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In this episode, recorded the day after the November 2025 election, Mark and Bob are joined by U.S. Congressman Kevin Mullin to analyze the results and national political landscape.Episode 16 dives deep into the overwhelming passage of Prop 50 in California, a single-item special election that saw an astounding 58.5% voter turnout. Congressman Mullin discusses the landslide win and the governor's vision that framed the measure as a critical defense against attacks on California by the authoritarian president. Prop 50's success, which involved mid-decade redistricting, is seen as a strong national message that Californians recognize the threats to democracy. Mullin also explains the nuance that the measure was temporary, intended to preserve the power of the non-partisan citizens commission for the next census.Key Topics Discussed:• National Democratic Wins: Analyzing whether the Democratic victories in Virginia, New Jersey, and other states constitute a "rebuke of Trump" or signal that "Democrats are back". Mullin argues that successful candidates, whether progressive or moderate, share a focus on affordability and kitchen table issues.• The Government Shutdown: Examining the real-world effects of the longest government shutdown in history, particularly the impending loss of Affordable Care Act tax credits and the immediate expiration of SNAP benefits for vulnerable residents. Mullin calls out the administration for its "chaos" and providing unreliable information.• The Redistricting Arms Race: Discussion of the "troubling trend" where 20 states are considering redistricting efforts, potentially leading to increased partisan advantage. Mullin outlines the goal for California Democrats to win all five newly redrawn seats.• Gavin Newsom’s 2028 Prospects: Following the Prop 50 victory, the conversation shifts to Governor Newsom's rising political profile and his status as a potential frontrunner for the 2028 presidential nomination. Mullin praises Newsom as a masterful communicator and savvy politician.• Local San Mateo Issues: The local vote by the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors to appoint a new sheriff after Sheriff Corpus was removed from office. Mullin expresses disappointment in the saga and the urgent need for a leader to stabilize the office.Mark and Bob conclude the show reflecting on the comprehensive nature of the issues facing Congressman Mullin's job.Find more episodes at TheGamePeninsula.com.Produced by Frank Bravo, BravoITC.com
Show Notes
In this episode, recorded the day after the November 2025 election, Mark and Bob are joined by U.S. Congressman Kevin Mullin to analyze the results and national political landscape.
This episode dives deep into the overwhelming passage of Prop 50 in California, a single-item special election that saw an astounding 58.5% voter turnout. Congressman Mullin discusses the landslide win and the governor's vision that framed the measure as a critical defense against attacks on California by the authoritarian president. Prop 50's success, which involved mid-decade redistricting, is seen as a strong national message that Californians recognize the threats to democracy. Mullin also explains the nuance that the measure was temporary, intended to preserve the power of the non-partisan citizens commission for the next census.
Key Topics Discussed:
• National Democratic Wins: Analyzing whether the Democratic victories in Virginia, New Jersey, and other states constitute a "rebuke of Trump" or signal that "Democrats are back". Mullin argues that successful candidates, whether progressive or moderate, share a focus on affordability and kitchen table issues.
• The Government Shutdown: Examining the real-world effects of the longest government shutdown in history, particularly the impending loss of Affordable Care Act tax credits and the immediate expiration of SNAP benefits for vulnerable residents. Mullin calls out the administration for its "chaos" and providing unreliable information.
• The Redistricting Arms Race: Discussion of the "troubling trend" where 20 states are considering redistricting efforts, potentially leading to increased partisan advantage. Mullin outlines the goal for California Democrats to win all five newly redrawn seats.
• Gavin Newsom’s 2028 Prospects: Following the Prop 50 victory, the conversation shifts to Governor Newsom's rising political profile and his status as a potential frontrunner for the 2028 presidential nomination. Mullin praises Newsom as a masterful communicator and savvy politician.
• Local San Mateo Issues: The local vote by the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors to appoint a new sheriff after Sheriff Corpus was removed from office. Mullin expresses disappointment in the saga and the urgent need for a leader to stabilize the office.
Mark and Bob conclude the show reflecting on the comprehensive nature of the issues facing Congressman Mullin's job.
Chapters
- (00:00) - Intro & Kevin Mullin on the Prop 50 landslide
- (04:25) - Is it a rebuke of Trump or are Democrats back?
- (08:36) - The redistricting arms race
- (12:59) - Winning the five redrawn seats
- (15:50) - The government shutdown, ACA tax credits and SNAP
- (19:55) - Constituent anger and how Democrats push back
- (25:02) - Immigration, crime and a divided country
- (29:45) - Is Newsom the 2028 frontrunner?
- (34:29) - Newsom in person and rebuilding trust in institutions
- (38:46) - The board's vote to appoint a new sheriff
- (41:21) - Closing thoughts
The Game is hosted by Mark Simon and Bob Marks and produced by Frank Bravo, BravoITC.com and YourTechMakeover.com. Watch or listen to every episode at TheGamePeninsula.com.
Creators and Guests
BM
Host
Bob Marks
Bob Marks is a longtime Peninsula television producer and executive. He led Peninsula TV (Pen-TV), San Mateo County's public affairs cable channel, and was executive producer of its high school quiz show, Quiz Kids. He has co-hosted public affairs programs with Mark Simon since at least 1999, and the two revived The Game as a podcast and video show in 2024.
Host
Mark Simon
Mark Simon is a veteran Peninsula journalist who writes a weekly column on local news and politics for the San Mateo Daily Journal. He was a political reporter and columnist for the Redwood City Tribune and the Peninsula Times Tribune, then a daily columnist and political writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. He later spent about 15 years at SamTrans and Caltrain, retiring in 2017 as chief of staff. He lives in San Carlos.
Producer
What is The Game?
Mark Simon and Bob Marks revive their long-running cable TV show The Game, where they interview local leaders and talk widely about politics, business and sports.
Produced by Frank Bravo, BravoITC.com
00;00;25;08 - 00;00;49;00
Speaker 1
And with that retro 1980s introduction courtesy of her old friend, the late Rocky. Welcome to the game. I'm Mark Simon, and I'm Bob marks, and it is the day after the election of November 2025, with one with matter on the ballot. And it has passed overwhelmingly and we're joined. We're happy to be joined by Congressman Kevin Mullin to talk about this and other things facing the country.
00;00;49;03 - 00;01;07;14
Speaker 1
First of all, Kevin, really a landslide win. Huge, huge margin, even bigger in San Mateo County. Turnout was 58.5%, which is astounding for a single item special election in an off year. That's my take on it. What's yours?
00;01;07;16 - 00;01;34;12
Speaker 2
Well, I too was a little bit surprised by the size of the margin. You mentioned the special election nature. When? When I first heard about this effort, I was just a little leery of it. Just given the timing that, you know, this is a special election in an odd numbered year, but it coincided with November, a traditional election date in November.
00;01;34;12 - 00;02;21;06
Speaker 2
And you had Virginia, new Jersey getting a lot of national attention in terms of their gubernatorial races and, of course, the mayoral election in New York. So people, I think, generally were aware that an election was on the way. But really an astounding effort by the Yes on Prop 50 campaign, starting first and foremost with the governor who laid out his vision and really the compelling case that we are in, truly unusual times with this authoritarian president and the approach he's taking and the attacks on California, the governor sort of leading the charge on our messaging that we had to counter what was happening in Texas.
00;02;21;09 - 00;02;49;10
Speaker 2
The, the, president essentially telling the governor that they had to redraw seats and create more Republican seats because he was entitled to more seats since he won Texas in the last presidential election. Really, you know, stuff that you would never see from a previous president. So we are in a truly unique times here that governor recognizes the just the level of threat to our democracy.
00;02;49;18 - 00;03;19;16
Speaker 2
And we had a way to address that through this mid-decade redistricting. The real trick, as you both know, following campaigns, when you have sort of a nuanced message we had to convey, we collectively and I was part of the congressional delegation efforts. That not only was there a compelling interest to doing a mid-decade redistricting, we were preserving the power of the commission to redraw the districts upon the next census.
00;03;19;24 - 00;03;40;23
Speaker 2
And that is just a little bit of a nuance that at the initial part of the campaign, I was concerned, hey, we've got to really get people about that nuance that this is temporary only because the commission itself is widely admired and it's a national model. And I think the campaign was able to show that, it was indeed temporary.
00;03;40;23 - 00;04;09;01
Speaker 2
And these really, truly unique times called for that kind of an approach. And the voters of California really on a basically a Democratic turnout election in a blue state. We had the numbers, the strength, the numbers to, to have a really strong showing, but it does send a message nationally. I think with that margin, the level of margin that the people of California recognize, the threats to our democracy and what's happening in this country and wanted to send a strong message.
00;04;09;01 - 00;04;25;08
Speaker 2
People were in line as the polls were closing at 8:00. Which is interesting in a, in a, a all mail ballot election where everybody automatically gets a ballot, there are still lots of lines, people trying to get into vote centers. It shows the level of enthusiasm that was generated for prop 50.
00;04;25;10 - 00;04;52;23
Speaker 1
There are two main messages. If you read the, you know, the news media today. One was that this is a rebuke of Trump and the other is the Democrats are back because the Democrats won in many states with a variety of candidates, all the way from very progressive Mamdani to the much more moderate winners in Virginia. And, what's the other state?
00;04;52;25 - 00;05;05;09
Speaker 1
New Jersey. Thank you. New Jersey. It's understandable. I forget new Jersey. Are either of those messages accurate? Rebuke of Trump? Democrats are back.
00;05;05;11 - 00;05;18;28
Speaker 2
Well, so it's interesting you're touching on something which is sort of an internal conversation, which I'm sure we'll get accelerated after last night's results, where you have a very, very progressive democratic socialists running under the Democrat banner.
00;05;19;00 - 00;05;22;11
Speaker 1
By quoting Eugene Debs. Last night.
00;05;22;12 - 00;05;22;27
Speaker 2
Yeah.
00;05;23;00 - 00;05;24;23
Speaker 1
Remember the last time someone did that?
00;05;25;00 - 00;05;35;09
Speaker 2
Well. Little, little known fact. My father, Eugene Mullin. His dad was also Eugene Mullin. And my grandfather was named after Eugene Debs. So we're breaking news here on.
00;05;35;11 - 00;05;38;04
Speaker 1
You're basically a communist, and you just have.
00;05;38;07 - 00;06;01;22
Speaker 2
A little bit of a socialist history way back in the all in family. But I was interested to hear that reference. I was I was thinking of my dad talking about that in the family history. Anyway, so what's interesting, though, is, you know, I really think this Democratic Party, with all of our issues with our brand and losing the presidential election, which never should have happened.
00;06;01;25 - 00;06;22;20
Speaker 2
You did see candidates. That appeal to the districts and or states that they're running in. And, I just think too much is going to be made probably of this, you know, do we go left? Do we go center? What do we do? The reality is both of those approaches have worked. And it's really not an either or.
00;06;22;23 - 00;06;46;04
Speaker 2
This Democratic Party certainly got up off the mat last night. It was a it was a big win for us. We can win with candidates who are very progressive and literally economic populists who are focused on affordability. But you also have some moderates who are winning governorships, like my friends Mickey and Abigail in New Jersey and Virginia, both members.
00;06;46;07 - 00;07;19;20
Speaker 2
How the house. Abigail. Former member. Former member. But you can win when you have candidates that appeal to their their states or their districts, whether they're progressives or so-called new New Democrats. But the common theme, they really all three of those candidates last night focused on affordability issues. I think affordability most certainly was an issue in prop 50, because you've got an administration and Republican unified Republican control that hasn't done anything about grocery prices or utility costs.
00;07;19;21 - 00;07;39;05
Speaker 2
I mean, people are really strapped economically. So that isn't that is a baseline out there. But the three candidates on the East Coast that got the most attention, we're all talking about kitchen table issues and affordability. So there are some common themes, whether they're sort of coming from the populist left or the, the, the center of the political spectrum.
00;07;39;05 - 00;07;56;20
Speaker 2
But the Democrats can be a big party, a big tent party and win if you have the right candidates. And we're able to show that last night. The larger question I think that I'm already thinking about is, you know, this was a an off year. It's not an off year for if you're running for governor in new Jersey and Virginia.
00;07;56;20 - 00;08;14;19
Speaker 2
But, the reality is we need to be able to win in even years when the most people go to the ballot. And certainly we need to be able to win in presidential years. When you have the the highest level of turnout, we have to be a national party with national appeal that can win not just on the coasts.
00;08;14;19 - 00;08;33;22
Speaker 2
You've got to be able to win across this country. And that really, I think, should be a focal point. How do we appeal to wide swath of this country that are red states and red counties? We need to be able to compete almost everywhere, if not everywhere. And that's going to be a larger question, I think, for us.
00;08;33;22 - 00;08;36;17
Speaker 2
But last night was certainly a good start.
00;08;36;19 - 00;08;37;05
Speaker 1
Kevin.
00;08;37;05 - 00;09;00;18
Speaker 3
Getting back to redistricting, it's there now, 20 states that are looking at redistricting prior to next year's election. Are we in an arms race now as far as redistricting, or are we headed to a point where every state will maximize their partizan advantage?
00;09;00;20 - 00;09;33;16
Speaker 2
I think that is quite possible, Bob. And, look, that is a troubling trend. If if if you are creating blue states and red states, you have sort of the seeds of, you know, a an ongoing political war in this country, where you're not able to really build bridges, make sustainable change, which often does require both parties at the table.
00;09;33;18 - 00;10;04;28
Speaker 2
You have a president who is welcoming sort of the vitriol and the anger and trying to demonize the Democratic Party. So there is a response from our party to try to match this fire by fighting fire with fire. You saw that with with prop 50, there is going to be a larger challenge. Speaking of ongoing, larger challenges like 2028, which is how do we, make our way through this by defending democracy.
00;10;05;01 - 00;10;47;18
Speaker 2
But over time, looking at the entire redistricting process and seeing how we could reform it across the country. It's very difficult, though, because the redistricting process really is a state by state effort. But there is legislation. So Lofgren, the chair of our California delegation, I'm the co-chair of the Task Force on Strengthening Democracy, a co-sponsor, along with Senator Alex Padilla and many of my colleagues, to look at the California Independent Citizens Commission model as a national model and essentially taking that redistricting process and taking it out of politicians hands and putting it, investing it in these citizens commissions, very difficult to do.
00;10;47;22 - 00;11;07;28
Speaker 2
If it was easy, it would have been done. And a similar legislation passed the House under unified Democratic control, but got held up in the Senate. A bunch of these democratic reforms that got pushed through the House got held up in the Senate because of the filibuster. So it's very difficult to make that kind of sweeping change.
00;11;07;28 - 00;11;38;20
Speaker 2
And you have a Supreme Court, through a series of rulings, reiterated the state's power in the redistricting process. But, you know, gerrymandering has been around time immemorial, seems in politics. But just the level of back and forth and redrawing of districts, if the vote, if the Supreme Court guts section two of the Voting Rights Act, we're going to have a really difficult time as a Democratic party getting seats in the South the entire self.
00;11;38;23 - 00;12;06;23
Speaker 2
Well, we need to be a party that appeals regardless of how the districts are drawn to winning districts in the South, in the northeast and the industrial Midwest and the the farm states and of course, the southwest West coast, we've got to be a national party that can compete everywhere. So there are lots of longer term structural challenges that, you know, we're just sort of scratching the surface on when it comes to the redistricting efforts.
00;12;06;23 - 00;12;34;13
Speaker 2
You're going to see the counter reform efforts. And then reacting to what the Supreme Court ultimately does on the Voting Rights Act, because that could really affect the way maps are drawn nationally. So I feel like this is really going to be an ongoing kind of conversation. And, you know, I think we're at a disadvantage if all the states do the redrawing, we're probably going to be at a net seat disadvantage.
00;12;34;16 - 00;12;59;27
Speaker 2
But we also are going into that election cycle with a series of advantages where we're winning on the generic ballot. You've got a very unpopular president, and it's a midterm where the president's party usually loses seats. So so the wind is at our back on that, but it's being countered by the redistricting in red states. And of course, the Supreme Court, which really has politicized, frankly, this entire process.
00;12;59;29 - 00;13;25;23
Speaker 1
Well, speaking of of winning, what is the talk inside the caucus, the California caucus, about winning all five of the seats that have just been redrawn because some of them are not what I would call slam dunk. They may lean Democrat. They may be seats that were solidly Republican that are toss up now. Yeah, but but the next task is you have to win those seats, don't you?
00;13;25;26 - 00;13;54;15
Speaker 2
Well, absolutely. And I thought it was a little interesting. You know, the governor has been so much a face of this, a little bit of a muted, I think smart muted response last night. No huge victory parties with balloons everywhere. It was very understated. The governor understands this is a very important first step. To counter what happened in Texas and to potentially counter what's happening in other states.
00;13;54;20 - 00;14;14;26
Speaker 2
But we've got to go win those seats, and we've got a Supreme Court that's that's going to look at all of this. You've got a Republican Party. As I as I tuned in here, they filed suit to try to block prop 50. And nobody is surprised by that. So these these processes will play out. You know in the courts and it and in other places.
00;14;14;26 - 00;14;39;03
Speaker 2
But at the end of the day, we've got to win those seats to actually do those pickups, those five pickups. Now I think there's a look at, you know, you're talking about five Republican seats that are in play. It would be wonderful from my party perspective if we could win all five. But there are a couple of other seats that have been created where a Democrat could be successful.
00;14;39;05 - 00;15;02;29
Speaker 2
One in Northern California, one in Southern California. Please, please don't ask me for the district numbers. I'm still processing all of the the numbers and the potential candidates in these new maps, but we're going to net out, I believe if we do what we need to do, we're definitely going to have a pickup. And the projections are it looks probably like five, but that's all that is, is a projection.
00;15;03;02 - 00;15;37;28
Speaker 2
A campaign has to be run effectively well-funded, talking about the threats of Trump and others, but also offering a proactive, positive agenda that if the Democrats get the gavel, we will be better position to address the affordability challenges that so many people face. So there's going to be certainly, you know, an anti-Trump protection of democracy message, but also one that's got to be tuned to the needs of those particular districts.
00;15;38;01 - 00;15;50;13
Speaker 2
So that still remains to be seen even as we speak. We've got candidates, you know, announcing for those different seats that it looks like will be created now as a result of 50.
00;15;50;16 - 00;16;10;22
Speaker 3
Both sides have staked out their positions on the government shutdown. It appears that there may be a little bit of softening going on both in the House and the Senate. When when does the sentence now the longest shutdown in in history. How does how is this going to end?
00;16;10;24 - 00;16;33;06
Speaker 2
Well, I can't end soon enough. Nobody wins in a shutdown. I mean, there's, you know, discussion of polls and who's getting blamed. I mean, very candidly, the Republicans have unified control, the white House and Senate and the House. But yes, Democrats do have levers, particularly in the Senate, that we don't have in the House. To compel a conversation around health care.
00;16;33;09 - 00;16;53;12
Speaker 2
I mean, from the Democratic side, this has been really primarily focused on Affordable Care Act tax credits and the loss of those credits if we don't act before the end of the year. And because we had a year end date, I think the majority of Republicans were sort of talking about, well, we've got some time to sort of figure that out.
00;16;53;12 - 00;17;15;08
Speaker 2
Let's get everybody back here and then we can negotiate a deal. But you really lose your leverage there. We want to compel the Republican Party to come to the table, get a deal on extending those Affordable Care Act tax credits in some cases. You know, we were sort of running the numbers, doubling or tripling potentially of people's premiums.
00;17;15;08 - 00;17;38;20
Speaker 2
And if you didn't take action, you know, I was thinking about just the real world effect of this. If those tax credits expired or those subsidies expired and people were paying more for their monthly premiums, if they have things, if they have auto pay, for example, and weren't paying too close attention to it, you could affect people's bank accounts across this country.
00;17;38;23 - 00;18;07;12
Speaker 2
I mean, there really absolutely needs to be a deal on health care subsidies. And federal workers who've been furloughed need to get paid. The Snap benefits was really the focal point this week because people are losing, Snap benefits from their their debit cards. Essentially, you've got people who have no money on those cards and that's how they feed their children.
00;18;07;14 - 00;18;32;22
Speaker 2
In this county, in our county. So I know the county is talking about backfilling while we're waiting to find out how the administration is going to comply with the court order on Snap benefits. And just yesterday, the sort of the the whiplash of just just yesterday, you had a president say essentially on, true Social that he's not going to comply with the court order, not in not in so many words.
00;18;32;22 - 00;18;54;13
Speaker 2
But certainly that was the inference. But then by the end of the day, Carolyn Levitt, the white House press secretary, said, oh, no. Well, we'll we'll abide by this, but we can't give you any kind of a timeline. So you've got a president that pretty much thumbs his nose at court orders occasionally, eventually will comply with those. But but people need those Snap benefits now.
00;18;54;17 - 00;19;16;25
Speaker 2
They need the money on the cards now to go to the grocery store. But there is a collective effort to make sure that, you know, there are food pantries and food kitchens, and there's discussion of of of a food giveaway at the Cow Palace. This county is responding. But we also need those partial benefits by the federal government to move out quickly.
00;19;16;27 - 00;19;45;07
Speaker 2
The the challenge is the information you get from the administration is often unreliable. We we need a reliable partner in the executive who actually puts out good information so people can rely on it and can understand what what what the administration means when they see something. And it's just chaos with this administration. And, it's just it's par for the course, unfortunately.
00;19;45;10 - 00;19;55;21
Speaker 2
But we will see what happens with snap. But it the, the conversation evolves quite literally every day on that issue and, and many others.
00;19;55;24 - 00;20;16;05
Speaker 1
You know, you have a lot of constituents. I know you're holding a town hall meeting tonight who want to be who are outraged at the conduct of of the president and his people. I still can't believe a press secretary was asked to question about where they where they how they made the decision to do that in. The press Secretary said, well, we talked to your mother.
00;20;16;06 - 00;20;41;03
Speaker 1
I mean, it's like high school doing the dozens. Snap benefits expired the same day they held a Great Gatsby party. And so it suggests that there's a a tone deafness or even a determined, willingness to turn their back on some of this stuff. And so you're getting heat from your constituents to be more outspoken, to be more angry.
00;20;41;06 - 00;20;55;29
Speaker 1
What do you say to them when you say, you know, I know. You say to them, we don't have the gavel. There's nothing we can do until we have the gavel. But I know some people aren't happy with that. And they want you to be more aggressive, more assertive, more, more vocal.
00;20;56;01 - 00;21;20;28
Speaker 2
Well, we are angry and we are vocal. And if the measure is, are we winning public opinion? We are winning public opinion. This is an administration. Where where cruelty is the purpose. It seems as hard to sort of fathom that. But you cannot look at any of these decisions that they have made. And I was in that 27 hour mark up calling out their cuts to Medicaid.
00;21;20;29 - 00;21;43;27
Speaker 2
They they are the biggest cut in Medicaid history by this majority. So they can give tax cuts to millionaires and billionaires. That is a policy choice. That's a choice that this administration and the Republican leadership is making. We have a Republican speaker who is abdicating our article one powers, the powers of the purse. He is giving away the power of the Congress to the president.
00;21;44;00 - 00;22;23;08
Speaker 2
So what you see is prop 50. You see a reaction. And, the the Democratic Party is up off the mat and fighting every day, calling out the hypocrisy, calling out the cruelty. And the public is going to be with us, and it's going to manifest itself in November of 2026. But it is a daily fight. There was a concerted effort to push back on the federal deployment of National Guard troops and ice the No Kings marches, which I have been a part of, and many Democrats across the country have been a part of.
00;22;23;09 - 00;22;58;09
Speaker 2
You were seeing an alliance of local citizen action, mass mobilization, the power of peaceful protest, combined with the work of elected officials. However, that's made more difficult when the speaker of the House essentially cancels our votes week after week after week and sends everybody home. We need to be in Washington getting a deal now. It's it's been excellent for for me to be in my district, continuing the work that I do and doing town halls and meetings, and I'm working.
00;22;58;16 - 00;23;22;22
Speaker 2
But we need to be in Washington getting a bipartisan deal. But we are going to be continuing every day to call out the cruelty and the failing of this administration. This administration largely got reimposed because people wanted to do something about inflation and the cost of living. I think if you net it all out, it was about how people feel economically.
00;23;22;25 - 00;23;59;22
Speaker 2
They have done nothing about that challenge, literally nothing outside of tariffs that was somehow magically going to generate all this money for the federal government. This has been a cruelty. This has been an un-American approach to immigration enforcement ripping families apart, troops trying to normalize troops in the streets. So so people get used to the idea of sending Department of Justice elections monitors in to California to try to intimidate people from participating in their democracy.
00;24;00;02 - 00;24;29;14
Speaker 2
This is a government on display, and the people are reacting to it. And the president is under water, to say the least. He's under 40%. Especially on the economy, I think he's down to like 37%. People do not believe that this president has any clue about making their economic situation better. So when you're in the minority party, you've got to be loud, you've got to be vocal, you've got to call it out.
00;24;29;14 - 00;24;54;22
Speaker 2
But you also have to take tangible actions. And prop 50 was to the governor's credit and our California delegation saying, look, this is something we can do about this to ensure help ensure that we can take back the house and be a check on this authoritarian president, that the practice of politics is unfolding here. And, last night was an excellent election night for our party.
00;24;54;29 - 00;25;02;05
Speaker 2
We've got to have a better one, an even better one in November of 2026. And I believe that's that's going to happen.
00;25;02;08 - 00;25;34;17
Speaker 3
You know, the president I agree on the economy, on inflation. His numbers are very low. Two areas where the country split 4848 hour crime and immigration. That's one of the reasons that you see the president talking about those issues every single day. Isn't that kind of a reality check with all the problems that he has with all the horrifying things about immigration, the country's evenly divided.
00;25;34;19 - 00;25;36;28
Speaker 3
What's what's your sense about that?
00;25;37;01 - 00;26;06;19
Speaker 2
I think it points to the fact that the actions by the Biden administration were not visible enough, were not effective enough. People want a secure border, but what they're seeing now in their images of masked agents, unidentified agents ripping people off the street and throwing them into vans is is un-American. It is. It is appalling. I think you're going to see a reaction to this now, both of you.
00;26;06;21 - 00;26;43;07
Speaker 2
No. California's political history. I'm at age 55. I'm old enough to remember prop 187. And those fights around, public services for undocumented immigrants and how that played out in California. And it did it did pass, but there was a sense of cruelty. By the Wilson administration, and it changed California politics. Now, Trump was able to, siphon working class votes, Latino votes.
00;26;43;09 - 00;27;10;11
Speaker 2
Some African American votes, AAPI votes, particularly on some crime issues. We've got to get a working. We've got to rebuild our working class coalition as a party. It's it starts with economic realities and kitchen table issues and and an economic populist message that that, is grounded in reality, that we're going to move policies that actually help people.
00;27;10;13 - 00;27;34;11
Speaker 2
But immigration, I think was was certainly one of the reasons that Trump got elected. He was able to use that as a wedge instead of getting a deal, and a deal was on the table on this issue. We've talked about this before. He doesn't want to solve the problems around immigration and asylum judges and so forth. He just wants to use it as a wedge issue.
00;27;34;13 - 00;27;57;20
Speaker 2
And he thinks the cruelty out there and the massed Ice agents plays well to his base. And he's always been a base politician and appeals sort of the red meat to to an angry base. And that, I guess, can appeal to some folks, I think, to folks in the middle of the political spectrum and certainly on my side.
00;27;57;22 - 00;28;26;00
Speaker 2
I'll see that as as cruel and inhumane and the opposite of the approach we need to be taking, which is secure border, an enforcement process that's coherent, money for asylum judges, a comprehensive immigration reform. And that may require both parties coming to the table. It's just the kind of issue that cries out for bipartisan work. And we certainly simply don't have that right now.
00;28;26;00 - 00;28;53;00
Speaker 2
We can't even get the Republicans back to the table to reopen the government. But if the Democrats take the House, that brings balance to the political conversation. The economy will be central to that. But certainly immigration enforcement and a more humane approach to how we deal with these issues. And let's face it, the we are our economy runs on immigrant labor.
00;28;53;02 - 00;29;25;28
Speaker 2
So these these two issues are very intertwined. The economy, construction, hotels, a service workers enroll. There's a dependance on immigrant workers. They're central to our workforce. You talk about the putting the farm states back and play politically. I know that the administration has heard from the farming community who is concerned about when you have this level of aggressive enforcement, what that does to your labor force.
00;29;26;01 - 00;29;45;19
Speaker 2
So these issues are intertwined. The administration is just taking a blunt, instrument to all of it, and we can do so much better. And people deserve better than what they're getting from this administration. And we're going to keep calling that out.
00;29;45;22 - 00;29;52;19
Speaker 1
So it was also a big night for Gavin Newsom. Is he now the frontrunner for president in 2028?
00;29;52;21 - 00;30;20;24
Speaker 2
I think so. Of course I've got a California bias. Not not hiding that. What? I love to have a fellow Giants fan occupy the Oval Office. Somebody who understands the San Francisco Bay area, who understands the renovation economy and all the affordability challenges that we have in this high cost area but incredible area called the San Francisco Peninsula and the San Francisco Bay area.
00;30;20;25 - 00;30;50;06
Speaker 2
Absolutely. He is showing that he's a fighter. He's not sort of letting things evolve. He is taking action with this mid-decade redistricting. He is a savvy politician, right? We've had the ability to watch his maturation. Selfishly, I love that he started on the parking and traffic Commission and then the Board of Supervisors and then became the mayor.
00;30;50;12 - 00;31;13;13
Speaker 2
And then, yes, he wanted to be the governor and had to take a back seat to Jerry Brown, who became a lieutenant governor. He has worked his way up the political ladder and understands levels of government in a way that, you know, maybe even somebody like JD Vance who wrote, some compelling books but then ran for the US Senate and may not really appreciate the role of local government.
00;31;13;13 - 00;31;40;17
Speaker 2
State government understands how all of these things are interrelated. I think he'd be a dynamic, exciting candidate, and he's a hell of a debater, is unafraid to go in on Fox News. He is a really a masterful communicator. Like any politician, though, there are going to be some, some areas that that, are our sort of target areas for criticism.
00;31;40;19 - 00;32;03;24
Speaker 2
He'll have to, you know, certainly talk about the California record. It did become the fourth largest economy on his watch as the governor. But, you know, Republicans will try to demonize him. And and what is happening in California. And he will have to stand on his record. But he's got a record to stand on as the governor of California and the former mayor of San Francisco.
00;32;03;24 - 00;32;27;04
Speaker 2
And he'll he'll be able to answer for all that. But, you know, you may not want to be in the lead in 2025 when it's going to be decided in 2028. Yeah. Like we're a long way away, right? We've got to get through the, midterms in 2026. He will leave office in 2026. Some people think that's a negative.
00;32;27;04 - 00;32;59;25
Speaker 2
I actually think that's if, you know, just he hasn't asked me for advice. But the reality is, you know, Ronald Reagan was out of office, a former governor when he eventually won the nomination. When you're the sitting governor of California, man, talk about a full time job. Every single day there are issues to attend to. And and he's been able to somehow balance sort of the national media profile with the day to day operations of being governor of the largest, most populous state with all sets of issues at the door.
00;32;59;27 - 00;33;23;28
Speaker 2
So he's been able to balance all of that masterfully when he is out of office. Yes. He won't get as much attention, you know, from the California press, for example, on issues that are initiatives. There'll be a new governor that we're talking about in 2027, but he will be free should he choose. And it's I think it's still an if I I'm not you know, I'm not 100% convinced like this is a foregone conclusion.
00;33;23;28 - 00;33;45;29
Speaker 2
But I expect he probably will run. Right. And is certainly carving out this profile. I'm not a I'm not a betting man outside of a little fantasy football and a future's bet here and there, but he's ahead in the betting odds. If you if you believe those betting sites, he's doing all the things you need to do to build that national profile.
00;33;46;01 - 00;34;13;07
Speaker 2
He's absolutely top tier if he's not the frontrunner. But, look, we've got to nominate somebody who can win outside the coasts, somebody who can win in the industrial Midwest. And that's where I get back to sort of putting more states in play. You know, Obama, you're testing my my memory here, but I'm pretty sure he won Iowa. I, he was competitive, certainly in states in the Midwest.
00;34;13;10 - 00;34;29;23
Speaker 2
And I'm trying to recall if he went Georgia or not. I know Biden did, despite Donald Trump's efforts to try to find votes that didn't exist. So we need a candidate that can win in all, all areas of the country.
00;34;29;26 - 00;34;50;18
Speaker 1
What's he like on a personal level? I mean, you know, we he's been in the public eye for so long, but it's hard sometimes it feels like to get a fix on him as a person. I've even been in small settings with him, and I. I couldn't tell you what the genuine Gavin Newsom is like.
00;34;50;20 - 00;35;22;12
Speaker 2
I've had a handful of opportunities to chat with them, and, we were chatting a bit when we welcomed Joe Biden into the tarmac at SFO as Air Force One landed. And I was thinking to myself, this guy standing next to me might be might be on that plane someday. Yeah. He's very friendly. And but he's, you know, he might be a little, a little shy.
00;35;22;14 - 00;35;55;25
Speaker 2
You know, people think all politicians are, like, gregarious and super outgoing. He certainly can work a room. He can do that. But, you know, he's he's a human being, and, it is it is pretty awesome just to think. And I was chatting with him very briefly at a prop 50 rally the other day to think, hey, this guy may embark on, you know, trying to run for the highest office of the land and just all that that would entail.
00;35;56;00 - 00;36;22;19
Speaker 2
And the level of scrutiny that you get when you're running for president is, I hear, unlike anything you can possibly imagine. Every, every detail of your life gets put out there, especially if you're the nominee. So I, I just think there's probably a lot of thought and consideration with Jennifer, who was at the rally and gave, I got to say, a better speech than the governor.
00;36;22;22 - 00;36;30;17
Speaker 2
She gave a stem winder. My staff laughs at me when I use that word stem winder. They're like, what was that?
00;36;30;19 - 00;36;31;29
Speaker 1
Yes.
00;36;32;01 - 00;37;05;09
Speaker 2
Say that again. But it was a a dynamic speech talking about how her children and what we should expect from the person who occupies the Oval Office. And it was a very compelling speech. And I went up to her after and said, thank you for that, because I've got two seven year old boys at home and they're sitting at the island and the TV is on, and I hesitate to have them watch Donald Trump speak because of the vitriol that comes out of that guy's mouth.
00;37;05;12 - 00;37;35;27
Speaker 2
He his conduct is beneath the office stating the obvious, but it's just shocked the extent to which we apparently tolerate his behavior and the way he talks about people, the way he treats other people. We are so much better as a country than this guy. And we there's going to be an opportunity to to say, enough. You deserve better.
00;37;35;27 - 00;38;21;27
Speaker 2
This country deserves better than the vitriol that comes out of his mouth. And he has demeaned the office that he holds. And we're going to have probably a generation of rebuilding faith and trust in our institutions that he continually tries to demean, like the media, like higher education, other institutions. We're going to have repair work here, and we're going to need a president who understands it, who can elevate people's belief again in what it means to be American, what it means to believe in American institutions, and and how special this country is, this 250 year experiment.
00;38;21;29 - 00;38;44;08
Speaker 2
We deserve better. And whether it's him or another Democrat, I know that that's going to be important to that person, and I'll be evaluating that if I believe that's the right person. When I give out my endorsement and I am, I delegate superdelegate vote or whatever it is in the nominating process. But, he's as talented as they come politically.
00;38;44;11 - 00;38;46;20
Speaker 2
So for what? That's what.
00;38;46;23 - 00;39;08;25
Speaker 3
I want to shift gears a little bit. Ten Mateo County Board of Supervisors voted 3 to 2 to appoint a new sheriff after Sheriff Corpus was removed from office. Do you think they made the right decision in terms of making an appointment?
00;39;08;27 - 00;39;40;00
Speaker 2
I'm generally inclined to lean towards special elections for these kinds of things. Given all that has occurred here. But I think there's also a sense and I and I'll be candid with you, I followed that. I followed the Christina Corpus saga. I did not follow the details of that particular vote with regard to election versus appointment. And, you know, there's always options.
00;39;40;00 - 00;40;05;11
Speaker 2
There you go. Point somebody on the interim. But maybe they've changed their mind. And you know, these these things can get complicated. I generally lean toward let the people decide. But I think there's a real issue with all that needs to happen in that department right now. Given given that you've had a sheriff who's been largely able, with total dysfunction in the sheriff's office.
00;40;05;13 - 00;40;38;05
Speaker 2
They do need an adult who can come in quickly and, and, and restore some faith and trust in that institution, and turn the page. So, I guess I'm not giving you a clear answer. I'm not in that position to make that decision. Generally speaking, I'm inclined to push election, let the people decide. But there are unique set of circumstances here where you need to get somebody in that, that has faith and confidence of senior, managers and so forth.
00;40;38;06 - 00;41;05;13
Speaker 2
You need somebody to come in and lead and restore faith, restore trust, and hopefully they can find a high caliber person who's properly vetted, who can be that person to just stabilize what's happening in that, in that office and, and look. So very disappointed at how this is all unfolded. Just a saga that was so unnecessary. That's going to cost the county money.
00;41;05;16 - 00;41;21;21
Speaker 2
And I'm just disappointed in how Christina, the former sheriff, handled herself in this. And I'm just truly disappointed for her and for the county that this saga unfolded. And we've got to turn the page and hopefully that happens very quickly.
00;41;21;24 - 00;41;37;28
Speaker 1
Well, on that note, I think we'll turn the page on this conversation. We've gone from national to local, so I think that makes it a good show, right? And it tells you something about the job that, Kevin Mullin has because it's it's all things. It's national, but it's always local, as you can see on our screen.
00;41;38;00 - 00;42;00;19
Speaker 1
You can find the show on the game peninsula.com, also on YouTube and anywhere else you walk or listen to podcasts. Thank you, Kevin, for being with us. As always, we appreciate your analysis and it really what could be. We may look back on this as a turning point in the nature of what's going on in the white House and in our country, and we'll see.
00;42;00;21 - 00;42;02;11
Speaker 1
Meanwhile, I'm Mark Simon.
00;42;02;14 - 00;42;03;19
Speaker 3
And I'm Bob marks.
00;42;03;20 - 00;42;06;18
Speaker 1
And thank you for being with us on the game. We'll see you next time.