or a renter. Part of the 0:04:28.279 --> 0:04:31.840 reason things have gotten so expensive is because of the 0:04:31.880 --> 0:04:32.960 cost of insurance. 0:04:35.560 --> 0:04:39.599 Yes, and in California. Again, I made the point before, 0:04:39.640 --> 0:04:41.960 I'll make it again because I think it's an important one. 0:04:42.600 --> 0:04:45.280 It's not just homeowners who are having a hard time 0:04:45.320 --> 0:04:48.760 finding insurance policies. How often do we do crime blodder 0:04:48.839 --> 0:04:54.040 stories about small businesses, including jewelry shops, where they're uninsured 0:04:54.120 --> 0:04:59.440 because it's just too expensive. For more on the race 0:04:59.520 --> 0:05:03.839 to replace Ricardo Laura, I'm very kind of sketch. 0:05:04.080 --> 0:05:07.320 Here is a report from KPIX. 0:05:07.080 --> 0:05:09.400 And we're about a month ano from the June primary, 0:05:09.520 --> 0:05:12.320 and there's still a lot of uncertainty about the race 0:05:12.360 --> 0:05:15.880 for the governor's office. Polling shows twenty six percent of 0:05:15.960 --> 0:05:20.240 voters are still undecided, but as John Ramas reports, it's 0:05:20.279 --> 0:05:22.560 not the only heated race to watch. 0:05:24.000 --> 0:05:25.840 It's been a long time since there was this much 0:05:25.920 --> 0:05:29.159 uncertainty in a California governor's race, and the sheer number 0:05:29.160 --> 0:05:32.240 of undecided voters shows that many people still have no 0:05:32.400 --> 0:05:35.719 idea who they're going to vote for. When Eric Swollwell 0:05:35.839 --> 0:05:38.960 made his swift and unexpected exit from the race, it 0:05:39.040 --> 0:05:42.240 meant this wasn't going to be business as usual. California 0:05:42.320 --> 0:05:45.800 instituted its top two primary system in twenty ten as 0:05:45.839 --> 0:05:48.480 a way to give more moderate candidates a better chance. 0:05:48.720 --> 0:05:50.080 That hasn't happened at all. 0:05:50.960 --> 0:05:54.120 No, No, in fact, the opposite has taken place. 0:05:55.320 --> 0:05:57.400 Then you want to add in rank choice voting, and 0:05:57.440 --> 0:06:00.480 you get a complete disaster. If you're ever I'm wondering 0:06:00.520 --> 0:06:01.839 how my girl became. 0:06:01.640 --> 0:06:03.920 Mayor absolutely absolutely. 0:06:03.800 --> 0:06:05.080 Ranked choice voting. 0:06:05.880 --> 0:06:07.640 That tells you everything you need to know. 0:06:08.240 --> 0:06:12.320 The baraucracy is real, but because of the weird circumstances 0:06:12.320 --> 0:06:15.359 of this election, most of the more marginal contenders have 0:06:15.480 --> 0:06:18.480 stayed in the race, and now, with one fourth of 0:06:18.600 --> 0:06:22.040 voters indicating that they are still undecided, there simply is 0:06:22.120 --> 0:06:26.960 no leading contender Democratic strategist Roger Salazar says, things haven't 0:06:27.000 --> 0:06:29.479 been this murky since nineteen ninety eight. 0:06:29.800 --> 0:06:32.560 Closest to what we're experiencing here, when Al Checkie and 0:06:32.640 --> 0:06:35.680 Jane Harmon were duking it out and beat each other 0:06:35.760 --> 0:06:38.320 up so much that allowed Gray Davis to sort of 0:06:38.400 --> 0:06:41.600 rise up from the ashes of those two and get 0:06:41.600 --> 0:06:44.400 elected governor. So it kind of feels a lot like that. 0:06:44.720 --> 0:06:46.360 It feels like the Gray Davis. 0:06:46.400 --> 0:06:53.760 Sarah Salazar says, with Swalwell's departure, tom Stier's attacks on 0:06:53.839 --> 0:06:57.839 Javier Bessera have actually elevated the former state attorney general 0:06:58.000 --> 0:07:01.360 from single digit support to be becoming a genuine threat 0:07:01.440 --> 0:07:05.040 to become the Democratic candidate on the November ballot. Professor 0:07:05.120 --> 0:07:06.240 Caroline Heldman. 0:07:05.960 --> 0:07:09.880 From isn't that an interesting strategy? Is it possible that 0:07:09.920 --> 0:07:12.080 when they're tracking all the people that are looking at 0:07:12.080 --> 0:07:16.120 the polls, there is probably a certain portion of people 0:07:16.520 --> 0:07:19.400 that want to support whoever Tom Steyer is spending money 0:07:19.400 --> 0:07:23.160 against because they don't like Tom Steyer that much. Well, 0:07:23.200 --> 0:07:27.120 what's wild is after Swawell dropped out, you would assume 0:07:27.880 --> 0:07:30.840 that Stier would have started attacking Katie Porter because she 0:07:30.960 --> 0:07:34.200 was the one that was next in line, but he's 0:07:34.320 --> 0:07:38.120 just essentially ignored her and he went right after Besserra. 0:07:39.120 --> 0:07:43.200 Professor Caroline Heldman from Occidental College says this was nothing 0:07:43.240 --> 0:07:44.560 the party could have imagined. 0:07:45.120 --> 0:07:47.760 It's a really terrible place for the Democratic Party. This 0:07:47.880 --> 0:07:50.760 is not where they expected to be, with about one 0:07:50.760 --> 0:07:52.680 in four voters still undecided. 0:07:52.840 --> 0:07:55.680 Well, they thought Padilla was going to get in or 0:07:55.760 --> 0:07:56.840 Harris before. 0:07:56.600 --> 0:07:59.600 Him, and it's neck and neck with. 0:08:00.400 --> 0:08:04.280 I still can't figure out if Harris doesn't go in 0:08:04.800 --> 0:08:07.760 and Padia doesn't go in, why the hell did a 0:08:07.840 --> 0:08:09.840 lady can of Lockis stay out of this race? 0:08:09.960 --> 0:08:14.480 For Californians, There's got to be something there because it 0:08:14.560 --> 0:08:15.480 made no sense. 0:08:16.360 --> 0:08:21.240 And it's neck and neck with Tom Steyer, Steve Hilton, 0:08:21.400 --> 0:08:24.200 and Javier Visera having this meteoric rise. It's really a 0:08:24.240 --> 0:08:25.680 three way race between them. 0:08:25.960 --> 0:08:26.400 She says. 0:08:26.400 --> 0:08:28.720 The lack of a front runner may actually cause a 0:08:28.760 --> 0:08:33.000 low turnout. In normal primaries. The other down ballot offices 0:08:33.040 --> 0:08:35.840 are an afterthought for most voters, but there is one 0:08:35.960 --> 0:08:38.640 job that has become something of a hot seat. In 0:08:38.760 --> 0:08:41.560 years past the position of State Insurance Commissioner has been 0:08:41.600 --> 0:08:44.840 a safe, quiet seat for those with other political ambitions. 0:08:45.080 --> 0:08:47.560 Yes, it didn't matter if you had any experience. But 0:08:47.640 --> 0:08:49.880 if you were termed out of the state Senate, well 0:08:49.920 --> 0:08:50.959 you can go run for that. 0:08:52.520 --> 0:08:54.440 You don't need to be a lawyer like you do 0:08:54.559 --> 0:08:57.160 to be attorney general. You don't need to have any 0:08:57.280 --> 0:09:00.320 kind of background or expertise like you do to be 0:09:00.800 --> 0:09:05.240 the state superintendent of public instruction. For insurance commissioner, it's 0:09:05.280 --> 0:09:10.000 one of these statewide constitutional offices that under normal circumstances 0:09:10.000 --> 0:09:13.079 people don't pay attention to, and you can operate in 0:09:13.120 --> 0:09:15.640 the shadows. But not anymore. 0:09:16.120 --> 0:09:19.439 The insurance crisis has put the position in the political crosshairs, 0:09:19.800 --> 0:09:23.760 and current Commissioner Ricardo Laura expressed that at an oversight 0:09:23.840 --> 0:09:25.120 hearing this year, I. 0:09:25.120 --> 0:09:26.800 Don't want to say this, but I wanted you ought 0:09:26.840 --> 0:09:34.240 to experience the daily challenge that the insurance Commissioner faces, right, trying. 0:09:34.040 --> 0:09:35.920 To be referring to yourself from the third person. 0:09:36.800 --> 0:09:41.720 Oh, yes, challenge that the insurance Commissioner faces, right, trying 0:09:41.760 --> 0:09:45.680 to balance the consumer protections and strengthening the market. 0:09:45.880 --> 0:09:47.080 You're not doing any of that. 0:09:48.400 --> 0:09:49.800 Well, trail blazing is tough. 0:09:52.520 --> 0:09:54.320 Trail blazing is rarely comfortable. 0:09:54.400 --> 0:09:59.880 You trying to balance the consumer protections and strengthening the market. 0:10:00.120 --> 0:10:03.560 Let's not forget Ricardo Laura implemented all of his stupid 0:10:03.600 --> 0:10:06.080 things that were supposed to save the insurance industry a 0:10:06.160 --> 0:10:10.160 year ago. Nobody's come back. The Fair Plan's bigger than ever. 0:10:11.200 --> 0:10:14.079 Well that was the metric which he said you should 0:10:14.120 --> 0:10:18.040 judge him by, that if he enacted his reforms, people 0:10:18.080 --> 0:10:21.439 would move off the fair Plan and onto private policy 0:10:21.679 --> 0:10:24.800 because the insurance companies would come back and they'd go 0:10:24.840 --> 0:10:28.960 back to selling policies again. Well, that hasn't happened, and 0:10:29.000 --> 0:10:32.559 the number of people who used the Fair Plan has ballooned. 0:10:33.720 --> 0:10:36.079 And this is why. And this was a big part 0:10:36.160 --> 0:10:38.959 of the debate that we witnessed when Julie Watts was 0:10:39.000 --> 0:10:42.560 asking them about insurance. Every single candidate on that stage 0:10:42.559 --> 0:10:45.480 had a bad answer, including Steve Hilton, who's like, well, 0:10:45.679 --> 0:10:47.959 all these things, Ricardo Laura is already doing them. 0:10:48.360 --> 0:10:54.160 They didn't work. Yeah, what is crazy to me is that. 0:10:54.400 --> 0:10:58.160 And it wasn't just Hilton. Other candidates look at Ricardo 0:10:58.280 --> 0:11:01.200 Laura as if he has some kind kind of elder 0:11:01.280 --> 0:11:06.040 statesmen on the subject, Who in the hell trust him? 0:11:06.080 --> 0:11:10.320 Trying to balance the consumer protections and strengthening the market 0:11:10.840 --> 0:11:14.560 with trying to entice insurance companies to remain in this market. 0:11:14.800 --> 0:11:17.720 The position was created by Prop oneh three in nineteen 0:11:17.800 --> 0:11:21.480 ninety eight, and Harvey Rosenfield, who wrote the initiative, says, 0:11:21.520 --> 0:11:23.560 it's been a pretty sedate job since then. 0:11:23.800 --> 0:11:26.960 Who was never a big deal and people really didn't 0:11:27.000 --> 0:11:31.120 pay attention to the Office of Insurance commission because Proposition 0:11:31.160 --> 0:11:32.439 one to three seemed to be working. 0:11:32.480 --> 0:11:35.720 Good people were saving money. Wasn't a crisis anymore. 0:11:36.200 --> 0:11:39.080 But since then, the major carriers began dropping coverage for 0:11:39.200 --> 0:11:41.640 hundreds of thousands of Californians. 0:11:41.400 --> 0:11:44.120 Partially because Ricardo Lara tipped them off that he was 0:11:44.200 --> 0:11:46.160 going to give them everything they wanted, and they were 0:11:46.200 --> 0:11:47.640 incentivized to drop people. 0:11:48.679 --> 0:11:52.120 Yeah, when he travels around the globe, he's not doing 0:11:52.160 --> 0:11:55.120 it on his own dime. He's doing it to attend 0:11:55.160 --> 0:11:59.920 these conferences and educational seminars and those sorts of things 0:12:00.200 --> 0:12:01.920 that the insurance companies put on. 0:12:03.200 --> 0:12:07.920 Just as mega wildfires began devastating communities, Heldman says, when 0:12:07.960 --> 0:12:11.400 it comes to people's pocketbooks, the insurance commissioner may have 0:12:11.480 --> 0:12:13.680 a bigger impact than even the governor. 0:12:14.000 --> 0:12:17.520 I do think that this particular jem that was one of. 0:12:17.520 --> 0:12:20.440 The more fun parts of the debate, where Bessarah's big 0:12:20.440 --> 0:12:23.720 platform is I'm going to freeze insurance rates, and Julie 0:12:23.720 --> 0:12:26.560 Watt tod to say the governor has no authority to 0:12:26.600 --> 0:12:29.200 do that, and he's. 0:12:29.000 --> 0:12:32.120 A lawyer who's been in state politics for a very 0:12:32.160 --> 0:12:35.439 long time. He doesn't know the basics. 0:12:36.440 --> 0:12:39.920 If you're just going based on the intelligence of the 0:12:39.960 --> 0:12:42.839 people that are speaking of the eight people that were 0:12:42.840 --> 0:12:46.360 on that stage last week, Bessarah is at the bottom. 0:12:47.280 --> 0:12:50.520 Oh, he was certainly the dumbest. We know that Katie 0:12:50.600 --> 0:12:55.040 Porter is emotionally unbalanced, but she's not dumb. Tom Steyer 0:12:55.160 --> 0:12:57.920 was able to make a billion dollars he's aloof but 0:12:57.960 --> 0:12:58.800 he's not dumb. 0:13:00.200 --> 0:13:01.120 Sarah is dumb. 0:13:02.440 --> 0:13:07.080 I do think that this particular job plays a more 0:13:07.120 --> 0:13:10.520 direct role in the everyday lives of Californians than just 0:13:10.559 --> 0:13:12.679 about any other role in state politics. 0:13:13.240 --> 0:13:15.880 The political experts have no idea who will square off 0:13:15.920 --> 0:13:18.439 in November, but right now their money is on Basera 0:13:18.600 --> 0:13:21.640 and Republican Steve Hilton. But at a time when the 0:13:21.679 --> 0:13:25.320 stakes feel so high, they seem just as uncertain as 0:13:25.320 --> 0:13:27.200 the voters themselves. 0:13:28.200 --> 0:13:30.160 Coming up in less than two weeks. We'll hear from 0:13:30.200 --> 0:13:34.120 the candidates who are running for governor on Thursday, May fourteenth. 0:13:34.240 --> 0:13:36.000 Oh yeah, there's going to be yet. So there's two 0:13:36.080 --> 0:13:40.320 debates this week and then there's another debate on the 0:13:40.360 --> 0:13:41.960 fourteenth on CBS. 0:13:42.000 --> 0:13:46.839 Again. Okay, so CNN's doing it this week. Alex Michaelson 0:13:46.960 --> 0:13:48.760 and Caitlin Collins correct that. 0:13:48.840 --> 0:13:52.440 One's tomorrow on Cinco de Drinco. You can watch the 0:13:52.600 --> 0:13:57.400 California candidate's debate on national television. And then on Thursday, 0:13:58.000 --> 0:14:00.480 NBCLA is going to have a debate. I'm sure it 0:14:00.480 --> 0:14:02.800 will be on all the NBC stations, but it's going 0:14:02.840 --> 0:14:04.920 to be a combo platter. It's going to be an 0:14:05.080 --> 0:14:08.520 LA mayor's debate and then a governor's debate, and then 0:14:08.520 --> 0:14:11.760 apparently I think there's no debates next week, but the 0:14:11.800 --> 0:14:13.560 week after we've got more debates. 0:14:14.520 --> 0:14:16.880 And I also believe there's a debate that's going to 0:14:16.880 --> 0:14:21.479 be going on in Sacramento involving the candidates for insurance Commissioner. 0:14:22.680 --> 0:14:24.440 There have been a few of those, but yes, I 0:14:24.440 --> 0:14:27.720 don't think they're going to get any kind of television presence. 0:14:27.760 --> 0:14:30.800 But they're happening, CBS. 0:14:31.120 --> 0:14:32.880 I believe we're going to have one of the candidates 0:14:32.880 --> 0:14:34.400 for Insurance Commissioner on the program. 0:14:34.520 --> 0:14:38.320 Later in the week, CBS California will host another debate 0:14:38.360 --> 0:14:40.960 in partnership with the San Francisco Examiner, and we'll have 0:14:41.040 --> 0:14:43.240 live coverage that begins at five point thirty. 0:14:43.880 --> 0:14:46.000 So there you go. That's the latest on the governor's 0:14:46.120 --> 0:14:51.520 race and the race to replace Ricardo Lara. 0:14:51.240 --> 0:14:53.000 Chill Basing is rarely comfortable. 0:14:53.080 --> 0:14:58.560 You here's an interesting wrinkle to this story. Typically, what 0:14:58.760 --> 0:15:04.120 happens for politicians, particularly state politicians, politicians who run for 0:15:04.200 --> 0:15:08.040 offices that have term limits, is when they get to 0:15:08.080 --> 0:15:11.680 the end of the road, when they're at the last 0:15:11.720 --> 0:15:15.040 stop on the subway, they're termed out of the Assembly, 0:15:15.080 --> 0:15:17.680 they're termed out of the Senate, they're turned out of whatever. 0:15:18.800 --> 0:15:21.240 What they do is they start raising money to run 0:15:21.280 --> 0:15:25.040 for something else, because if you don't continue to run, 0:15:25.200 --> 0:15:30.320 your career is over. And the jobs that they all want, 0:15:30.640 --> 0:15:34.280 they all want jobs that don't involve term limits. So 0:15:34.520 --> 0:15:37.200 if you get elected to the House of Representatives, you 0:15:37.240 --> 0:15:39.680 can stay there until you die, which many of them do. 0:15:40.840 --> 0:15:43.120 If you get elected to the United States Senate. You 0:15:43.160 --> 0:15:47.360 can stay there forever. There are some local offices depending 0:15:47.360 --> 0:15:49.680 on where you live, where there are no term limits, 0:15:50.120 --> 0:15:53.120 and you can be on your county board of supervisors forever, 0:15:53.360 --> 0:15:59.520 or mayor of your city forever, whatever. Ricardo Laura, who 0:15:59.600 --> 0:16:03.280 is work in politics his entire life. Before he was 0:16:03.360 --> 0:16:06.840 insurance commissioner, he was in the state Senate. Before he 0:16:06.920 --> 0:16:09.200 was in the state Senate, he was in the state Assembly. 0:16:09.760 --> 0:16:12.680 Before that, he worked for members of the legislature as 0:16:12.680 --> 0:16:17.920 a staffer. He's never really done anything else. He's not 0:16:18.080 --> 0:16:23.440 running for any other office. He's not running for lieutenant governor, 0:16:23.760 --> 0:16:29.040 he's not running for La County Board of Supervisors. He's 0:16:29.080 --> 0:16:34.000 not running for anything, which means he must be aware 0:16:35.160 --> 0:16:40.440 that his performance as insurance commissioner was so bad and 0:16:40.520 --> 0:16:44.400 cut through the noise, he is unelectable even in a 0:16:44.440 --> 0:16:46.240 deep blue state like California. 0:16:46.600 --> 0:16:48.520 I mean, he pretty much said as much in that 0:16:48.640 --> 0:16:49.920 speech last year. 0:16:49.840 --> 0:16:52.320 And I may be criticized and dragged through the mud 0:16:52.360 --> 0:16:56.200 for it and get my wig snatched as the gig. 0:16:56.280 --> 0:17:01.640 I say, maybe he is more self aware than we 0:17:01.720 --> 0:17:06.680 thought he was. I wonder what he's going to do next. 0:17:07.920 --> 0:17:12.800 Oh, I'm sure there will be some kind of consulting gig, 0:17:12.880 --> 0:17:15.480 although he doesn't have any more political powers. So what 0:17:15.520 --> 0:17:17.240 are the insurance companies need him for? 0:17:19.359 --> 0:17:21.600 Yeah, if you're the insurance companies, at this point, you've 0:17:21.600 --> 0:17:24.640 gotten all the juice out of the squeeze and he's 0:17:24.680 --> 0:17:27.840 lived like a king for eight years. So that's the payoff. 0:17:28.800 --> 0:17:32.080 You don't owe him a six figure income. You don't 0:17:32.080 --> 0:17:36.400 owe him lifetime employment, you don't owe him continued travel. 0:17:37.480 --> 0:17:41.160 Your business with him is done when he turns out. 0:17:41.880 --> 0:17:45.520 Maybe he believes that he's made genuine friendships in that 0:17:45.680 --> 0:17:49.040 industry and they're going to take care of him. But 0:17:49.119 --> 0:17:50.480 I wouldn't bet on it, would you. 0:17:51.480 --> 0:17:54.399 I don't think there are any local politicians who are 0:17:54.400 --> 0:17:56.280 going to appoint him to anything. I'll tell you that 0:17:56.520 --> 0:17:57.400 he is toxic. 0:17:59.000 --> 0:18:02.200 Eight hundred two two five two two two is a 0:18:02.280 --> 0:18:05.760 telephone number one eight hundred two two two five two 0:18:05.800 --> 0:18:08.399 two two. If you'd like to email the show, you 0:18:08.440 --> 0:18:10.880 can do so at Johnny don't like show at gmail 0:18:10.960 --> 0:18:15.080 dot com. That's Johnny don't like show at gmail dot com. 0:18:15.520 --> 0:18:18.920 And Randy, if you missed my eulogy to Spirit Airlines 0:18:18.960 --> 0:18:20.960 the twelve o'clock hour and you want to find out 0:18:20.960 --> 0:18:23.040 what you missed out on. That's easy to do. 0:18:23.640 --> 0:18:27.399 John Phillips had some choice words for the downfall of 0:18:27.520 --> 0:18:30.399 Spirit Airlines, who went out of business over the weekend, 0:18:30.560 --> 0:18:34.080 stranding passengers all around the country. And if you want 0:18:34.080 --> 0:18:36.080 to give that a listen, search for the John Phillips 0:18:36.080 --> 0:18:38.879 Show wherever you get your podcast, whether that's the Apple 0:18:38.920 --> 0:18:42.600 podcast app, iHeart Spotify, search for the John Phillips Show, 0:18:42.680 --> 0:18:45.080 hit subscribe you get download all the episodes. You can 0:18:45.119 --> 0:18:48.000 do a Google on the YouTube, Get the free KABC app, 0:18:48.000 --> 0:18:50.720 get the free KSFO app. Get the KMJ now app 0:18:50.720 --> 0:18:53.600 because we're on that station Saturdays at noon. So many 0:18:53.640 --> 0:18:56.160 ways to listen live to the show wherever you are 0:18:56.240 --> 0:18:59.200 thanks to streaming, and download all the podcasts and listen 0:18:59.240 --> 0:19:03.280 whenever you want. Eight hundred two two two five two 0:19:03.320 --> 0:19:06.960 two two is telephone number one eight hundred two two 0:19:07.000 --> 0:19:10.400 two five two two two. If you'd like to email 0:19:10.480 --> 0:19:12.359 the show, you can do so at Johnny don't like 0:19:12.400 --> 0:19:14.120 show at gmail dot com. 0:19:14.400 --> 0:19:19.159 That's Johnny. Don't like show at gmail dot com? Well, Randy. 0:19:19.280 --> 0:19:22.680 It was yet another tough weekend in the city of Dumby. 0:19:23.680 --> 0:19:28.919 The City of Oakland is losing yet Another business in downtown, 0:19:29.160 --> 0:19:32.320 a wine bar that only opened three years ago, is 0:19:32.400 --> 0:19:37.439 Colin at quits because, according to the owner, downtown is 0:19:37.480 --> 0:19:38.320 a ghost town. 0:19:38.600 --> 0:19:39.440 It's a lot of crime. 0:19:39.480 --> 0:19:45.840 Now for more here is kpix in the Bay. 0:19:46.320 --> 0:19:50.520 Utation as a destination for food and culture. A slow 0:19:50.720 --> 0:19:57.360 downtown Oakland economy means many small businesses are struggling. According 0:19:57.400 --> 0:20:00.000 to a report from the commercial real estate firm Kushma 0:20:00.080 --> 0:20:03.760 on Wakefield, about thirty eight percent of Oakland's downtown office 0:20:03.760 --> 0:20:06.440 space sad empty at the beginning of the year. 0:20:06.960 --> 0:20:08.120 Thirty eight percent. 0:20:09.920 --> 0:20:14.200 That's ridiculous and that's led to hard times for small 0:20:14.240 --> 0:20:19.439 businesses that rely on office workers and visitors. Doland reports 0:20:19.480 --> 0:20:21.960 on a downtown wine bar, it's now going to be 0:20:21.960 --> 0:20:22.600 closing down. 0:20:23.560 --> 0:20:26.680 Oakland is known for its amazing food scene and culture. 0:20:26.920 --> 0:20:29.920 In fact, a travel magazine named Oakland the best food 0:20:30.000 --> 0:20:31.399 city for the past two years. 0:20:31.680 --> 0:20:35.960 Well, it was a voter submitted survey, so there may 0:20:36.000 --> 0:20:39.200 have been some I'm sure the food scene in Oakland 0:20:39.240 --> 0:20:42.240 is great, but how you put that up against New 0:20:42.359 --> 0:20:44.639 Orleans or Santa Fe. I don't understand it. 0:20:45.760 --> 0:20:47.520 How much do you want to bet that the local 0:20:47.600 --> 0:20:49.600 leaders are blaming all of this on COVID. 0:20:49.640 --> 0:20:53.600 Still oh they are Yeah, Downtown still struggles to draw 0:20:53.720 --> 0:21:03.600 visitors to spend money here. Great one, amazing hospitality and 0:21:03.760 --> 0:21:07.119 even better company. But this is the final chapter for 0:21:07.200 --> 0:21:10.120 the three and a half year old wine bar. Coco Newah. 0:21:10.240 --> 0:21:12.560 I have to close the doors on July fifth. I 0:21:12.600 --> 0:21:13.920 cannot sustain anymore. 0:21:14.000 --> 0:21:17.159 You sure it's not Coco Noir like Pino Noir. 0:21:19.000 --> 0:21:20.240 I think you're onto something. 0:21:20.640 --> 0:21:21.679 Coco Newah. 0:21:21.840 --> 0:21:24.159 I have to close the doors on July fifth. I 0:21:24.200 --> 0:21:28.560 cannot sustain anymore. Downtown right now, very low foot traffic. 0:21:28.800 --> 0:21:32.480 Owner and Somalia Alicia Kidd worked long hours and tried 0:21:32.560 --> 0:21:35.320 innovative ideas to attract customers. 0:21:35.359 --> 0:21:37.120 The innovative idea was karaoke. 0:21:37.280 --> 0:21:42.280 Huh, maybe the Dong family is having a celebration over there. 0:21:42.480 --> 0:21:45.719 But the Oakland native says, it's tough when downtown feels 0:21:45.760 --> 0:21:46.760 like a ghost town. 0:21:46.960 --> 0:21:49.920 I can only throw so many events. It's dead downtown. 0:21:50.040 --> 0:21:51.960 We have to get more foot traffic, we have to 0:21:51.960 --> 0:21:54.800 create more engagement. I had plans. I wanted to do 0:21:55.280 --> 0:21:58.200 something with the World Cup, meaning like host block parties. 0:21:58.200 --> 0:22:00.840 I had big plans. But if I'm not able to 0:22:00.840 --> 0:22:02.879 sustain and get support from my city. 0:22:03.960 --> 0:22:06.520 It is really sad to see. I saw a graft 0:22:06.560 --> 0:22:08.600 today and it's just when you see it in you 0:22:08.720 --> 0:22:13.920 realize ten years ago Oakland had three major sports teams. 0:22:15.359 --> 0:22:19.400 Well. It was also a huge food scene too, because Oakland, 0:22:19.680 --> 0:22:22.600 like many places in California and around the nation for 0:22:22.640 --> 0:22:27.760 that matter, if it's safe and if the government is working, 0:22:27.840 --> 0:22:31.320 people want to be there. I mean, Oakland is a 0:22:31.359 --> 0:22:34.480 beautiful city in theory. It's right on the water. The 0:22:34.600 --> 0:22:37.280 views that you get are of San Francisco and the 0:22:37.320 --> 0:22:40.639 other side of the Bay. That should be some of 0:22:40.680 --> 0:22:43.880 the most primo real estate in the entire state of California. 0:22:44.600 --> 0:22:47.320 But if you put Shang Tauen company in charge of 0:22:47.320 --> 0:22:49.920 the city, you're going to drive it into the ground. 0:22:50.240 --> 0:22:50.760