>> tonight, on kqed newsroom. election day is coming up. speaking with california secretary of state, shirley weber, about new laws protecting workers. our political team shows the latest on the candidates and issues vying for your vote. come to you from kqed. this friday, november 4, 2022. hello and welcome this is kqed newsroom . election day is

right around the corner. ballots must be dropped off in person or postmarked in the mail by november 8. the person in charge of running california's elections is the secretary of state. that is shirley weber in california. she was appointed to the state in the u.s. senate by january 2021. alex padilla vacated the office of the vice president, kamala harris's position. he became an appointed senator. this year, secretary weber is on the ballot in her first campaign for the position. she is running against republican candidate robert petoskey. she joins us today to offer insights on how the state has prepared for this election and what we can expect to see in the days ahead. secretary weber, thank you for joining us. >> thank you for the invitation. good to be here. >> there has been a critical loss in fate of the system of elections in america with a tax from republicans growing daily. many republican candidates have said they won't accept the results unless they win. what are you doing to build it

in our voting system for both parties? >> it's interesting that people are saying that. i think we all working very hard to make sure that whatever we do in terms of this election , we provide tremendous opportunities for people to vote in their homes and vote in various places. we have done a lot to create an opportunity to vote for so many individuals. to make them comfortable. we spent a lot of time explaining to people with the process is like. we invite people into our voters office so they can come and see what they are doing. they can even observer of how the ballots are being counted. it is always amazing to me that despite all of that all of the efforts we still have a group of people who say, "if i don't win, it is not going to be there. " how greedy can you be? the bottom line is, all of us has been in makings before whether it was a job, whether it was an athletic event, an academic event, and yet, we did

not complain that it wasn't fair to us because if we competed fairly, people have a right to choose who they want in the elected position. it's typically because it doesn't mean the system is flawed. people make choices. >> secretary weber, you're dismissive of this concern about whether or not people actually believe in the validity of the vote. people should believe in them. are you concerned about the lack of faith and the loss of faith within our system? >> every day we are talking a meeting with individuals. where registering people to vote. where answering questions. we are inviting people to come in. those people who want answers get answers. there are those we interact with and show their readiness to show. and they still say, "i believe it." that doesn't mean we dismissive. we answer every question that

is there. every allegation we want to make sure that people know that there is an answer to the questions. we do all we can to make the system work with each and every person. she had problems getting something done online and it was interesting because in her conversation it took her about 10 minutes to call our hotline and get the information and process that she needed in l.a. to be able to cast a ballot. we address every issue. every concern is here. >> tell us about the concerns for the safety of poll workers. we have heard about harassment and there is new laws in california. >> we have heard about that. we have seen overzealous individuals. we have been very firm about that. we are protecting the process. people can come in and take our

offices. they cannot violate the law. they cannot assault people. we make it very clear with our poll workers, and registered voters, we will not tolerate any type of activity. there is a list that says there are rules and regulations that you have to follow or you will be prosecuted. there is a safe at home program. that is normally for persons being abused in domestic violence situations. sometimes they live in small communities and people are attacking them with results of the election. we then provide support for those individuals, protection of the information so people cannot get to them. we will protect them. we made it clear. with our office that we are not going to have people doing that. >> we are going to be having

more people voting by mail because it is now mandated in california. anything else you want to tell us about how california is making it easier for people to vote? >> when you look at all of the choices. over the years, her people say all of the reasons why they couldn't vote. they couldn't get to the polls on time, they had a baby a babysitter problem, and that. you can mail it in. you can bring it into the voters office. there are ballot boxes throughout the state that are very heavy-duty, sturdy boxes that are often in our libraries and our senders. we also have a vote senders that are open. there will be opportunities for" individuals" to vote. there will be 200 places for people to vote. >> a big difference. secretary weber we have to leave it there. thank you for your time with us

today. >> we hope everybody will take advantage of this unique opportunity in california to vote. there are so many days in ways to do this. >> thank you, secretary weber. the candidates in proposition. at the top of the ballot governor gavin newsom is pulling ahead of his republican challenger, ryan dali. after newsom easily beat back the attempt to recall him after office last fall. pundits have been expecting him to win a second term as governor. proposition one, which would add reproductive rights to california's state constitution is also popular despite opposition from faith-based groups and churches. where are the bigger battles showing up this election? we are joined by part of our kqed politics and government team. and reporter joe fitzgerald rodriguez, thank you both for being here. >> the top issue for californians is the economy

beyond a doubt. a recent poll has a 76% of california voters raiding the nation's economy is either not good or poor, another 40% say their own finances are worse off other than one year ago. we have seen significant tech company layoffs. twitter, stripe, lift, plus the federal reserve raising interest. no sign that is slowing down. how are all of these economic concerns playing out? >> there is an issue that republicans are really sort of honing in on especially in these take additional races. it's interesting that you said compared to one year ago that is exactly the metric we need to use. coming into 2022, it seems like crime is at the top. that was before these huge ablations hit the stock market starting in the spring. i think you can see how that has changed with how things are sort of developed with a twitter spell. elon musk, it looks like a good

deal of $44 billion and now it has gone off the rails. what you see is people really feeling this in your pocketbooks, gas prices, inflation at the grocery store, these are things we see republican candidates really hammering democrats on. >> leaning in too hard. joe. what else is out there? the economy. imagine abortion earlier, but has that peaked early? are voters across the country in california leaning in on abortion? >> it's funny. republicans want crime to be top of mind. that is less so now. democrats certainly want abortion to be top of mind. that is the remaining. one thing i put is that when we had a newsom and a deli here. marissa and scott were talking. the one and only debate. we took an audience question. those things have been driving the news. i thought a lot of people talking about homelessness. asking homelessness. asking about what is going to

happen about that. we have seen big news with that with newsom putting a stop to that funding and state funding towards homelessness. >> he said yesterday. on thursday. $1 billion of funding that is supposed to go to various cities and local organizations to try to curb homelessness to support organizations that are helping the homeless. using that money is not going to go out. that is a big deal. >> he said the cities were not doing enough. and then he needs to convene everyone to really discuss it. some of the cities including severs a store saying, "that is jeopardizing a lot of programs we have. that is jeopardizing things." >> that is a few days before the election. as joe manchin, homelessness in california which i think ties into the economy. and questions about the cost of housing more broadly. it is not coincidental that this was a few days before elections. he would love to make it an even bigger margin.

>> he has been paying attention to this issue. we are going to investigate housing policies. we are not going to do business as it has been done. >> sometimes, it is not the pronouncement of the timing of the pronouncements. >> let's turn to some specific races. let's start across the bay from san francisco in oakland where 10 candidates are vying to be mayor. marissa, you have been following this. tells about the top candidates in the pitch they are making to voters. >> lauren taylor, the first time councilmember has really sort of racked up the big-name endorsements including current mayor libby schaaf. he has created a ranked choice voting system of people get several choices with another first councilmember trevor. they are top two candidates and other councilmembers. interesting i think it to watch from afar is de la fuente

former councilmember pretty well known in oakland has staged a bit of a comeback in recent days and he has been helped more than half $1 million in independent expenditures. much of it from a manager and a developer that supports this controversy old export terminal in oakland. this is been a major flashpont in local politics. it is something they all oppose. you also have civil rights attorney alyssa weibel. i think this is one of those ones were ranked choice voting is going to matter because you have so many candidates in because from a policy point of view, they're not necessarily all that wildly different as usual in the area politics. you have democrats running against another. it will be one to watch and i would expect it would take a few days the campus votes to get in the number of people on the ballot. >> interesting oakland is going from having three people that you can rank for who you'd like at your top choice. there is a lot to figure out.

we have the resource on our website at kqed.org. and how to approach it if you are confused as a voter. >> joe oakland sits in the county where there is a historic district attorneys race going on. both candidates are black. it will be the first time we have an african-american district attorney in alameda county. >> especially matters in a county where cities have seen struggles with police. officer involved shootings, they're receiving attention there. nancy o'malley in office from 2009 would not be running in the most recent election. terry wiley, one of these candidates that are seen as the continuation of her policies. he has been in office for 33 years. his opponent pamela price. a lot more of what you would say is a traditional, progressive, doesn't want to see continuance. he wants to try minors as

minors in all cases. and while they both may have these expressions of progressive bona fides. the hampers is certainly closer to something of more than a just a figure from semper cisco to make a relation there. the one thing that is dividing them is that when you get nitty- gritty into their policies. both of them are against capital punishment. and prices says she wants to get the people on death row off of death row. both say pam price wants to go into communities and reach out to the youth, they want to get guns off the street, where terry wiley is an have to go after these gang members. there is 2000 people who are responsible for the most violent crime. and now alameda county, those are the ones they need to target. that is got him in hot water with a lot of labor groups who

say that even though terry wiley is black, they were criticizing him and using kind of a generalization that might've been seen as a little too broad. there's definitly a lot down in a nitty-gritty that separates these two. >> is there a philosophical difference? there has been a pushback against progressive policies and the district attorney's office if you are looking at the traceability narrative. you feel like that is playing out in some ways here in alameda county as well? >> even though pam price lost her 2018 bid for a.d.a., that might've actually helped her because this anti-progressive d.a.s while they came and went and came after southern california did. and out we passed it. if she gets to become a progressive d.a. in deposition, will she have avoided that kind of recall season? that may be an issue. >> there is a very interesting

race for san jose mayor, where meehan and chavez are going at it. >> another business versus labor . cindy chavez has gotten labor support. they're both on city council. the current mayor sam accardo, is supporting them. it is a very typical thing. when you have these deep blue places whether it is a state legislature or cities, you have this moderate versus progressive thing that develops. it often comes down on this labor business back and forth. >> a lot of money in account also. half $1 million. the most. the san jose area. let's come back here to san francisco where there is a district attorney race. brooke jenkins is running for her seat. she was appointed to that after traceability and was recalled from office a few months ago. the maryland and paris,

appointed her. tell us about the candidates are . does she have real competition? >> that's debatable. some of the poles we have seen the competition really hasn't been too close to her in terms of favorables. we've got brooke jenkins herself and joe alioto renee say, if you know that he is the grandson of the former semper cisco mayor and the son of angela, the former supervisor of the board. where we are ideologically with the three main kind of front runners always jenkins, pushing to the right of where chase the beauty news who was recalled earlier this year. she wants to try some minors as adults.

she has been pushing away from diversion programs that they were relying on for drug dealers in particular as well. and then offering a bit of a firmer characteristic method of bundling citations against drug users to try to compel them into health programs. john masaki is to the left of her. he definitely is a harsh critic of jenkins. he was in front of me for one hour. i asked him about a lot of his policies. a good 50 minutes of that hour was spent critiquing jenkins rather than talking about where he went to. >> pamela price. public defender. it is wanting to have issues, but to get into office and sort of lead in a way that can coalesce folks behind it was a challenge.

i don't know that he has made that case in this very short time period. >> another major issue. housing. there are some measures and propositions out there. local measures. a measure to have rental prices in richmond. and then in san francisco there is a pair of measures on the ballot. when i start us off. >> richmond, that is rent control and lowering the amount of increases that landlords can implement. you got concerned there from people who own buildings and you mentioned mortgage rate earlier. continuing to keep people house to make sure people don't default on their loans and things like that. here in san francisco, there is a very typical moderate versus progressive fight over housing. more moderate on the bell including the mayor, supervisor, former supervisor scott weiner, state senator.

they would say make it easier to build ulcers of housing. progressives would say that it was easier to build affordable housing. i think the question is if there will be more money for developers to do that. >> before releasing resist going go to the congressional races i want to get to that quickly. i'd love to hear an update on how papa lucy is doing what is happening in that investigation. >> i have been up there since day one. i was there monday when david, who allegedly attacked paul pelosi appeared in court. pelosi has been released from the hospital. he is at home with his doctor. house speaker pelosi released a statement thanking the general hospital for all of the good work. this morning, this comes from a reporter laura clemens, david the path, had two new court date set.

those will be november and december. will we see the body camera footage? that is something we are wondering if we can see what happened. >> a lot of the things on there in this particular case but i was definitely a political motivation behind this. the attacker seems to have been looking for nancy pelosi. we are hearing that nationally as well. that is when the most toxic elections that has ever been in terms of how people are speaking to each other and about what is happening. >> police are asking for more support in order to protect politicians and their families. they are seeing greater danger. >> congressional races. extra layer of importance. they could influence who wins house of representatives. we are going to bring in our special guest. scott shafer. down in southern california. scott, tell us we are seeing in terms of congressional races. >> this is a story of shifting

fortunes. if you go back to the june primary. there was a lot of hope in democratic circles that the party could pick up several things here in california. two of the 10 most vulnerable house of republicans were thought to be right here. talking about david in the central valley and micah garcia in northern l.a. county. both of them in districts that joe biden did very well where redistricting had been those districts more democratic and when the candidates are running against them were very well known. there was also hoping that maybe even a freshman make up again here in palm springs. there was some thought that a newly drawn district where there is a 30 year become good republican endorsed by donald trump voted against rfid history of anticonvulsant policies that he could be vulnerable. a very progressive

openly prosecutor. it's a very different situation. democrats are playing defense. you don't really hear them talking about the possibility of picking up those seats. they are sending urgent appeals for fundraising for people that you would never have thought would be in a competitive race talking about mike levin down in san diego. katie porter who has raised $23 million for her campaign. a rising star in the party. she is facing a tough race against scott, a former assemblyman. josh harter, in the bay area. running in a new district. he is not to be in some trouble. julia brownlee, down in the oxnard area in northern l.a. in ventura county. she is facing a challenge. you got all of these democrats who were thought to have a fairly save seats for the democratic registration favors them where joe biden had won these

districs. suddenly, you are getting urgent appeals from the california democratic party and from nancy pelosi herself saying that we've got to defend the seats. it has really shifted some resources and in these races the democrats that would be very safely in a column. i think what we are looking at now is a question if this is going to be a little wave, a big red wave, or a synonymy here in california and across the country. democrats are feeling very nervous. they're really playing defense. it's hard to defend the status quo with the economy being what it is. they have not done a great job of selling their own message on what they have done to help middle-class voters. >> thank you so much. i really appreciate that metaphor. a little wave, a bigger wave, tsunami. >> thanks, scott. what are you seeing with the david bilodeau grace?

>> republicans are coming hard over gas prices and oil. election day matters. we have to see how this plays out if there's a difference between these races or if it is as rough as a congressman going . >> we have a lot of election coverage planned for election day. tell us how people can listen in. >> as usual we have a wonderful scott on 88.5 fm and at kqed.org. we are doing something new which i'm really excited about. a team too big behind a new election blog. if you go to kqed.org on election night you will see a frequently freshly updated blog with results and reporting from our reporters on the ground. pretty sweet. >> looking for that. thank you. something completly

different. if you're ready for a little break from politics. take a trip with us to visit the bounty and beauty of west marin. it is tonight look at something beautiful.

west perrine is one of my happy places. hopefully i can get out there this weekend. that is our show tonight you can find kqed online on twitter or email us at kqed.org. you can reach me at social media . thank you for joining us. right back here next friday night. have a great weekend.

>> the final sprint. >> the typical year, we are often not faced with questions of whether the vote we cast will preserve democracy or put us at risk. this year, we are. >> with days to go before election day, president biden and democrats closing the field to voters. >> we are better off today than we are two years ago, you would not be making choices between heating and eating. >> republicans focus on inflation. arguing democrats holding onto power will hurt voters wallets. >> it is important we get the right people so we can maintain our freedoms we worked so hard for. >> i think the country is going in absolutely the wrong direction. crime is of, inflation is horrible. >> with americans so divided with which direction the country is heading. next.