The Tap: Monday, August 8, 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 #29 of The Tap, which was published on August 13, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

  • Fifty Republican senior national security officials released a joint statement charging that Donald Trump “fundamentally...lacks the character, values, and experience” to be commander-in-chief. They continued, “He is unable or unwilling to separate truth from falsehood. He does not encourage conflicting views. He lacks self-control and acts impetuously. He cannot tolerate personal criticism. He has alarmed our closest allies with his erratic behavior.” While they also expressed reservations about Hillary Clinton, they concluded that Trump “is not the answer to America’s daunting challenges and to this crucial election.”
  • Former Michigan Gov. William Milliken (R) endorsed Hillary Clinton. “This nation has long prided itself on its abiding commitments to tolerance, civility and equality. We face a critically important choice in this year's presidential election that will define whether we maintain our commitment to those ideals or embark on a path that has doomed other governments and nations throughout history,” he said in a statement.
  • U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) published an op-ed in The Washington Post declaring that she would not vote for Trump in November. “With the passage of time, I have become increasingly dismayed by his constant stream of cruel comments and his inability to admit error or apologize. But it was his attacks directed at people who could not respond on an equal footing — either because they do not share his power or stature or because professional responsibility precluded them from engaging at such a level — that revealed Mr. Trump as unworthy of being our president,” she wrote. Collins cited his apparent mocking of a reporter with disabilities, questioning of federal Judge Gonzalo Curiel’s ability to preside over a Trump University lawsuit fairly because of his Mexican heritage, and dispute with the Khan military family as causes for concern.
  • Freedom Watch USA’s Larry Klayman filed a lawsuit in federal court against Hillary Clinton on behalf of Patricia Smith and Tyrone Woods for wrongful death, defamation, and the intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress resulting from the death of their sons in the 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi. "Having used a secret private email server that we now know was used to communicate with Ambassador Christopher Stevens with confidential and classified government information, and which we also now know was likely hacked by hostile adversaries such as Iran, Russia, China and North Korea aligning with terrorist groups, it is clear that Hillary Clinton allegedly negligently and recklessly gave up the classified location of the plaintiffs' sons, resulting in a deadly terrorist attack that took their lives,” Klayman said in a statement.

State

  • Legislative referral deadline: New Jersey
    • The New Jersey Public Worker Pension Plan Amendment will not be on the November 8, 2016, ballot. The New Jersey Senate did not vote on the amendment by the deadline. The amendment would have outlined a new public pension payment plan that would have required the state to pay toward pensions four times per year rather than annually. Starting in the 2018 fiscal year, the state would have had to contribute $2.4 billion, and that amount would have been raised to $5.5 billion by 2020.


  • Oklahoma State Questions 780 and 781 were given approval by the Oklahoma Supreme Court to be placed on the November ballot. On June 9, 2016, Oklahoma Secretary of State Scott Pruitt reworded the original ballot title. Supporters filed a request to the Oklahoma Supreme Court asking it to reject the revised ballot title wording because, they said, it contained biased language in opposition to the measure. The court ruled that both the original and revised ballot title wording were biased and gave both measures new titles, which can be read here and here. State Question 780 would reclassify certain property offenses and simple drug possession as misdemeanor crimes. State Question 781 would use money saved from reclassifying certain property and drug crimes as misdemeanors, as outlined in State Question 780, to fund rehabilitative programs. These two measures join five others that have already been certified for the Oklahoma ballot: State Questions 776, 777, 779, 790, and 792.
  • The University of Wisconsin System (UW) is expected to request lawmakers lift the tuition cap and increase funding. Governor Scott Walker had previously announced plans to extend the tuition cap for another two years and warned the UW, among other state agencies, to not expect increased funding in the 2017-2019 budget. UW President Ray Cross has asked for $42.5 million in additional funding, which he said would be used to increase advising services and fund programs to help students get degrees faster.

Local

  • Chicago Public Schools (CPS) officials proposed a $5.4 billion operating budget aimed at closing a $300 million shortfall. The proposed budget includes increased property taxes, personnel cuts, and updated contracts with labor unions employed by the school district. According to Forrest Claypool, the CPS chief executive officer, the budget is $232 million less than the budget adopted for the 2015-2016 school year. The CPS budget would offer gradual pay increases for teachers and phase out district payments into Chicago Teacher Union (CTU) pension and insurance funds. A similar proposal in January 2016 drew strong opposition from the CTU. “If it didn’t fly in January, why would they think it (will) fly now,” said CTU President Karen Lewis. “We will not accept an imposed pay cut,” Lewis added. Claypool said that the budget is contingent on Illinois state lawmakers reaching a pension reform compromise. "The reason they agreed to do (pension relief) was to protect Chicago Public Schools classrooms, which would be cut significantly if we were not able to get that first step toward pension parity." The CPS Board of Education is expected to vote on the budget on August 24, 2016. Chicago Public Schools is the largest school district in Illinois and the third-largest school district in the United States. It served 396,641 students during the 2013-2014 school year—19.2 percent of all Illinois public school students.
    • July 27: The CPS Board of Education authorized a $250,000 payment to a law firm for work on a lawsuit during 2016. Claypool described this lawsuit as “in deep freeze.” According to Claypool, the law firm Jenner and Block was hired earlier in 2016 to potentially file a civil rights lawsuit on behalf of CPS against what Claypool described as “a racially discriminatory state funding system.” Ronald Marmer, the general counsel for CPS, was previously employed by Jenner and Block. He was appointed to his position as CPS general counsel by the school board in October 2015. On August 8, Chicago Board of Education Inspector General Nicholas Schuler announced that he was investigating the relationship between the CPS school board and Jenner and Block. Because Marmer was formerly employed with the law firm, Schuler expressed concern that the relationship may constitute a breach of the school board’s ethics policy.
    • June 30: Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) signed a six-month stopgap budget into law after the budget cleared the Illinois State Legislature with bipartisan support. Rauner and Illinois Democrats had been unable to pass a budget due to controversy surrounding Chicago Public Schools. The school district has struggled to remain solvent and requested additional state aid. Rauner publicly opposed funding a bailout of Chicago Public Schools, while state Democrats supported additional funding. The adopted budget guaranteed that public elementary and secondary schools in Illinois would receive state aid funding for the entire 2016-2017 school year. The budget included $100 million in low-income student funding earmarked for Chicago Public Schools. The state of Illinois would also contribute roughly $200 million dollars per year to the Chicago Public Schools pension fund under the budget’s provisions. Rauner and Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan (D) expressed displeasure at the failure to reach a full budget agreement and hoped that the stopgap budget would lead into long-term budget reform discussions.
    • June 1: Claypool announced that the district would not open for the 2016-2017 school year if the state legislature failed to pass education funding. Illinois’ budget was a point of contention most of the year, with Gov. Rauner at odds with the Democrat-controlled legislature. Rauner indicated he would sign a stop-gap bill intended to fund the city’s public schools. Claypool noted that the school district had “no ability to access capital markets” due to its junk credit rating and that its financial reserves were insufficient to cover operational expenses.
  • FILING DEADLINE: Deadline passed to file in retention elections for local judicial offices in Colorado. The election will be held on November 8, 2016. In these elections, judges do not compete against other candidates, but voters are given a "yes" or "no" choice whether to keep the judge in office for another term. The judge must receive a majority of "yes" votes to remain in office. Judges face their first retention at the next general election occurring at least two years after their appointment. Subsequent terms last for 10 years.
  • Minnesota held primary elections for two district court judgeships in District 3. The two races were the only races across the state to have more than two candidates file. The general election will be held on November 8, 2016. Both of these races featured an incumbent facing off against two challengers. In the primary race for Position 16, incumbent Carmaine Sturino and candidate Timothy Guth will advance to the general election. In the race for Position 17, incumbent Terrence M. Walters and candidate David McLeod will advance to the general election. In total, seven of the 97 races on the ballot will have a contested general election in November.
  • Minnesota held primary elections for nine school board seats across three of the state’s largest school districts, as measured by student enrollment.
    • Elk River Area School District: Three at-large school board seats were up for primary election because the number of candidate filings was more than double the number of seats up for election. In total, seven candidates filed in the race. Incumbent Holly Thompson and five challengers will advance to the general election on November 8, 2016. A fourth seat was up for special election because the incumbent resigned before the seat’s four-year term expired. Candidate Gregg Peppin defeated two fellow candidates to win the seat. Elk River is the fifth-largest school district in the state and served 13,139 students during the 2013-2014 school year—1.5 percent of all Minnesota public school students.
    • Rochester Public Schools: One seat was up for primary election because the number of candidate filings was more than double the number of seats up for election. In total, three candidates filed in the race. Seat 3 incumbent Deborah Seelinger and challenger Bobbie Gallas will advance to the general election on November 8, 2016. Rochester is the fourth-largest school district in the state and served 16,761 during the 2013-2014 school year—1.9 of all Minnesota public school students.
    • St. Cloud Area School District: Four seats were up for primary election because the number of candidate filings was more than double the number of seats up for election. In total, nine candidates filed in the race. Incumbent Al Dahlgren faced eight challengers. Dahlgren and seven of the challengers will advance to the general election on November 8, 2016. St. Cloud is the ninth-largest school district in the state and served 10,051 during the 2013-2014 school year——1.2 percent of all Minnesota public school students.
  • Two school board members in the South Conejos School District in Colorado were recalled. In District A, board member Melton Ruybal was recalled by 70 percent of the vote. Rod Ruybalid was chosen as Ruybal’s successor. In District C, Phillip Trujillo was recalled by 66.5 percent of the votes. Eufemia “Femy” Martinez was chosen as his successor. Ruybal and Trujillo were first elected to their seats in August 2015. Supporters of the recall collected 330 signatures in favor of the recall, more than the 228 required to move the effort forward. In 2016, Ballotpedia has covered 30 school board recalls across the United States.
  • FILING DEADLINE: Deadline passed to file in the general election for 36 school board seats in 12 of Kentucky’s largest school districts by enrollment. The election will be held on November 8, 2016. These districts served 272,080 students during the 2013-2014 school year, which is 39.7 percent of all Kentucky public school students.

Preview of the day

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #28 of The Tap, which was published on August 6, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

State

  • Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane (D) is scheduled to stand trial on criminal charges including perjury, obstruction of justice, and contempt of court. Kane was indicted on August 6, 2015, after an investigation into allegations that she leaked information protected by grand jury secrecy laws to the Philadelphia Daily News, which she has repeatedly denied. Kane's law license was suspended in October 2015; the attorney general has resisted calls from state officials to step down and has declined to seek re-election in 2016. On August 1, Kane's attorneys petitioned the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to exercise its "King's Bench power," also known as the power of extraordinary jurisdiction, to consider throwing out the charges against her. The court has yet to announce whether it will consider hearing the case.

Local

  • FILING DEADLINE: Deadline to file in retention elections for local judicial offices in Colorado. The election will be held on November 8, 2016. In these elections, judges do not compete against another candidate, but voters are given a "yes" or "no" choice whether to keep the judge in office for another term. The judge must receive a majority of "yes" votes to remain in office. Judges face their first retention at the next general election occurring at least two years after their appointment. Subsequent terms last for 10 years.



The Tap covered election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events from February 2016 to February 2022.
March: 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
April: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30
May: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
June: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30
July: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
August: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
September: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30
October: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7• 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
November: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30
December: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 31
January: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
February: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17
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