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September 22, 2017Issue No. 82

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Week in review
On tap next week

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Here's what happened in state and local politics last week. To see what happened in federal politics, click here.

State Politics: The Week in Review

Ballot Measures Update

2017:

  • The 2017 statewide ballot measure count is final: 27 different measure were certified for ballots in nine different states. This is the lowest number of statewide ballot measures to be certified for the ballot in 70 years—since 1947 when there were 23 statewide measures. One measure was decided in Maine on June 13. West Virginia voters will decide a measure on October 7. Louisiana voters will decide three measures on October 14. The remaining 22 measures will be on ballots for the election on November 7. In 2015, a below-average 28 measures were certified for the ballot. In 2013, there were 31 measures on the ballot. From 1987 through 2015, the average number of measures on the ballot in odd-numbered years was 51 in an average of 11 states. Since 2001, the average was 41 measures in 10 states. In the last decade the average dropped to 34 measures in eight states. The number of measures on the ballot in odd-numbered years after 1990 peaked in 1999 at 72.

2018:

Tuesday, September 19

Primary election held for vacant Democratic seat in the Massachusetts Senate

  • A primary election was held for the Bristol & Norfolk District of the Massachusetts State Senate. Paul Feeney defeated Ted Philips in the Democratic primary. Jacob Ventura defeated Michael Berry, Harry Brousaides, and Tim Hempton in the Republican primary. Feeney, Ventura, and Joe Shortsleeve (independent) will face off in the special election on October 17. Feeney has been endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), while Ventura has been endorsed by state Rep. Steven Howitt (R).
  • The seat became vacant on April 28, 2017, when James Timilty (D) resigned to become Norfolk County treasurer. Timilty ran for re-election in 2014 and 2016 but was unopposed. He faced opposition in 2012 and was re-elected with 62 percent of the vote.
  • Massachusetts is one of 18 states under divided government. With two vacancies, Democrats control the state Senate by a 32-6 margin. Democrats control the state House by a 123-34 margin with one unenrolled member and two vacancies. Gov. Charles Baker (R) was elected to a four-year term in 2014.

Two primary elections held in the New Hampshire House

  • Two primary elections were held to fill vacant seats in the Hillsborough 15 district and the Sullivan 1 district in the New Hampshire House of Representatives.
    • Hillsborough 15: Albert MacArthur Jr. defeated Andy Parent in the Republican primary for the Hillsborough 15 district in the New Hampshire state House. Erika Connors was unopposed in the Democratic primary. MacArthur and Connors will face off in the special election on November 7. The seat became vacant on March 27, 2017, when Steve Vaillancourt (R) died from heart-related issues. Incumbent Thomas Katsiantonis (D) and Vaillancourt were elected in 2016 with 28 percent and 26 percent of the vote, respectively.
    • Sullivan 1: Brian Sullivan defeated Cody Dziegelewski in the Democratic primary for the Sullivan 1 district in the New Hampshire state House. Margaret Drye was unopposed in the Republican primary. Sullivan and Drye will face off in the special election on November 7. The seat became vacant on June 22, 2017, when Andy Schmidt (D) resigned. Schmidt and incumbent Lee Walker Oxenham (D) were both elected in 2016 with 30 percent of the vote.
  • Both Hillsborough 15 and Sullivan 1 intersect with a Pivot County. These 206 Pivot Counties voted for Trump in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012.
  • New Hampshire is one of 26 Republican state government trifectas. With six vacancies and one member not yet sworn in, Republicans hold a 220-170 majority in the state House. There are also three Libertarians in the chamber. Republicans have a 14-10 majority in the state Senate. Governor Chris Sununu (R) was elected to a two-year term in 2016.

Minnesota Legislature is running out of money; may lead to furloughs

  • Attorneys for the Republican-led Minnesota Legislature have filed a report that warns that the legislature will have to start furloughing employees in December unless there is resolution to the conflict between Gov. Mark Dayton (D) and the legislature over its operating budget. According to the report, the Senate will run out of money on December 1 and the House will run out of money on February 1, 2018.
  • The conflict between Gov. Dayton and the legislature began in May when the legislature crafted a series of 10 budget bills that would lay out a $46 billion budget for the state. Dayton signed the bills on May 30, 2017, to prevent a government shutdown but utilized his line-item veto power to eliminate all measures that would have funded the state legislature. Dayton said that he would reinstate the funding if the legislature agreed to reconsider a $650 million tax bill and some other policy changes but the legislature refused and filed suit, arguing that Dayton’s veto of its budget was unconstitutional.
  • On July 19, 2017, Judge John H. Guthmann ruled in favor of the legislature, finding that Governor Dayton's veto was in violation of the Minnesota Constitution's separation of powers clause because it prevented the legislature from functioning. Oral arguments were heard by the Supreme Court on August 28, 2017. The court issued its ruling on September 8, 2017, overturning the lower court's decision by ruling that Dayton had acted within his constitutional authority in issuing the rulings. The ruling also halted the temporary legislative funding ordered by Judge Guthmann, arguing that Minnesota law does not permit courts to authorize funding. The legislature and Gov. Dayton began court ordered mediation on September 20 to resolve the conflict.
  • Minnesota is one of 18 states under divided government. Republicans control the state Senate by a 34-33 margin. Republicans hold the state House with a 77-57 majority. Gov. Mark Dayton (D) was elected to a four-year term in 2014.

One-day special session held in Rhode Island General Assembly

  • Legislators in Rhode Island returned to the capital for a one-day special session. A handful of bills, which were left unfinished at the end regular session in June, were taken up on Tuesday. Among other bills, legislation was passed in the special session that would require employers to provide sick days, prevent individuals convicted of misdemeanor domestic-violence crimes from owning firearms, give firefighters a lifetime tax-free accidental-disability pension if they develop a heart condition, require the Board of Elections to develop a program for auditing initial results on voting machines, and create a state highway surveillance system aimed at scanning license plates for out-of-state drivers without insurance. Governor Gina Raimondo (D) has expressed concern over the impact of the firefighter pension bill on the pension system as a whole.
  • Rhode Island is one of six Democratic state government trifectas. Democrats maintain a 33-5 majority in the state Senate and a 64-11 majority in the state House. Governor Raimondo was elected to a four-year term in 2014.

Initiative to increase Michigan’s minimum wage to $12 approved for signature gathering

  • The Michigan Board of State Canvassers approved the petition form for a minimum wage increase initiative, giving supporters the green light to begin collect signatures. One Fair Wage Michigan is leading the campaign in support of the ballot initiative. The campaign will need to collect 252,523 valid signatures within any 180-day period before May 30, 2018, to get the measure certified for the election on November 6, 2018.
  • The measure would increase the state minimum wage from $9.25 in 2018 to $10.00 in 2019; $10.65 in 2020; $11.25 in 2021; and $12.00 in 2022. Starting in 2023, the minimum wage would be adjusted for increases in the consumer price index each year unless the unemployment rate is 8.5 percent or higher for the previous year. The initiative would also increase the minimum wage for tipped employees from 38 percent of the minimum wage to 48 percent in 2019; 60 percent in 2020; 70 percent in 2021; 80 percent in 2022; 90 percent in 2023; and 100 percent in 2024 and thereafter.
  • The new initiative proposal comes four years after Raise Michigan launched a signature drive to increase the state minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. Raise Michigan’s initiative was designed to amend the Minimum Wage Law of 1964. However, the Michigan State Legislature passed a bill that repealed and superseded the law on May 28, 2014. As the Minimum Wage Law of 1964 no longer existed, the initiative had no statute to amend and would have been rendered moot. SB 934 preempted the initiative from taking effect, while also increasing the minimum wage over four years to $9.25 in 2018. Former Sen. Randy Richardville (R-17) was the lead sponsor of SB 934. He said, "The people that started this ballot proposal got the attention of a lot of people out there. And while they may have been well-intentioned, I think they went too far. It wasn't something we could amend or change, so instead, we replaced it.” The Board of State Canvassers rejected the signatures for Raise Michigan’s initiative on July 24, 2014, almost two months after the state legislature passed the bill.
  • One Fair Wage Michigan’s initiative was written to create a new law, rather than to amend an existing law. Therefore, the state legislature would be unable to preempt the initiative before voters consider the proposal.

Montana Supreme Court orders AG to rewrite statement for bathroom bill initiative

  • The Montana Supreme Court ruled that Attorney General Tim Fox (R) needed to rewrite his ballot statement for a bathroom bill initiative. The initiative would require individuals to use the private facilities, including changing facilities, locker rooms, restrooms, and shower rooms, in public schools and government buildings designated for an individual's biological sex, as determined by anatomy and genetics, at the time of birth. On July 26, 2017, the attorney general approved the initiative for signature gathering. Supporters need to collect and submit 25,468 valid signatures by June 22, 2018, in order to qualify the measure for the November 2018 ballot.
  • The ACLU of Montana filed a lawsuit against the state of Montana, represented by Attorney General Fox, contending that the ballot statement initially written for the initiative was misleading and prejudicial and the fiscal note was insufficient. The ACLU of Montana argued that Fox’s ballot statement obscured “the primary and most controversial function of the initiative: the exclusion of transgender people from gender-appropriate facilities” and created prejudice in favor of the initiative. The group asked the court to prohibit the initiative from appearing on the ballot or order the attorney general to rewrite the ballot statement and fiscal note.
  • Attorney General Fox argued that his ballot statement was legally sufficient, true, and impartial, and that it fairly stated what the initiative proposes. He said the changes requested by the ACLU of Montana would create prejudice against the initiative. He said the terms that plaintiffs wanted to see in the ballot statement "are not mentioned in I-183 or even defined in state law.”
  • The Montana Supreme Court ruled in favor of the ACLU of Montana, requiring Attorney General Fox to rewrite the ballot statement. The court said it intervened because the ballot statement would “prevent a voter from casting an intelligent and informed ballot.” The justices also ruled that the fiscal note needed to include information on long-term costs; costs to local governments, K-12 schools, and public universities; legal fees; and uncertain costs.
  • Both the ACLU of Montana, which opposes the initiative and filed the lawsuit, and Montana Family Foundation, which is sponsoring the initiative, declared the ruling a victory. Alex Rate, the legal director of the ACLU of Montana, said, “The Supreme Court has ensured that when Montanans vote on I-183 and decide whether or not to legalize discrimination, they will be informed about the societal and economic costs for regulations that target our transgender friends and neighbors.” Jeff Laszloffy, president of the Montana Family Foundation, stated, “This is a big win. Our initiative can still move forward, and Montanans who have already signed the petitions won’t have their voices ignored.” Justice Beth Baker provided a 123-word example of a possible rewrite for the ballot statement.
  • Read all three proposed ballot titles—Fox’s initial version, the version proposed by the ACLU, and the version suggested by Justice Baker—and the full text of the initiative here.

New Mississippi Supreme Court Justice takes seat

  • On September 19, Justice David Ishee took his seat on the Mississippi Supreme Court. Ishee was appointed by Gov. Phil Bryant (R) to replace former Justice Jess Dickinson. Dickinson stepped down from the court after Bryant appointed him to be the state’s Commissioner of the Department of Child Protection Services.
  • Ishee is Bryant’s third appointment to the nine-member court. He was formerly a judge on the Mississippi Court of Appeals (District 5, Place 2). His appointed term will end on January 6, 2019. He must stand for nonpartisan election in 2018 in order to remain on the bench.
  • Mississippi Supreme Court justices are selected in nonpartisan elections for eight-year terms. The nine justices are divided among three judicial districts across the state. In the case of a midterm vacancy, the governor appoints a replacement. Of the nine current justices, four (including Ishee) were appointed by Republican governors. The remaining five were elected. Ishee is the only justice up for election in 2018.

Candidates meet for second debate in Virginia gubernatorial election

  • On Tuesday, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam (D) and former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie (R) met for the second debate of the Virginia gubernatorial election. The candidates discussed a range of issues including the economy, immigration, and statues of figures associated with the Confederate States of America. Libertarian candidate Cliff Hyra was not invited to participate in the debate, although he did attend as a member of the audience. Hyra responded via Twitter to the questions asked by moderator Chuck Todd and the answers given by Northam and Gillespie throughout the course of the debate.
  • Much of the economic discussion was centered around Gillespie's proposal to cut income taxes across the state by ten percent. Both candidates maintained the positions they had outlined in the first debate, in which Gillespie claimed that the state's economy had been performing poorly while Northam disagreed. Ballotpedia's assessment of the statements made in the first debate can be found here. Gillespie claimed that his tax plan would spur economic growth, arguing that the state's highest income tax bracket currently includes all those with annual incomes over $17,000. Northam countered that the tax plan would disproportionately benefit those with higher incomes while leaving the state with fewer resources.
  • The debate over immigration referred to the concept of sanctuary jurisdictions - areas where local law limits the amount of cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. Gillespie criticized Northam for his tiebreaking vote in the Virginia State Senate opposing HB 2000, which would have prohibited local governments in Virginia from enacting such policies. Northam countered that the legislation was unnecessary, claiming that no sanctuary jurisdictions exist in Virginia.
  • Another topic of debate was the proper course of action regarding monuments honoring figures associated with the Confederate States of America. Northam called on localities to move such statues into museums, citing the August 12 civil disorder in Charlottesville, Virginia. Gillespie countered that the statues should be left in place and proposed incorporating additional historical context as well as constructing statues honoring Virginia figures such as Booker T. Washington, Dred Scott, and Douglas Wilder, the state's first African-American governor.
  • Before the November 7 general election, Northam and Gillespie will meet for a final debate in Wise, Virginia, on October 9.
  • Recent polling indicates a competitive election. Five polls have been released since the beginning of September. A Suffolk University poll found Northam and Gillespie tied at 42 percent support each. Polls from the University of Mary Washington, Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy, and Fox News found Northam in the lead but within the margin of error, reporting margins of five, one, and four percent respectively. Finally, a Quinnipiac University poll found Northam leading Gillespie by ten percent.
  • Because the sitting governor is a member of the Democratic Party while the Republican Party holds majorities in both houses of the legislature, Virginia is one of 18 states under divided government. A Republican victory in November's gubernatorial election would make the state a Republican trifecta. Because the sitting governor, attorney general, and secretary of state are Democrats, Virginia is one of 11 states to have a Democratic triplex. A Republican victory in either the gubernatorial or attorney general elections would lead to divided triplex status in the state. Because the secretary of state of Virginia is appointed by the governor, Republican victories in both races would give the party control of all three offices, creating a Republican triplex.

Wednesday, September 20

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signs campaign finance legislation

  • Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) has signed legislation that will allow political candidates to raise an unlimited amount of money for independent expenditure committees like super PACs. Senate bills 335 and 336 passed the Republican-controlled state legislature on September 19. Both bills passed the Senate in a 23-12 vote and the House in a 62-45 vote.
  • Gov. Snyder said in a statement that the legislation codifies the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling on a state level. "Under the bills signed into law today, the Department of State finally has clear statutory authority to regulate independent expenditure committees, to mandate registration and reporting of contributions and expenditures, and to investigate and punish entities violating those regulations,” said Snyder.
  • The Federal Election Commission limits federal candidates to raise up to $5,000 for a super PAC. Under the new campaign finance rules signed by Gov. Snyder, candidates can now raise an unlimited amount of money for super PACs, but coordination between candidates and super PACs about how to use those raised contributions remains prohibited. The super PACs can still use the money to support candidates through TV commercials and mailers and through the committees that the candidate creates.
  • Michigan is one of 26 Republican state government trifectas. Republicans have a 27-11 majority in the state Senate. With two vacancies, Republicans hold a 63-45 majority in the state House. Gov. Snyder was elected to a four-year term in 2014 and is term-limited in 2018.

One-day special session held in Utah State Legislature

  • Utah legislators used a one-day special session on Wednesday to pass bills related to Operation Rio Grande. One bill would allow Salt Lake City to temporarily close Rio Grande Street and lease it to the state at no cost. Officials in that area have taken measures to curb drug crime and create a safe space for homeless people. Another bill funded Operation Rio Grande until the legislature convenes in January 2018. Lawmakers also used the special session to pass bills that would settle lawsuits between the state and a contractor involved in the construction of the Timpanogos Highway.
  • Operation Rio Grande is a government program with the stated goal of restoring public safety in the Rio Grande district of Salt Lake City. The program’s first of three phases, which began on August 14, 2017, focused on law enforcement in the area. The second phase will provide assessment and treatment for addiction and behavioral disorders for those using the indigent services in the Rio Grande district. The third phase will focus on providing work opportunities to the area.
  • Utah is one of 26 Republican state government trifectas. Republicans maintain a 24-5 majority in the state Senate and a 62-13 majority in the state House. Governor Gary Herbert (R) was re-elected to a four-year term in 2016.

Republican lawmakers sponsoring veto referendum against Oregon healthcare taxes object to finalized ballot language

  • The Oregon Joint Interim Committee on Referendum 301 finalized the ballot title and ballot summary for a veto referendum targeting the repeal of increased taxes on health insurance premiums and hospitals. The group of Republican legislators sponsoring the referendum objected to the language and said that a lawsuit would be their next step. If the sponsors succeed in collecting 58,789 valid signatures by October 5, 2017, voters will decide the issue at a special election on January 23, 2018.
  • Voting no on the referendum would repeal the targeted sections of House Bill 2391 (HB 2391), and voting yes would uphold the bill. These sections of HB 2391 placed a 1.5 percent assessment on premiums that healthcare insurers earned and premium equivalents received by managed care organizations (MCOs) and the Public Employees’ Benefit Board, placed a 0.7 percent tax on the net revenue of hospitals, and contained language permitting insurers to increase premiums on healthcare plans to cover the costs of the assessment. Some of the revenue from HB 2391 was earmarked to fund the state’s share of Medicaid expansion under The Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare; Oregon approved Medicaid expansion in 2014.
  • House Democrats called for a special election for the referendum on January 23, 2018, rather than the default date of November 6, 2018. The special election date and the creation of a special legislative committee to draft the referendum ballot language—a task usually assigned to the attorney general—was added to Senate Bill 229 (SB 229). The bill was approved in July 2017 and signed by Gov. Brown (D) on August 18, 2017. The last time the state Legislature called a special election for a veto referendum was in 2010. The ballot language committee consisted of four Democrats and two Republicans.
  • Rep. Julie Parrish (R-37) and Rep. Cedric Hayden (R-7), two of the referendum’s sponsors, said that the committee's ballot language should include the word tax and should contain tax revenue details. Rep. Parrish said, "They [the committee] didn't take any of our comments to heart. The next step of this is to go to court, so that's where we're headed." Legislative counsel Dexter Johnson said the language needed to use the word assessment, not tax, to describe the revenue-generating mechanism in HB 2391 because assessment is the word the bill uses. He stated, "If we use the word 'tax' rather than 'assessment,' it would be likely the court would actually require modification back to the word 'assessment.’"
    • The referendum’s ballot title and ballot summary, details about the referendum effort and HB 2391, and information about the ballot language committee and special election are available here. If a lawsuit is filed by referendum sponsors, it will be covered here.
    • Maine voters will decide Question 2—an initiative to expand Medicaid under Obamacare—on November 7, 2017.

California attorney general sues Trump administration over border wall expansion

  • California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced his intent to sue the Trump administration to block the planned construction of a wall on the border between the U.S. and Mexico in the state. The suit claims that the administration violated the Tenth Amendment when it declared that the wall is an emergency justifying waiving certain environmental and contracting procedures. Becerra said, "They're violating the Tenth Amendment and infringing on a lot of state laws, not just federal laws, that affect our state. At the same time, they're trying to do something that only Congress can do."
    • Read more instances of state opposition to the Trump administration here.

Thursday, September 21

Governor Walker signs Wisconsin budget

  • Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (R) has signed a state budget, ending a budget impasse that began on July 1 when the state entered the fiscal year without a budget. Between 1997 and 2017, the state passed only three budgets by July 1. The budget includes over $600 million in new funding for K-12 education, a freeze on University of Wisconsin in-state tuition, and property tax cuts. Walker made 99 vetoes to the bill before signing it, exercising Wisconsin's line-item veto power that extends to individual words, exceeding the power of most state governors. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said he does not intend to try to override any of Walker's vetoes.

Friday, September 22

California judge strikes down AG Becerra's ballot language for gas tax repeal initiative as misleading

  • On September 22, 2017, a Sacramento Superior Court judge struck down Attorney General Xavier Becerra's (D) ballot language for Rep. Travis Allen’s (R) initiative to repeal the state’s gas tax and vehicle fees increase bill. Judge Tim Frawley said the ballot language was “confusing, misleading, and likely to create prejudice against the proposed measure.” The judge decided that he himself would write new ballot language for the initiative.
  • Rep. Allen, a candidate for governor in 2018, proposed the initiative to repeal most sections of Senate Bill 1 (SB 1). The state Senate passed the bill 27-11 along party lines, with Democrats supporting and Republicans opposing SB 1. The state House voted 54-26 to pass the bill, which was mostly along party lines. One Democrat joined Republicans in the state House to vote against SB 1. The bill was designed to increase the gas tax by $0.12 per gallon, increase the diesel fuel tax by $0.20 per gallon, increase the sales tax on diesel fuels by an additional 4 percentage points, create an annual transportation improvement fee based on vehicle market value, and create an annual zero-emission vehicles fee of $100. The California Senate Appropriations Committee estimated that SB 1 would generate $52.4 billion between 2017 and 2027. Gov. Brown (D) signed the bill into law on April 6, 2017. Democrats have trifecta control of the state government in California.
  • On May 4, 2017, Rep. Travis Allen (R-72) filed the initiative. In California, the attorney general is responsible for writing an initiative’s ballot language. Attorney General Becerra issued a ballot title and summary for the initiative on July 10, 2017. Rep. Allen criticized the ballot language, saying that almost everything in the text would mislead voters. He filed a lawsuit in court on July 14, 2017. A spokesperson for Attorney General Becerra responded to the litigation, saying the ballot language clearly explained the initiative.
  • Judge Frawley ruled in favor of Rep. Allen, saying, “To avoid misleading the voters and creating prejudice against the measure, the Attorney General must prepare a 'true and impartial statement’ that reasonably informs voters of the character and real purpose of the proposed initiative in clear and understandable language. The existing circulating title and summary fails this test.” He said the ballot language needs to make clear that the initiative would repeal tax increases. Judge Frawley asked lawyers for Rep. Allen and Attorney General Becerra to agree to a compromise, but the two parties could not, leading the judge to order that he himself write the language. He said he hopes to write the new language by September 25, 2017.
  • The passage of SB 1 also motivated Carl DeMaio, chairperson of Reform California, to launch a recall effort against Sen. Josh Newman (D-29) and an initiated constitutional amendment to repeal SB 1 and prohibit future gas and vehicle tax increases without voter approval.

Special Elections

Upcoming special elections include:

As of this week, 44 state legislative seats have been filled through special elections in 2017, and another 47 special elections have been scheduled in 14 states. Elections have been held for 19 Democratic seats and 25 Republican seats. Democrats have flipped six seats as a result of special state legislative elections in 2017. Republicans have flipped one seat. In special elections between 2011 and 2016, one party (either Republicans or Democrats) saw an average net gain of three seats across the country each year. The number of net seats won and lost by Democrats and Republicans in state legislative special elections in 2017 has, so far, been similar to prior years.

  • An average of 89 seats were filled through special elections in each of the past three odd years ( 2011: 94, 2013: 84, 2015: 88).
  • An average of 44 seats were filled through special elections in each of the past four even years ( 2010: 26, 2012: 45, 2014: 40, 2016: 65).

Upcoming special elections include:

September 26

Verbatim Fact Checks

Did New Jersey family planning cuts increase STD rates?

  • New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Phil Murphy (D) is vowing to restore $7.5 million in family planning funds that have been repeatedly vetoed by Gov. Chris Christie. According to Politico, some women’s health advocates claim the cuts have led to a rise in STDs. The incidence rate of new STD cases in New Jersey increased at a slower pace after the funding cut than before the funding cut. There is no way to determine whether any of the new cases between 2011 and 2015 resulted from the funding cut or if the incidence rate would have changed at a different pace if the funds had been restored. But the CDC data shows that the incidence rate of new STD cases did not increase as officials of Planned Parenthood and others have claimed.

Have GOP lawmakers tried to shield drivers who hit protesters?

  • In a recent ThinkProgress article, reporter Kira Lerner claimed, "State lawmakers in at least six GOP-controlled states have pushed for laws this year that would shield drivers who hit protesters." In six states (one with a Democratic-controlled legislature), legislation was introduced to provide some degree of exemption from civil liability for drivers who hit protesters in a roadway. In two of those states, the bills also called for changing the standard for criminal liability. All six bills predated the Charlottesville incident. Three of the five measures have been rejected by at least one chamber in Republican-controlled legislatures. A fourth measure—in Texas—is pending, and the fifth was passed by the North Carolina House. The Rhode Island bill has been tabled for further study.

Local Politics: The Week in Review

Elections Update

Saturday, September 16

Woman impersonating mayoral candidate in Colorado town

  • The city of Loveland is facing a unique situation; officials say they have received reports that a local woman has been impersonating mayoral candidate Jacki Marsh. Marsh, Ward III Councilor John Fogle, and former Loveland Councilman Larry Heckel are all running to replace incumbent Cecil Gutierrez. Although Marsh told Denver 7 she believes the impersonator supports her campaign, she expressed concern that voters may not realize they’re speaking to an imposter. Local officials said there is little they are able to do legally and have encouraged voters to actively learn about the real candidates through sanctioned sources. Loveland is a city in Larimer County, Colorado, and had 66,859 residents in 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Monday, September 18

Gov. Cuomo throws support behind Mayor Bill de Blasio in New York City re-election bid

  • Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced his endorsement of Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) in his bid for a second term as mayor of New York City. Cuomo made no endorsements during the five-way Democratic primary race held on September 12, 2017, but after de Blasio advanced to the general election scheduled on November 7, 2017, Cuomo told WNYC that as a Democrat he will support the Democratic primary winner. De Blasio faces Republican state Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis of Staten Island and multiple third-party and independent candidates in the general. New York is the largest city in the U.S. by population.
    • New York City is holding elections for multiple municipal positions in 2017.
      • In the September 12 primary election, de Blasio received almost 74 percent of the vote on his way to defeating four challengers for the Democratic nomination. The second-place candidate, former City Councilman Sal Albanese, received 15 percent of the vote. De Blasio’s share of the vote matched with the results of a May 2017 poll conducted by Quinnipiac University, which found that de Blasio had a 74 percent approval rating among city residents who identified as Democrats.
      • Two of the 35 partisan primaries for New York City Council were too close to call on election night. Incumbent Margaret Chin (D) led challenger Christopher Marte (D) by 200 votes in the Democratic primary in District 1, and Diana Ayala (D) led Robert Rodriguez (D) by 122 votes in the open District 8 race. Rodriguez conceded the District 8 race to Ayala on September 20, and Marte has indicated that he will concede the District 1 primary to Chin. A win by Chin will give incumbents a perfect record in the city's council primaries. All 41 of the city council incumbents who are running for re-election (38 Democrats and three Republicans) will have won their primaries.
      • Additionally, all five boroughs of New York City are electing a borough president in 2017, and two are holding elections for borough district attorney. There were two contested Democratic primaries for these races. In the Bronx, Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. received 86 percent of the vote in a three-candidate field to win the Democratic nomination. Diaz is seeking his third term in that office. In Brooklyn, incumbent District Attorney Eric Gonzalez defeated five other candidates to win the Democratic nomination there. Gonzalez is running for election for the first time after becoming acting district attorney in 2016 following the death of District Attorney Ken Thompson.

Seattle gets second interim mayor within two-week span

  • Tim Burgess was appointed interim mayor of Seattle by a 5-1 vote of the Seattle City Council. Burgess was appointed to replace Bruce Harrell as interim mayor, and he will serve until the election of a new mayor on November 7, 2017. Harrell was appointed on September 13 following the resignation of Ed Murray. Harrell became the interim mayor because the Seattle city charter makes the city council president the first in line to succeed the mayor. Harrell announced on September 15 that he declined to serve the remainder of Murray's term. Prior to his appointment, Burgess was the Position 8 at-large representative on the Seattle City Council. First elected in 2007, Burgess did not file for re-election in 2017. The city charter required Burgess' resignation from the council after his appointment as interim mayor. Seattle is the largest city in Washington and the 21st-largest city in the U.S. by population.
    • Turmoil has dominated Seattle’s 2017 mayoral race.
      • On September 12, 2017, Mayor Ed Murray resigned from office. Murray announced his resignation after receiving accusations of past sexual abuse by his cousin, Joseph Dyer. Murray declined to run for re-election earlier in 2017 after facing a sexual abuse lawsuit filed by Delvonn Heckard, who later withdrew the suit. The allegations from Dyer, Heckard, and two other men spanned from Murray's time as a student in Portland in the 1970s to his time as a state legislator in the early 1990s.
      • For more information on the issues of housing costs, homelessness, and a local income tax ordinance facing candidates in Seattle’s mayoral and city council races in 2017, please click here.

Tuesday, September 19

Los Angeles school board president leaves leadership position amidst felony charges

  • Los Angeles Unified Board of Education member Ref Rodriguez stepped down from his position as president of the board after being charged with three felony counts of conspiracy, perjury, and procuring and offering a false or forged instrument. Rodriguez said he stepped down from the leadership position so that the board would not be distracted from its goals, although the school district’s general counsel said he was under no obligation to step down as president or to resign from the board entirely. All of the charges brought against Rodriguez were related to his election campaign in 2015. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office alleged that Rodriguez contributed $24,250 to his campaign but represented that money as donations from 25 individuals. While candidates are allowed to spend as much of their own money on their campaigns as they want, they cannot represent that money as contributions from others. That practice is considered political money laundering by the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission, as it “deprives the public of information about the true source of a candidate’s financial support.” The arraignment is scheduled on October 24, 2017. The Los Angeles Unified School District is the second-largest school district in the U.S. by enrollment and served 646,683 students during the 2014-2015 school year—approximately 10.2 percent of all public school students in the state.

Ward 7 representative appointed to Riverside City Council in California

  • Steve Adams was appointed as the Ward 7 representative on the Riverside City Council to fill a vacancy left by the resignation of John Burnard. He previously represented Ward 7 from 2004 to 2015 and was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for California’s 41st Congressional District in 2014. Riverside is the 12th-largest city in California and the 59th-largest city in the U.S. by population.
    • A general election for three of the eight seats on the Riverside City Council was held on June 6, 2017. The incumbents in Wards 2 and 6 won their re-election bids, while the Ward 4 incumbent lost to a challenger. Prior to the election, the candidates sparred over issues related to sanctuary status and job creation. Learn more about the issues that dominated this race by clicking here.

Runoff election fills Nashville Metro Council vacancy

  • Antoinette Lee defeated Tim Herndon in a special runoff election to fill a vacancy on the Nashville Metro Council. Lee and Herndon advanced to the runoff election after they were separated by just 13 votes at the top of a five-candidate field in the special election held on August 15, 2017. The Metro Council seat was left vacant in May 2017 when former Councilman Sam Coleman was appointed to a district judgeship. Lee will serve the remainder of Coleman's term, which expires in 2019. Nashville is the second-largest city in Tennessee and the 25th-largest city in the U.S. by population.

Newcomers win majority of seats in Arkansas school board elections

  • Newcomers won five of the nine school board seats up for nonpartisan general election in seven of the largest school districts by enrollment in Arkansas. Two-thirds of these races were uncontested, which was the highest uncontested rate in four election cycles. In all, three incumbents and three newcomers were elected without facing opposition. One of the three contested races was left open for a newcomer when the incumbent did not file to run for re-election. The other two contested races saw one incumbent win re-election and one incumbent defeated by a newcomer. Overall, incumbents in those seven school districts saw an 80 percent success rate. Runoff elections will not take place since each winning candidate received a majority of the votes cast in their race. These seven school districts served a total of 97,622 students during the 2014-2015 school year—approximately 20.1 percent of all public school students in the state.

Candidates advance to general elections in New Hampshire school board race

  • Nonpartisan primary elections were held for the Wards 6 and 12 seats on the Manchester School District Board of School Committee. Although all 14 seats on the district’s board are up for election in 2017, primaries were only necessary in two wards since three candidates filed to run for each seat. The incumbents in both seats advanced to the general election, and in total the four winners received more than twice as many votes each as the two defeated candidates. The general election is scheduled on November 7, 2017. The Manchester School District served 14,565 students during the 2014-2015 school year—approximately 7.7 percent of all public school students in the state.

General election ballot set for Springfield School Committee

  • Nonpartisan primary elections took place for three seats on the Springfield Public Schools School Committee in Massachusetts. The primary election for the two at-large seats narrowed the number of candidates from eight to four. Incumbent Denise M. Hurst advanced to the general election along with James Ferrera III, LaTonia Naylor, and Ryan Hess. The primary election for the District 2 seat narrowed the field from three to two candidates. Incumbent Barbara Gresham advanced to the general election with Stephanie Murchison-Brown. The school committee’s District 1, 3, and 4 seats will also be on the general election ballot on November 7, 2017. Only one or two candidates filed to run in those races, so primary elections were not required. Springfield Public Schools is the second-largest school district in the state and served 25,645 students during the 2014-2015 school year—approximately 2.7 percent of all public school students in the state.

Oregon mayor ousted in recall election

  • Jefferson Mayor Cyndie Hightower was recalled by a vote of 64 percent in an election conducted by mail. A group called Jefferson First initially targeted Hightower and City Councilmen Bob Burns, Brad Cheney, and Stan Neal over accusations of ethical and fiscal irresponsibility. In particular, Jefferson First was concerned with public money and resources used in an attempted annexation of 15 acres of land by the officials, who lived near the proposed annexation area. The annexation was still pending council approval as of September 13, 2017. Burns, Cheney, and Neal resigned in August 2017, so Hightower was the only town official still subject to the recall. Her official ballot statement argued that she faced immediate opposition from city residents following her 2016 election, and she followed town rules regarding public input on city affairs, including the annexation proposal. Jefferson is located in Marion County, Oregon. The town was home to just over 3,000 residents in 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau.
    • As of the Jefferson election, Ballotpedia had tracked 48 recall efforts against mayors across the country. Of the six mayors who faced recall elections, two have been recalled and four have been retained. For more information on political recall efforts, please click here.

Challenger replaces incumbent in North Dakota recall election

  • Councilwoman Julie Johnson was removed from her position in a recall election held in the town of Kindred, North Dakota. Johnson was replaced by candidate Jason DuBord who won 56.1 percent of the vote. Supporters of the recall claimed that Johnson caused the resignations of Mayor Jeff Wanner and City Auditor Twila Morrison by creating a divisive environment when she pursued an external audit of city finances based on information she found in public records requests. Wanner and Morrison resigned in March 2017 but returned to their jobs in the same month. Johnson, who was first elected in 2012, argued in her official response to the recall effort that she found irregularities in the city's finances and water metering through public records requests. She also claimed that some of her records requests were denied or generated erroneous responses from other city departments. Kindred is located in southeastern North Dakota and was home to just under 700 residents in 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau.

Wednesday, September 20

Long Beach expands sanctuary city policy

  • With a 7-1 vote, the Long Beach City Council approved a local sanctuary city policy that would expand protections for immigrants beyond those being considered at the state level. The vote directs the Long Beach Office of Equity to collaborate with local organizations to recommend a policy termed the Long Beach Values Act. The act would expand on protections outlined in Senate Bill 54—sanctuary state legislation that has been sent to Gov. Jerry Brown (D) for consideration. The proposed policy was introduced by Councilwoman Lena Gonzalez and includes protections for local students covered under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, an examination of partnerships with Los Angeles County for a local legal defense fund, and the prevention of further deportations of local immigrants. The dissenting vote was cast by Councilwoman Stacy Mungo who cited concern that the item did not go through the proper review channels prior to its approval. The proposal will return to the city council in November 2017 for further consideration. Long Beach is the seventh-largest city in California and the 36th-largest city in the U.S. by population.
    • In 2017, Ballotpedia has followed sanctuary policy preemption conflicts between the federal and local governments. For more information about this coverage, please click here.

Los Angeles County investigates school district enrollment practices

  • The Los Angeles County Office of Education launched an investigation into the enrollment practices of the Lennox School District’s Virtual Academy. Lennox is a small public school district located near the Los Angeles International Airport, serving about 5,000 students during the 2017-2018 school year. In particular, the investigation and a simultaneous financial audit, will focus on the Lennox Virtual Academy’s relationship with several parochial schools. The Los Angeles Times found that Lennox paid at least four Catholic schools a monthly fee of $165 per student in exchange for those schools enrolling their students in the district’s virtual academy. The students were also provided with free Chromebook laptops. According to The Times, Lennox has faced decreasing student enrollment over the previous decade and the arrangement with these parochial schools helped provide an increase in enrollment-based state funding for the public school district. In the spring of 2017, local parents raised questions about whether this arrangement violated California’s interpretation of the separation of church and state. Additional questions were raised about whether the public school district could legally claim state money for students who were attending Catholic schools full-time. Lennox district spokesman David Dean said the district would fully cooperate with the inquiry, which he said “will confirm the legitimacy of our program.” Lennox Superintendent Kent Taylor defended the partnerships, saying the online school was only one of several initiatives launched to reverse the district’s declining enrollment. Los Angeles County is the largest county in the U.S. by population with roughly 10,020,000 residents in 2013, according the U.S. Census Bureau.

Thursday, September 21

Mayor gains endorsement in Minneapolis race, loses half a dozen staff

  • Minnesota Lt. Gov. Tina Smith (D) endorsed Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges (D) in her bid for re-election. First elected in 2013, Hodges faces a field of 15 candidates, including state Rep. Raymond Dehn (D), Councilman Jacob Frey (D), and former Minneapolis NAACP president Nekima Levy-Pounds (D) in the general election scheduled on November 7, 2017. In the same week, Hodges’ campaign also saw a shake-up as six staffers resigned from her campaign. First reported by City Pages, the departures from her staff included communications director Alida Tieberg and senior advisor Jim Niland. Current communications director Alex West Steinman posted a statement about the staffing changes to Hodges' official campaign Facebook page on Wednesday. "We have had several staff leave who came on early in the campaign process, and we're happy that they stayed through the summer," she said. "We're grateful for all the work they did for the campaign. Now that we're in the home stretch, we are fully-staffed, and we have an experienced team in place." Minneapolis is the largest city in Minnesota and the 46th-largest city in the U.S. by population.
    • In addition to the mayor, Minneapolitans will elect representatives to all 13 seats on the city council, all nine seats on the city's park and recreation board, and both elected seats on the board of estimate and taxation in the general election on November 7, 2017.
    • Minneapolis uses ranked-choice voting (also known as instant runoff voting) for municipal elections. Click here to learn more about how an RCV system works.

San Diego officials struggle to contain deadly hepatitis A outbreak

  • San Diego officials are combating a hepatitis A outbreak, which has left 16 people dead and more than 300 people hospitalized in 2017. Since 2000, four grand jury reports released to the city have emphasized the growing risk of human waste on city streets connected to a shortage of toilets available for use by the city’s homeless population. One such report, filed in 2010, warned that an outbreak of illness caused by unsanitary conditions could become a liability to the city. Each of the four reports requested more all-hours public restrooms or street cleaning regimen improvements within San Diego to shield citizens from exposure to human waste. Currently, San Diego offers 21 public restroom facilities, with two added earlier this month in response to one of the grand jury reports. Responses to grand jury reports released in 2005 and 2015 cited security and budget concerns as hurdles to building new restrooms, with annual operating estimates ranging from $65,000 to $400,000. Corporate sponsorship for the new facilities was explored to help lessen the financial challenges to the city, but past city manager Ronne Froman argued businesses would not be interested in associating their brand identity with public restrooms. Since November 2016, San Diego has reported 444 hepatitis A cases, which is as many cases as the combined total reported by California, New York, and Texas in 2015. San Diego is the second-largest city in California and the eighth-largest city in the U.S. by population.
WHAT'S ON TAP NEXT WEEK

Here's what is happening in state and local politics this week. To see what happened in federal politics, click here.

State Politics: What's On Tap Next Week

Monday, September 25

Oklahoma State Legislature will meet in a special session to address $215 million budget shortfall

  • On September 15, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin (R) called the Oklahoma State Legislature into a special session starting September 25 to address a $215 million budget shortfall. The budget gap was caused by an Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling that struck down a $1.50 fee that the legislature had imposed on cigarette purchases. In her call for the special session, Gov. Fallin listed a number of issues the legislature could address in addition to the budget shortfall, including:* Clarifying that the state’s 1.25 percent sales tax on vehicles does not apply to the trucking industry.
  • Increasing pay for the public-school teachers.
  • Addressing consolidation in state government.
  • Addressing long-term deficits in the state budget.
  • The cigarette fee passed the legislature on May 26, the last day of the 2017 legislative session. The fee was contained in Senate Bill 845 (SB 845), which passed the state Senate by a 28-18 vote and the state House by a 51-43 vote. On August 10, the state Supreme Court ruled that the fee was unconstitutional because it was actually a tax, which are subject to more constitutional restrictions than fees in Oklahoma.
  • The Oklahoma Constitution requires that tax bills originate in the House of Representatives and that they are either approved by a majority of voters during the next statewide election or they receive a three-fourths vote from the legislature, which is 36 votes in the state Senate and 76 in the state House. The Oklahoma Constitution also prevents tax bills from being passed during the last five days of a legislative session. SB 845 violated all three of these conditions as it originated in the state Senate, did not receive a three-fourths vote, and was passed less than five days before the end of the session.
  • Republicans currently hold a 72-27 advantage in the state House with two vacancies and a 39-7 advantage in the state Senate with two vacancies. Seven state legislative special elections have been called in Oklahoma in 2017 and four have been held. In three of the four special elections, the vacant seat has flipped from Republican to Democratic control. The remaining three special elections are scheduled for November 14, 2017.
  • Oklahoma is one of 26 Republican trifectas.

Tuesday, September 26

Florida state legislative special elections going forward despite disruption from Hurricane Irma

  • The special election to fill the Miami-area Florida State Senate District 40 seat will be held on September 26, as planned, despite calls from state Democratic leaders to delay the election due to the impact of Hurricane Irma on Miami-Dade County. On September 13, Florida Democratic Party Chairman Stephen Bittel asked Gov. Rick Scott (R) to delay the election for two weeks due to power outages from the hurricane. Gov. Scott declined to delay the election, saying he was following the recommendation of the Miami-Dade County supervisor of elections.
  • The special election features businesswoman Annette Taddeo (D), House District 116 Rep. Jose Felix Diaz (R), and independent Christian “He Man” Schlaerth. Taddeo and Diaz won their respective partisan primaries on July 25, with each defeating former Florida state legislators to win the nominations. As of September 19, 2017, Ballotpedia had tracked over $3.7 million in spending on the race. Taddeo’s campaign had spent over $160,000. Diaz’s campaign had spent nearly $850,000 and his political committee Rebuild Florida had spent over $1.5 million.
  • Politicians with national profiles have endorsed Taddeo and Diaz. Taddeo has received endorsements from former Vice President Joe Biden (D) and former Maryland Governor and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Martin O’Malley (D). Diaz received the endorsement of Florida Senator and 2016 Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio (R). Moreover, national organizations that aim to elect Democrats and Republicans at the state level have invested in the race. The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee contributed $150,000 to support Taddeo, while the Republican State Leadership Committee contributed $100,000 to support Diaz.
  • Both candidates have been targeted by campaign advertisements. Taddeo released a television advertisement connecting Diaz to President Donald Trump (R) and congressional Republicans’ efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. The Florida Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee released a Spanish-language radio advertisement that was critical of Taddeo. Among other things, the advertisement criticized the Colombian native Taddeo’s support for a peace agreement between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
  • District 40 was previously held by Republican Frank Artiles, who resigned following an incident where he used racial slurs in front of two black state senators. Following his resignation, the Republican advantage in the state Senate dropped to 24-15. Although it elected Artiles in 2016, District 40 voted for Hillary Clinton (D) over Donald Trump by 17 points. This race could serve as a bellwether for the Florida State Senate 2018 elections, where Republicans are defending at least 14 of the 20 seats up for election.
  • A special election to fill Florida House of Representatives District 116 is also occurring on September 26. It will feature Republican Daniel Anthony Perez and Democrat Gabriela Mayaudon. The seat will become vacant following Jose Felix Diaz's resignation, which is also scheduled on September 26. To comply with Florida's resign-to-run law, Diaz made it so that his resignation will be effective on the day of the September 26 election. Diaz has represented the district since 2010.
  • The outcome of the District 116 race will not affect the partisan breakdown of the state House, which is currently at a 76-41 Republican advantage. After September 26, there are two more Florida state House special elections scheduled in 2017 and one scheduled in 2018.
  • Florida is one of 26 Republican trifectas.

Special election to be held to fill a vacant Republican seat in the New Hampshire House

  • A special election will be held to fill a vacant seat in the Rockingham 4 district in the New Hampshire House of Representatives. Kari Lerner (D), former state Rep. James Headd (R), and James Jarvis (L) will face off in the special election.
  • The seat became vacant on May 6, 2017, after William Polewarczyk (R) died from cancer. Polewarczyk was re-elected to one of the district's five seats in 2016 with 12 percent of the vote. Five Republicans were elected to the district in 2016.
  • New Hampshire is one of 26 Republican state government trifectas. With six vacancies and one member not yet sworn in, Republicans hold a 220-170 majority in the state House. There are also three Libertarians in the chamber. Republicans have a 14-10 majority in the state Senate. Governor Chris Sununu (R) was elected to a two-year term in 2016.
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Local Politics: What's On Tap Next Week

Tuesday, September 26

Mayor Walsh seeking second term in Boston

  • The city of Boston will hold primary elections for mayor and four of the 13 city council seats. Mayor Martin Walsh is running for re-election to a second term. He faces challengers Robert Cappucci, City Councilman Tito Jackson, and Joseph Wiley. According to polls conducted in June and September, over 50 percent of respondents favored Mayor Walsh, while about 20 percent chose Councilman Jackson. While all 13 city council seats are up for election in 2017, primary elections will only be held in Districts 1, 2, 7, and 9 because more than two candidates filed to run for each of those positions. In the most competitive city council race, 13 candidates are running to replace Councilman Jackson in District 7. The incumbents of Districts 3, 4, 5, and 6 are running unopposed. In both the mayoral and city council races, the two candidates who receive the most votes will advance to the general election on November 7, 2017. Boston is the largest city in Massachusetts and the 24th-largest city in the U.S. by population.

Write-in candidate could fill school board seat in Lawrence primary election

  • Lawrence Public Schools in Massachusetts will hold a primary election for all seven seats on its school committee. One of those seats is held by the mayor of Lawrence, and the other six seats are held by members elected by district. The District A, B, and E seats attracted two candidates each, and the District C and D seats attracted one candidate each. No candidates filed to run for the District F seat. Despite the lack of opposition for some of the seats, all six regular school committee seats will appear on the primary election ballot. Unless they are defeated by write-in candidates, every candidate will advance to the general election ballot. If a write-in candidate receives at least 50 votes in the general election for the District F seat, that candidate will be elected to the board. If no write-in candidate meets that threshold, the city will appoint a new member to that seat after the election. Lawrence Public Schools is the seventh-largest school district in Massachusetts and served 13,889 students during the 2014-2015 school year—approximately 1.5 percent of all public school students in the state.


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The Tap covered election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events from February 2016 to February 2022.

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