The Tap: Thursday, October 20, 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 #39 of The Tap, which was published on October 22, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

• At a campaign event in Ohio, Donald Trump said he would accept the results of the November 8 election if he wins. “I would like to promise and pledge to all of my voters and supporters and to all of the people of the United States that I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election – if I win,” said Trump. He went on to add, “If Al Gore and George Bush had agreed three weeks before the election to concede the results and waive their right to a legal challenge or a recount, then there would be no Supreme Court case. I’m being asked to waive centuries of legal precedent designed to protect the voters. … Of course I would accept a clear election result, but I would also reserve my right to contest or file a legal challenge in the case of a questionable result. … I will follow and abide by all of the rules and traditions of all of the many candidates who have come before me.” At the third presidential debate on Wednesday, when asked if he would accept the election's results, Trump said, “I will tell you at the time, I will keep you in suspense.”
• Trump’s campaign spent $70 million in September, according to a report from The Washington Post. In August, his campaign spent $30 million. He had 168 paid staff, which is an uptick from August, when he had 131 paid staff. Trump spent roughly $20 million on digital consulting and online ads, $23 million on tv ads, and $5 million on voter data. Trump entered October with $34.7 million cash on hand.
• In September, the Clinton campaign spent $66 million on advertising, nearly triple the amount the Trump campaign did. In total, her campaign and two joint fundraising committees spent $95 million. Clinton started October with $59 million cash on hand.
  • See also: Presidential campaign fundraising, 2008-2016
• Trump national political director Jim Murphy distanced himself from the Trump campaign but did not resign. He told Politico, "I have not resigned but for personal reasons have had to take a step back from the campaign." Murphy did not elaborate.
• Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump attended the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, helping to raise a record $6 million for Catholic charities providing services to children in New York. The dinner, which has become a tradition in presidential politics over the past five decades, brings the two major party candidates together one final time before the election to crack lighthearted jokes about each other and themselves. Although both candidates' speeches were initially met with laughter, Trump was booed for saying that Clinton was "pretending not to hate Catholics" at the event, based on one of the email exchanges released by WikiLeaks, and accusing Clinton of being "corrupt." Clinton joked about Trump accepting the "peaceful transition of power" between their speeches and rating the Statue of Liberty a four.
• Ballotpedia held a webinar on healthcare policy conflicts and the 2016 elections. View the recording here.

State

• Bob Friedman, a member of the Committee to Save Jefferson County, filed a lawsuit in Montgomery County Circuit Court requesting that Alabama Amendment 14 be removed from the ballot. Friedman argued that the amendment might overturn a previous judge’s ruling that stopped a Jefferson County sales tax plan. If approved by voters, the amendment would guarantee the application of budget isolation resolutions (BIRs) to local Alabama laws passed prior to November 8, 2016. Specifically, the amendment would ensure legitimacy for the three-fifths majority of those “present and voting” method of passing BIRs—a method that was used to vote for the Jefferson County sales tax plan. A judge stopped the plan because it was passed via this “present and voting” BIR procedure rather than three-fifths of all legislators present. The lawsuit identifies Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill (R) and six state legislators as defendants, and a hearing was scheduled for October 25, 2016, to consider a temporary restraining order and the removal of Amendment 14 from the ballot.
• Ballotpedia held a webinar on healthcare policy conflicts and the 2016 elections. View the recording here.

Local

• The Chicago Teacher’s Union (CTU) House of Delegates endorsed a contract proposed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D). The revised contract was presented to the CTU on October 10, 2016, just one day before a planned teacher strike. After more than one year of failed negotiations, a tentative agreement was finally reached between the powerful teachers union and city leadership. If approved, the contract may close another difficult chapter for the embattled Chicago Public Schools (CPS). A final vote on the contract will be held on October 27 and 28, 2016. Support from a simple majority of the 20,000 union members is needed to adopt the contract. "I do think it'll pass, I think there's enough in this tentative agreement that will appeal to the overwhelming majority of our members,” said Karen Lewis, president of the CTU. The four-year contract includes several provisions the union previously requested:
  • CPS will continue to pick up the bulk of contributions to active teacher pensions.
  • Veteran union members will receive a cash bonus if they resign or retire prior to the 2017-2018 school year.
  • K-2 teachers with more than 32 students in their classrooms will be eligible to receive an instructional assistant.

While teachers wouldn’t be eligible for cost-of-living raises for the first two years of the proposed contract, 2 percent and 2.5 percent pay raises would be given in each of the final two years. During the first year of the contract, teachers would also be eligible for other raises based on experience. Chicago is the largest city in Illinois and the third-largest city in the U.S. by population.

Preview of the day

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #38 of The Tap, which was published on October 15, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

• Join Ballotpedia's heathcare policy conflicts webinar as our expert reviews the healthcare issue that has risen to prominence during the 2016 election cycle: prescription drug prices. We will also review how at the state level, legislatures are still debating whether and how to expand their Medicaid programs as provided for under Obamacare. Register to learn how the debate over Obamacare has continued through 2016 and has been fueled by a series of co-op failures, major insurer exits, and premium rate increases.

• U.S. Senate Election in Ohio: Sen. Rob Portman (R) and former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland (D) will debate in one of Ballotpedia’s races to watch. The debate will be sponsored by the Cleveland City Club and Scripps ABC. It can be viewed on multiple stations and websites at 7 p.m. EDT.
  • See also: United States Senate election in Ohio, 2016