THE CAPITOL BRIEF
Top Stories
Los Angeles Councilmember Nithya Raman held a widening lead over Mayor Karen Bass in the race for mayor of Los Angeles on Wednesday evening, leading by about 26,000 votes as more ballots were counted, with Raman and Bass allies alike expecting the lead to hold even before the race is called.
Raman, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, drew support from younger, more progressive voters, whose ballots counted after Election Day have favored her by wide margins in recent polls, while the city political establishment had rallied around Bass despite her unpopularity with voters.
Kurt Petersen, co-president of the hospitality union UNITE Here Local 11, one of the few major labor groups to back Raman, described the result as a restructuring of city politics and said the political class was absent at the Raman party because they were all with the incumbent.
Source: Politico California
Governor-elect Xavier Becerra will take office with few political debts after his decisive Tuesday night victory over Republican Steve Hilton in the race to succeed termed-out Governor Gavin Newsom, though he has dropped few hints about what will define his agenda.
Becerra told supporters at his campaign party in West Sacramento that his mission is to deliver a California residents can afford and defend a California they cannot afford to lose, and that voters want government that works and delivers basic services on time and on budget.
He plans to declare a housing emergency and speed up construction, will take up the question of who is financially responsible when megafires burn, and wants no disruptions to Medi-Cal coverage as as much as $30 billion in federal cuts loom.
Lobbyists, lawmakers and interest group leaders will watch his first budget proposal, due days after he takes office on January 4, for hints about his agenda. Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, a Becerra ally, said he has had ongoing conversations with Becerra throughout the campaign and that the Assembly has been focused on affordability.
Source: Los Angeles Times
San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan conceded California's 11th Congressional District race to state Senator Scott Wiener late Wednesday, November 4, ending the contest to succeed retiring Representative Nancy Pelosi, who had endorsed Chan.
Chan said that after reviewing the results and the ballots remaining to be counted, she expected the margin to narrow significantly but did not have a clear path to victory, and she congratulated Wiener and wished him success in serving San Francisco. Wiener had declared victory Tuesday night.
Wiener, elected to the state Senate in 2016 after serving on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from 2011 to 2016, is known in the Capitol for housing and public transportation legislation and has authored more than 100 bills signed into law.
In the June election, Wiener finished first with 95,816 votes, or 40.7 percent, and Chan finished second with 69,899 votes, or 29.7 percent.
Source: USA Today
Press Conferences and Media Briefings
Sacramento: Steve Hilton will hold a press conference on Thursday, November 5, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. at the corner of 10th and N Streets, Sacramento, CA 95814. The program is Hilton remarks followed by a press question and answer session. His team said in advance: The election is over, but the desire for change is not.
Source: Steve Hilton for Governor
Oakland: Attorney General Rob Bonta on Wednesday, November 4 joined a bipartisan coalition of 45 attorneys general in reaffirming support for the Senate version of the Kids Online Safety Act, S. 1748, which would establish a duty of care for social media companies to mitigate and prevent harm to children under 18.
Bonta said the Senate bill creates a federal floor of baseline protections states can build on while still allowing states like California to have stronger safeguards, unlike the House version, H.R. 6484, which he said includes preemption language that could impair state laws.
Source: Office of the Attorney General
Inside the Legislature
No Senate or Assembly floor sessions are scheduled for Thursday, November 5. The Senate website lists Today's Events for November 5, 2026 as: The Senate has adjourned for Final Recess.
Source: California State Senate
The Governor's Office
Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday, November 4 announced his appointment of twenty-three Superior Court judges, one each in Alameda, Fresno, Mendocino, Merced, Orange, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Stanislaus and Ventura counties, five in Los Angeles County, four in Sacramento County, and one interim appointment each in Los Angeles and Sacramento counties.
The compensation for each of these positions is $244,727. The names are listed in New Appointments.
Source: Office of the Governor
Fundraising
No campaign fundraiser for Thursday, November 5 was publicly posted or announced in the sources checked this morning.
New Appointments
Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday, November 4 announced the following judicial appointments, each at a compensation of $244,727.
Jesse Basbaum, of Alameda County, to the Alameda County Superior Court; David Olmos, of Fresno County, to the Fresno County Superior Court; and Noelle Brown Adams, Edward Han, Kristen Williams, Rebecca Goodrich and Arpa Stepanian, each of Los Angeles County, to the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Joseph Stogner, of Sonoma County, to the Mendocino County Superior Court; Brenda Pannell-Nash, of Los Angeles County, to the Merced County Superior Court; Eddie Flores, of Orange County, to the Orange County Superior Court; and Laurel Hoehn, of San Bernardino County, to the San Bernardino County Superior Court.
Michele Beckwith, of Yolo County, Jasmine Turner-Bond, of Placer County, Matthew Lee, of Sacramento County, and Alicia Hartley, of Sacramento County, to the Sacramento County Superior Court; and Maria Diaz, of San Diego County, to the San Diego County Superior Court.
Kerry Krueger, of San Joaquin County, to the San Joaquin County Superior Court; Timothy Elliott, of San Mateo, to the San Mateo County Superior Court; Thomas Sprankling, of San Mateo County, to the Santa Clara County Superior Court; Byron Beebe, of Fresno County, to the Stanislaus County Superior Court; and Philip Bonoli, of Ventura County, to the Ventura County Superior Court.
Ann Maurer, of Los Angeles County, in an interim appointment to the Los Angeles County Superior Court, and Heath Langle, of Placer County, in an interim appointment to the Sacramento County Superior Court. Each interim appointment allows the appointee to immediately assume a position otherwise elected to begin in January 2027.
Source: Office of the Governor
Also on November 4, Kimberly Thornton, of Lassen County, was appointed Warden of High Desert State Prison, and Brian Allo, of San Bernardino, was appointed Warden of the California State Prison, Los Angeles County, each at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, each at compensation of $199,332, and neither position requires Senate confirmation.
Vicente Sarmiento, of Santa Ana, was appointed to the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, and Ingrid Braun, of Mammoth Lakes, was reappointed to the commission, where she has served since 2020.
Jamal Anderson, of San Francisco, was appointed to the Peace Officer Standards Accountability Advisory Board. Regina Hatcher-Crawford, of Oxnard, was reappointed to the Peace Officer Standards Accountability Board, and Nicole Clavo, of Elk Grove, was reappointed to the Peace Officer Standards Accountability Advisory Board, each having served since 2023.
Source: Office of the Governor
People and Moves
No personnel move in California government or campaigns was publicly announced on November 4 in the sources checked this morning.
Boards and Commissions
No board or commission meeting for Thursday, November 5 was listed in the sources checked this morning. The California Public Utilities Commission upcoming events page lists an Energy Division Open House on November 12, 2026 at 12:00 p.m., held virtually via Webex, and its next voting meeting on November 19, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. at the California State Personnel Board Auditorium, 801 Capitol Mall, Sacramento, CA 95814.
Source: California Public Utilities Commission
Reports and Studies
The Legislative Analyst's Office lists its most recent item as a handout dated October 21, 2026, New Judgeships, Trial Court Judges' Salaries, and Court Facility Projects, presented to Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 5 on Corrections, Public Safety, Judiciary, Labor and Transportation, preceded by The 2026-27 California Spending Plan: Health, dated October 19, 2026. No LAO publication dated October 22 to November 5 was listed this morning.
Source: Legislative Analyst's Office
Talks and Addresses
No speech or address by a state official for Thursday, November 5 was publicly announced in the sources checked this morning.
Conferences and Events
Sacramento: Capitol Weekly and the University of California Student and Policy Center present A Post-Mortem of the 2026 Election on Thursday, November 5, 2026, from 9:15 a.m. to 3:25 p.m., with check in and coffee at 8:30 a.m., at the UC Student and Policy Center in Sacramento. The live event has reached capacity and registration is now closed, and attendance is available via Zoom. There is no cost to attend, and registration is required.
The program opens with an introduction and welcome by Catharine Baker of the UC Student and Policy Center and Tim Foster of Open California, followed at 9:30 a.m. by Blue Wave or Washout, with Sean Clegg of Bearstar Strategies, Rusty Hicks of the California Democratic Party, Lindsay Hopkins of SEIU California, and Andre Levesque of Gilliard Blanning and Levesque, moderated by Laurel Rosenhall of the New York Times.
At 10:40 a.m., The Ballot Initiatives features Brandon Castillo of Bicker Castillo Fairbanks and Spitz Public Affairs, Teri Holoman of the California Teachers Association, Thad Kousser of UC San Diego, and Rob Lapsley of the California Business Roundtable, moderated by Seema Mehta of the Los Angeles Times.
At 11:45 a.m., The View from the Parties features Robin Swanson of the California Democratic Party and David Wilson of Red Dog Inc., moderated by Leah O'Tarrow of Capitol Weekly.
At 12:30 p.m., the Luncheon Keynote, The Polls, features Mark Baldassare of the Public Policy Institute of California, Shakari Byerly of Evitarus, Mark Di Camillo of the Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, and Paul Mitchell of Political Data Inc., moderated by Ashley Zavala of KCRA 3.
At 1:45 p.m., Capitol Weekly editor Rich Ehisen interviews Francisco Silva of the California Primary Care Association on The New Governor, Xavier Becerra. At 2:30 p.m., The Dem on Dem Races features Ruth Bernstein of EMC Research, Jorge Contreras of the Working Families Party, Doug Herman of The Strategy Group, Nairka Joe Trevino Muller of Mai Vang for Congress, Brian Parvizshahi of Eric Jones for Congress, and Bill Wong of Doris Matsui for Congress, moderated by Jenny Huh of ABC 10.
Source: Capitol Weekly
Rallies and Protests
No rally or protest at the Capitol on Thursday, November 5 was announced in the sources checked this morning.
Odds and Ends
The Secretary of State's election results site lists the November 3, 2026 general election results as unofficial, with all 23,860 precincts partially reporting as of November 4, 2026, at 7:20 p.m., states that results will be certified by December 11, 2026, and states that vote by mail, provisional, and other ballots will continue to be processed and counted after election night, and that results will change throughout the ballot counting canvass period.
Source: Secretary of State
Lobbying and Campaign Filings
Lobbying registration renewal for the 2027-2028 legislative session is taking place from November 1 to December 31, 2026, according to the Secretary of State's Political Reform Division. The division states that the planned go-live date for the new CAL-ACCESS system is February 16, 2027. No new lobbyist registration, lobbyist termination, lobbying client deletion, or candidate intention statement was listed in the Cal-Access pages checked this morning.
Source: Secretary of State
Campaign Notes
In the Secretary of State's unofficial results as of 7:20 p.m. on November 4, 2026, with all 23,860 precincts partially reporting, the statewide ballot measures stood as follows.
Proposition 1, authorizes bonds for housing affordability programs, yes 59.6 percent; Proposition 2, increases the state's rainy day fund, yes 59.8 percent; Proposition 3, provides permanent funding for schools and health care by extending the existing tax on high incomes, yes 58.9 percent.
Proposition 4, repeals the prohibition against public funding of election campaigns, no 51.7 percent; Proposition 5, changes the recall election process for statewide officers, yes 50.6 percent; Proposition 37, creates a loan program for middle income buyers of qualified new homes, yes 61.2 percent; Proposition 38, authorizes bonds for immunology medical research, yes 55.5 percent.
Proposition 39, prohibits citizens from voting unless they present government issued identification, no 58.8 percent; Proposition 40, imposes a one time tax on certain taxpayers, no 55.3 percent, with yes at 3,566,935 votes and no at 4,406,663 votes; Proposition 41, prohibits new state taxes that exclude revenues from the state spending limit and requires audits for new state special taxes, no 52.7 percent; Proposition 42, prohibits new state personal property taxes and certain retroactive state taxes, yes 54.0 percent.
Proposition 43, limits voters' ability to raise revenues for local government services, no 55.2 percent; Proposition 44, requires community health clinics to spend 90 percent of revenue on program services, no 81.9 percent; and Proposition 45, modifies environmental review for certain projects, no 54.3 percent. See also the Top Stories items on the election.
Source: Secretary of State
SF FOR ALL filed a 24 hour independent expenditure report (Form 24) on November 4, 2026 reporting $25,550.21 in independent expenditures supporting Connie Chan in Congressional District 11, including $23,150.21 for digital advertising and $2,400.00 for print advertising on November 3, 2026. The race is tracked in the Congressional District 11 district profile.
Source: Federal Election Commission
SF FOR ALL filed a 24 hour independent expenditure report (Form 24) on November 4, 2026 reporting $6,750.00 in independent expenditures opposing Scott Wiener in Congressional District 11 for digital advertising on November 3, 2026. The race is tracked in the Congressional District 11 district profile.
Source: Federal Election Commission