The Tap: Friday, October 7, 2016

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

Review of the day

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #37 of The Tap, which was published on October 8, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

• Super PACs Planned Parenthood Votes and Priorities USA Action will launch a 30-second digital ad next week targeting Donald Trump’s stance on abortion. The ad opens with a comment made by Trump during the primaries in which he suggested that “there has to be some form of punishment” for women who have abortions. The ad then shows text on the screen that reads “Donald Trump wants: Roe v. Wade overturned, abortion banned, Planned Parenthood defunded.” The ad concludes by stating, “Donald Trump is too dangerous for women.” The ad is the first joint effort of the 2016 general election season by Planned Parenthood Votes and Priorities USA Action, the main super PAC backing Hillary Clinton. It will run on Facebook and Instagram in three key battleground states: North Carolina, Nevada, and Pennsylvania.
  • See also: 2016 presidential candidates on abortion

• NBC News reports that Democrats entered into the general election season with a five-to-one “paid staff advantage” over Republicans in the presidential race. The report says that at the end of August, “Democrats employed at least 4,200 people working to elect Hillary Clinton.” This included 800 with the Clinton campaign, 400 with the Democratic National Committee, and 3,000 in state parties. At that same time, Republicans had about 880 paid staff working on behalf of Donald Trump. This included 130 with the Trump campaign, 270 with the Republican National Committee, and 480 in state parties. The report was based on an analysis of FEC filings.

• The Washington Post obtained audio and video of Donald Trump having an “extremely lewd” conversation about women in 2005. For details, see the full story. Trump released a statement in response, saying, “This was locker room banter, a private conversation that took place many years ago. Bill Clinton has said far worse to me on the golf course - not even close. I apologize if anyone was offended.”

• The Trump campaign cancelled more than $1.6 million in ad buys in seven key battleground states: Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Iowa, and Colorado. According to Politico, “The ad cancellations cover the period that begins next Tuesday, and mostly represent smaller markets in the various states.” Trump campaign spokesperson Jason Miller tweeted, “A few media buying updates on our increased media spend, which is growing by an extra $1M. State-by-state levels remain roughly same… Our data-driven campaign is shifting resources from over-performing markets to new battlegrounds w/in the battlegrounds. Buy is growing.”

• Secretary of State John Kerry called for a war crimes investigation of Russia and Syria for their attacks on Syrian civilians. According to the Associated Press, “Kerry said Syrian forces hit a hospital overnight, killing 20 people and wounding 100, describing what would be the latest strike by Moscow or its ally in Damascus on a civilian target.” Kerry said to reporters, "Russia and the regime owe the world more than an explanation about why they keep hitting hospitals, and medical facilities, and women and children.” He added that Russia’s and Syria’s actions "beg for an appropriate investigation of war crimes. They are beyond the accidental now, way beyond." He also accused the two countries of having a strategy to "terrorize civilians."

• WikiLeaks released alleged excerpts of Hillary Clinton's paid Wall Street speeches obtained from an email exchange between Clinton's advisors. In one excerpt flagged as potentially damaging, Clinton discussed the middle class: "My father loved to complain about big business and big government, but we had a solid middle class upbringing. We had good public schools. We had accessible health care. We had our little, you know, one-family house that, you know, he saved up his money, didn't believe in mortgages. So I lived that. And now, obviously, I'm kind of far removed because the life I've lived and the economic, you know, fortunes that my husband and I now enjoy, but I haven't forgotten it." In another excerpt from a 2013 speech, Clinton commented on trade, "My dream is a hemispheric common market, with open trade and open borders, some time in the future with energy that is as green and sustainable as we can get it, powering growth and opportunity for every person in the hemisphere."
  • See also: 2016 presidential candidates on Wall Street and banking policy

State

• Superior Court Judge Andrew Guidi overturned primary election results for Alaska State House District 40, declaring incumbent Ben Nageak (D) the winner pending an appeal with the state’s Supreme Court. After a tight primary election that saw Nageak defeated by challenger Dean Westlake by eight votes, Nageak filed a suit to challenge the result, alleging a number of “voting irregularities” on the day of the primary. Nageak’s complaints included accusations that some polling places had insufficient numbers of poll workers and a “disproportionate number of ballots cast by special needs voters.” Judge Guidi said that, in most cases, these accusations were not legitimate, but acknowledged that in the city of Shungnak, 51 voters were given both a Republican and Democratic ballot. Alaska’s state election law states that a voter may only cast one ballot, which led Guidi to determine that this precinct committed election malconduct. Poll workers in Shungnak also did not attend election training. Guidi went on to say that, because Shungnak is close to Westlake’s home of Kotzebue, poll workers either knowingly or “recklessly” disregarded the law. After making the decision that these ballots were not legitimate, Guidi used an Alaska Supreme Court precedent case to reallocate the votes. Guidi’s tally showed Nageak winning by two votes. This case will proceed onto the Alaska Supreme Court for a decision due by October 14, 2016, when absentee ballots are scheduled to be sent to voters.
  • District 40’s results are notable because it is considered a rural district. In Alaskan politics, rural Democrats typically caucus with the Republican majority in the legislature. Nageak is a member of the Republican caucus, while his primary opponent, Westlake, was backed by the Alaska Democratic Party. The Alaska House is currently in Republican control and is not likely to flip to Democratic control.
• Florida State Representative Reggie Fullwood (D-13) pleaded guilty to one charge of wire fraud and one charge of failure to file an income tax return and officially filed to end his re-election bid. Fullwood was indicted on 14 charges in April 2016 and originally pleaded not guilty to all charges. In the indictment, Fullwood was accused of transferring money from campaign finances into the account of one of his businesses. That money was then allegedly used on personal expenses. Through this plea, Fullwood and prosecutors avoided the trial originally scheduled for October 11, 2016. Under the charges, Fullwood could face a maximum of 21 years in prison, but will likely face a reduced sentence as part of the plea arrangement. According to the Duval County supervisor of elections, Fullwood’s name may still appear on ballots, but voters will be instructed that their vote will go to the Democratic replacement. This replacement has not yet been announced.
  • President Obama (D) won 67 percent of the vote in Fullwood’s district in both 2008 and 2012, indicating that the district is largely Democratic and will likely remain under Democratic control. Mark Griffin is the Republican candidate for District 13. The Florida House is safely under Republican control, with 81 seats total to the Democrats’ 38. So, even if Fullwood’s seat goes to Griffin in November, the political landscape of the state will be essentially unchanged. The state of Florida is currently under a Republican trifecta, having control of the House, the Senate, and the governor’s mansion.

Local

• In Philadelphia, ridesharing companies Uber and Lyft continued to operate after receiving a cease and desist order. The injunction was issued by court of common pleas Judge Linda Carpenter on October 6 and took effect immediately. If the companies continue to operate, they may be held in contempt of court. Uber spokesman Craig Ewer said that the company was reviewing the judge’s order before taking action. The companies released a joint statement noting that the injunction was issued in response to a lawsuit filed against the Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA) in which neither Uber nor Lyft were named. The companies had been operating under temporary authorization granted by the Pennsylvania General Assembly ahead of the Democratic National Convention held in Philadelphia in July 2016. That authorization expired on October 1, 2016, and the PPA announced that it would treat Uber and Lyft as illegal car services beginning on October 6, 2016. Ridesharing companies operate legally elsewhere in the state under authorization from the Pennsylvania Public Utility, which controls private car service in all parts of Pennsylvania except Philadelphia. That authorization will expire at the end of 2016. Unless the state legislature acts to reauthorize Uber and Lyft’s operations before its session ends on November 8, 2016, the companies will continue to be illegal in Philadelphia. Philadelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania and the fifth-largest city in the U.S. by population.
  • Several events preceded the court order:
    • Uber and Lyft began operating in Philadelphia in 2014. The PPA sought to regulate the services and used sting operations to catch ridesharing service drivers. The companies continued to operate in the city as an unregulated and illegal industry.
    • In July 2016, a temporary bill was signed by Gov. Tom Wolf (D) that authorized a 90-day legal period of operation for Uber and Lyft in Philadelphia. The bill gave the PPA regulatory oversight of the companies during the three-month period surrounding the Democratic National Convention.
    • Ron Blount, president of the Taxi Workers Alliance of Philadelphia, and others, filed a lawsuit against the PPA in response to the bill. The suit stated that the PPA failed to provide equal protection to all providers of car services. The suit also stated that the strict regulations on taxi drivers made it impossible to compete with the less-regulated ridesharing services and that cab owner revenue had dropped by 50 percent since 2015.
    • On September 28, 2016, the PPA’s director Vince Fenerty resigned amid allegations of sexual harassment. Members of the Philadelphia City Council ordered a review of all of the PPA’s operations.
    • On October 5, 2016, the PPA announced the adoption of relaxed regulations for taxi drivers in response to the lawsuit. The regulatory changes include loosening some inspection requirements on taxis, dropping the requirement for a two-way radio in each taxi, and removing shields between passengers and drivers if a camera is installed in the vehicle. Blount responded to these changes saying, “I would say we’re halfway there now. For the taxicabs there’s some relief.”

Preview of the day

There were no items for this day in issue #36 of The Tap, which was published on October 1, 2016. See the "Review of the day" tab for more information.