Where do San Diego and state ballot races stand?

S1: Hey there , San Diego , it's time for KPBS roundtable. I'm Andrew Bracken today. From closely contested sales tax measures to erase , to decide the balance of power in San Diego County , we get the latest on local election results , including the race for San Diego mayor.

S2: I have a very simple message this evening. Let's get back to work. Let's fill those potholes. Let's house the homeless. Let's keep our city safe.

S1: Then we check in on statewide races and propositions and hear what issues resonated with California voters this year. All that , plus our weekly look into other top stories from the week and the roundup. That's all ahead on KPBS roundtable. Over 1 million votes have now been counted in this year's election in San Diego County , giving us a clear picture of how the election is played out for many local races. Others remain close as that count continues , with an estimated 500,000 votes still being processed. Andrew Bowen is the KPBS Metro reporter here at KPBS , and was actively involved in political coverage in the weeks and months leading up to the election. And he joins me now to break down some of the top local races. Hey , Andrew.

S3: Hey , Andrew.

S1: Great to have you here. So , you know , a lot of your work for this election has focused on the city of San Diego , and that includes covering the mayoral race between incumbent Democrat Todd Gloria and independent challenger Larry Turner.

S3: And with a margin that's pretty close to what he had in 2020. Um , his challenger , Larry Turner , was a first time candidate. So I think on the one hand , he probably struggled with just voters knowing his name and who he was. Um , he was a no party preference voter , and it's kind of hard to see a future for those types of candidates in San Diego , because a lot of the money , a lot of the political spending comes from these large and deep pocketed interest groups like labor unions like business interests , the Chamber of Commerce , the San Diego County Democratic Party. And so , you know , if you don't have any of those , um , big , uh , interest groups backing you , it can be an especially if you don't have a whole lot of name ID , uh , among low information voters. It can be really hard to get your message out there. Um , one interesting sort of twist towards the end of this election cycle was a very substantial donation from a lawyer in Point Loma to the , uh , Lincoln Club , which is a local conservative , uh , pro-business. They call themselves interest group. And , um , that donation was not specifically for Larry Turner , but the Lincoln Club had endorsed Larry Turner. And so , um , they ended up spending quite a bit of money on his behalf at the very last minute , uh , with some TV ads , uh , you know , yard signs. People might have seen them out there. And I think , you know , the takeaway is just that , um , there's only so much that money can do when you have a lot of other , uh , you know , factors may be working against you , but , you know , thinking about what these results mean , I think they mean essentially that , um , Todd , Gloria still has a governing majority of voters. You know , he still has majority support for his ideas and policies. And I expect that he'll continue those in a second term and perhaps even be a little bit bolder because he can't run for re-election , at least not for mayor.

S1: And another race that has gotten a lot of attention is the county board of supervisor race between incumbent Democrat Tara Lawson Riemer and former San Diego Mayor Republican Kevin Faulkner. Though that seat is officially nonpartisan , the result would determine the balance of power on the board.

S3: What this means for the county and for people in San Diego County is that Democrats will retain their majority on the Board of Supervisors. They've been pushing a lot of progressive ideas , uh , you know , trying to increase access to social services , um , uh , better relations and better , more favorable conditions for labor unions in the county. They've also sought to limit development in the back country. That was a big issue that played out in this race. And , you know , I think if we're sort of , uh , analyzing the results , it tells us that this district , District three. These coastal communities are by and large , more Democratic than they are Republican. It's historically been seen as a swing district. I don't know how much longer that would be the case , whether in , you know , four years from now , if we're going to see a competitive race and we're going to see Republicans again , spending a lot of money to try and pick up this seat and regain a majority , you know , a Republican majority on the Board of Supervisors , those days , at this point in time , do seem to be behind us.

S1: And another race I know you're following is the San Diego City Attorney's race. Now , that one's a little less high profile. So can you first just explain what the city attorney's job actually is ? Yeah.

S3: Three main components of the job of San Diego city attorney. The first , and probably the biggest is advising city officials. So when the mayor when the city council want to pass a law , it's the city attorney's office , which is led by the city attorney who translate their intent into legalese , the language that actually goes into the municipal code that , you know , judges would have to interpret if there's ever a disagreement. So the office and the candidates for the office typically really focus on their legal experience. The second part of the job is prosecuting misdemeanors and infractions committed within the city. And the third part of the job is representing the city in court. So when the city gets sued or when the city initiates a lawsuit of its own , it's the city attorney who sort of oversees all of that representation.

S1:

S3: Her opponent was Assembly member Brian Mancini. And I think there are a lot of different factors in this race. One thing that we learned when the current city attorney , Maria Elliott , was on the ballot is that the job title that appears right next to your name has a pretty big influence on voters in this particular office , because not a lot of people know what the city attorney does. And , you know , people tend to in favor incumbents when they're not , when they don't really understand what the office is and when your job title on the ballot says chief deputy city attorney , and you're running for city attorney , it kind of makes you look like almost an incumbent. So that appears to have worked in Fubotv's favor. And this is despite a lot of institutional support for Brian Mancini. You know , labor unions endorsed him. The Democratic Party endorsed him. Mayor Todd Gloria endorsed him. But for pulled this one off. And I think that speaks to her credentials as a candidate. And also the fact that , you know , if you're running from within that office , the city attorney's office , uh , you know , that's a pretty big advantage that can be hard to overcome.

S1: So across the county and in many cities in San Diego County , sales tax measures dominated the ballot this year. One of those was measure G , which aimed to raise the sales tax in the county to fund public transportation. That measure is is very close right now , but it's leaning. No. Can you tell us more about measure G and what impact it might have if it fails to pass ? Yeah.

S3: Measure G was most of the money or the funding ? The revenue for a measure G would have gone to public transportation , but a pretty significant portion would have also gone to highways and local streets. So it was really this broader question about transportation infrastructure and whether that's something that voters across the entire county were willing to pay for. Um , I think that what we can , you know , as far as what impact this would have if it fails to pass , you know , it's basically the status quo. Um , you know , our streets , our highways , our public transit system are not in great condition. And , uh , you know , that that could potentially continue. Our public transit systems could continue to struggle to regain ridership after the big losses that we saw during the pandemic. Uh , that could mean , you know , longer wait times. It stops less reliable service. Uh , you know , a lot of these , um , big capital needs that the that the , um , transportation system has , like , stabilizing the train tracks up to to Los Angeles , um , through Del Mar , uh , you know , and not not to mention adding new service or new infrastructure to our transportation network. Um , that seems to be , you know , that that would be much harder to achieve without this additional revenue. Um , I think that one of the reasons that certainly measure G , um , struggles or is struggling right now as we continue to count voice votes and wait patiently for the final outcome , is that , uh sandag. The county transportation agency that would have been managing a lot of these transportation projects does have a credibility problem among voters. If , uh , you know , this agency had been had a spotless record about building projects and executing on those , um , you know , if it hadn't had hadn't gotten so much bad publicity , uh , for various reasons , uh , that that I don't know if we have too much time to go into , then perhaps this this measure would have done better. Um , but , you know , if this , uh , if this trend of , uh , the no majority on measure G continues , then , you know , it just means , uh , we will continue to have not enough funding for transportation infrastructure for things to get better. I think.

S1: And measure E is kind of in the same boat right now. It's leaning no still very close vote. This would increase sales tax in the city of San Diego.

S3: So you know , I think that if there's one sales tax between those two that , uh , is likelier to flip , then I would say perhaps measure G is , is , um , the one that could could switch to a yes by the time the election is certified. Um , but , you know , I think the fact that it is so close just speaks to the fact that , you know , people are feeling the sting of inflation , even still as it is , um , even as inflation has declined in the last year or so. Um , the , uh , you know , the idea of paying a higher sales tax , um , and , and not , uh , you know , it's worth mentioning measure E was a $0.01 sales tax , whereas a lot of the other , um , sales tax measures in the county were either a half or a quarter century. Um , so that , you know , the fact that it was a bigger sales tax increase might have , might have worked against it. The fact that it was an open ended sales tax where , you know , there wasn't a sunset clause saying , like , in 20 years , voters are going to have the opportunity to either say , yes , let's keep this tax on the books or no , let's get rid of it. Um , that that also may have worked against it. Um , and also , you know , San Diego is the biggest city in the county. Of course , it's it's got a lot of different people with different ideas about about , uh , you know what , uh , public spending should be like. Um , and so , you know , whereas it might be easier in a smaller city to win approval from voters for a sales tax increase because , you know , you have fewer people to convince in a big city like San Diego funding a campaign to convince voters that , yes , this tax increase is worth paying for is a real challenge.

S1:

S3: And what that means is that all of the services that we currently provide in terms of police , fire protection , parks , libraries , repaving , roads and everything that costs more every year than the revenue that we have coming in. And every year the city has to figure out a way to balance the budget because unlike the federal government , which can just issue bonds and , you know , put it on the credit card , so to speak , the city of San Diego is required by law to have a balanced budget. Every penny that it spends has to be accounted for in its budget. So , you know , we could see dwindling reserves , a continuation of these short term budget tricks that can sort of extend the ability to avoid budget cuts a little bit longer. But ultimately , you know , the city and the voters are going to have to grapple with the fact that all of the things that we like , that we want , we want libraries , we want good parks , we want , you know , freshly paved streets. Those things cost money. And these these budget deficits that we've been seeing for the past several years are going to continue unless the city either drastically reduces public spending , which means less things that people want , or it finds other ways to increase revenue. If it's not a sales tax , maybe it would be something else. Or , you know , maybe at some point in the future , voters will change their mind. I think one longer trends that we have been seeing in San Diego is , you know , the city was for decades a very tax skeptical city , at least compared to , say , Los Angeles or San Francisco. Even as our city has gotten bluer , there's still been a greater reluctance among voters to support increased taxes for more public spending. And I think that's changing gradually. It just we don't know yet if it has changed enough for a sales tax measure like measure E to actually win a majority.

S1: Well , we'll keep watching. As you mentioned , we're still counting votes there. And both measure G and we're still very close. I've been speaking with Andrew Bowman , Metro reporter at KPBS. Andrew , thanks.

S3: My pleasure.

S1: When roundtable returns , we move on to some statewide races from Tuesday's election and here.

S4:

S1: That's ahead on roundtable. You're listening to KPBS roundtable. I'm Andrew Bracken. So we just got caught up on local election results from across San Diego County. Now we shift to what's happening at the state level. There were ten different propositions in front of California voters this year , covering everything from rent control to marriage equality and changing criminal penalties in the state. California also chose its next senator. Here to talk more about the election at the state level is Jeannie Kwong. She's a reporter with Calmatters. Jeannie , welcome back to roundtable.

S4: Thanks for having me.

S1: Before digging into some of these races , I first want to start with the news that California Governor Gavin Newsom , he on Thursday called for a special legislative session to basically prepare the state for Trump's return to the presidency. Can you tell us about what Newsom announced and what is thinking is here ? Yeah.

S4: So we the state of California , just elected its next , you know , set of lawmakers for the next legislative session. And he's basically calling them into work as soon as they're sworn in on December 2nd. Um , the idea is to hold a special session and approve funding for the state to start suing the Trump administration. This probably sounds familiar. Um , this is what California did the last time Trump was president. And , um , you know , they're already preparing to do so again. The attorney general said that his office has already started preparing legal briefs over , you know , potential Trump administration issues , such as a possible national ban on abortion , restrictions on the abortion pill , um , the potential repeal of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. That's the immigration program for , um , undocumented youth. And , yeah , they're , um , you know , really staking out California's role once again as the liberal antagonist to the Trump administration.

S1: And so these are sort of preemptive , like legal preparations for these kinds of cases that they may foresee coming from Washington , D.C. , in the coming months and years. Is that right ? Right.

S4: So the session itself would be , in theory , for lawmakers to approve funding to the Department of Justice , the state Department of Justice to , you know , work on all of these lawsuits that they have prepared for the Trump administration , I see.

S1: So stepping back here to the election itself.

S4: I was surprised by the margin of victory. Um , but I think it's it's definitely its passage is not surprising given the conversation around , uh , crime and justice that's been taking place , you know , even since the pandemic.

S1: So you just mentioned prop 36 there. Let's let's dig into that some more. There was a pretty lopsided result. Over 70% of voters have approved that as of now. Can you remind us what this proposition does ? Yeah.

S4: Prop 36 would return the state to some of the harsher penalties that it had before 2014 for certain drug and theft crimes. If you'll recall , about ten years ago , the state passed a different proposition prop 47. That back then , you know , we were kind of in the midst of , um , a heyday for criminal justice reform policies. Um , there was a lot of liberal support for rolling back the harsh sentences of the War on Drugs era , and there was also a great interest in reducing the state's prison population , um , that was very overcrowded at the time. And so one of the things that voters did back then was lower some drug and property crimes from felonies down to misdemeanors. Um , since then , due to an array of factors , including some of those sentencing changes , as well as what the state did during the pandemic to reduce the prison population , as well as , uh , different responses from police to , Um , we've seen a rise in shoplifting across the state since the pandemic , and it was a very attention grabbing issue. Um , you know , we all saw these videos of smash-and-grab robberies , and it seemed like retail theft was out of control. And so this year , prosecutors and police and a lot of these retailers sort of banded together to put prop 36 on the ballot. And what that does now is increase the penalties again , returns some of those crimes back up to felonies , um , you know , for repeat offenders. And it also creates a new category of crime called treatment mandated where people would be required to go to treatment for certain charges , um , and kind of face the threat of jail or prison time if they don't complete the treatment.

S1: And you kind of touched on this. I mean , this is , you know , something of a departure Sure for California. Right. And compared to years past , I mean , what is this vote ? The fact that it was not close at all. Tell you about where California voters are today based.

S4: On the national election results. You know , we are seeing a rightward shift. This particular proposition , I think it just shows that there are certain issues where the California electorate , the voter base , might not be as liberal as lawmakers are on the issue. This was heavily discussed during the legislative session as well. And there were , um , some attempts to have a compromise. But a lot of the California Democratic Caucus was split because there were conflicts between moderates and and those who wanted to increase penalties and those who were fearful of returning to , um , an era such as the 90s of really harsh criminal penalties. And , you know , there were there were lots of statements that that would have disproportionate impacts on communities of color. And yeah , Democratic lawmakers , many of them weren't willing to go for any kinds of increase in sentences. And so they were unable to reach a compromise. And so this went to voters instead. And I think this vote shows , you know , kind of where the electorate is out on the issue.

S1: Another big proposition that's gotten a lot of attention this year is prop 33. That one has failed to pass. It would have allowed local governments to be able to set more rules around rent control. Tell us more about that and what you think happened with.

S4: Prop 33 , I think is interesting because it's the third time that , um , this nonprofit in Los Angeles , the Aids Healthcare Foundation , has tried to get voters to let cities across the state impose more rent control if they choose to do that. Um , it's now failed for the third time as well. um , I think both prop 33 and the fact that prop 32 , the minimum wage measure , which is trailing , I think this just shows that even though affordability and inequality are top concerns for Californians , they're also really worried about the economy as a whole. And I think , you know , some of these sort of more progressive ideas to address affordability. Um , they're not really speaking to voters as much. People are worried about inflation or , you know , the , uh , unintended consequences of stricter rent control. Um , and I think that's kind of what we're seeing in these results. Yeah.

S1: Yeah. And on the minimum wage , I mean , I know that's an issue that you've covered in the past. I think you covered the fast food worker minimum wage law. Yeah. Like you mentioned there. That looks right now it's it's not passing. It's leaning towards. No , as of now , as of Thursday afternoon. I mean , what are the details of this and your thoughts of where it stands. Yeah.

S4: Yeah. Prop 32 would raise the minimum wage to $18 an hour or next year for large employers. And then , um , it would kick in the following year for smaller employers. Um , it it's definitely trailing now where it's looking like 52 , 48 for the no side , um , with more than half of votes counted. Um , the proponents told me yesterday that they're still holding out hope. They think it can still pass , um , because they're waiting on votes to come in from areas , you know , parts of the Bay Area and Southern California that they think they have strong support in. But it's an interesting one , just because it didn't make that much of a splash when it got put on the ballot , as you might expect. Um , you know , in the past , the debates over raising the minimum wage have , you know , generated like a ton of union support and then a ton of business opposition. And it was just a much quieter campaign this time. Um , I think part of the reason for that might be just that it's kind of a modest increase in the grand scheme of things. California's minimum wage is already indexed to inflation. It's already one of the highest in the nation. It's going up to 1650 in January , regardless of the outcome of this prop. Um , and so there wasn't as much mobilization around raising it to 18 because , you know , like you mentioned , fast food workers already make $20 an hour. And healthcare workers also have one , uh , a much higher minimum wage for themselves. So it was just a quieter campaign. Um , but I do think , uh , businesses were still opposed. And as part of their opposition , they really rolled out a message that this would increase prices , um , which is something that people are really , really sensitive about right now. Um , both in California and across the country.

S1: One of the more complicated propositions on this year's ballot , at least for me , was prop five. Can you just break this one down for us and where the vote stands on it now.

S4: Yeah , it's definitely one of the more complicated ones. Um , so right now , if a local government wants to issue a bond , which that is borrowing money , um , they have to get approval from voters and they have to clear a two thirds threshold , which is a really high threshold. And oftentimes some of these bonds will have gotten a majority of votes but hasn't been able to clear that two thirds threshold. So prop five would have lowered that approval threshold to 55%. Um , for particularly projects like affordable housing as well as other infrastructure type projects , um , for the public good. So this was kind of an attempt to answer the housing crisis , to make it easier for local governments to borrow money to build affordable housing. Um , it did is does not appear to be on track to pass. Um , right now , you know , with 54% of votes counted , 56% of voters have voted no. And , um , it is interesting that that's the margin , given that voters have approved with prop two and prop for the state borrowing $10 billion to address climate change and $10 billion to fix school facilities. But prop five , it was complicated. And one thing that experts have told us is that voters will see something complicated on the ballot , and if they don't understand it , they don't really want to be responsible for passing something that they maybe don't get. So , you know , people kind of default vote no and just sort of say like , well , it's just keeping the status quo. Um , so I think , you know , that could have been a factor here. It just being sort of complicated and confusing. Um , and , you know , local bonds are often paid for in the future by property owners and their property taxes. So people in California are really , uh , protective about not raising those.

S1:

S4: I wanted to highlight prop six , which was , um , a measure that would have prohibited prisons and jails from forcing inmates to work. Really ? It came out of the um , reparations movement in California , where the state put together a task force to see what are ways the state can , you know , atone for the legacies of slavery. And in the state constitution , there is a ban on slavery , involuntary servitude , except for in the punishment of a crime. And so in for people who are incarcerated , um , they can be required to work jobs in prisons and jails , and most of them make less than a dollar an hour for for that work. And it had no opposition. Prop six had no opposition , no one was campaigning against it. And yet 55% of voters so far have voted no. And it doesn't appear to be on track to pass. I just think it's one of those things that indicates that a lot of the sort of progressive priorities at the state level , um , I don't think they , at least in this round , haven't really spoken to some of California's electorate as much. Um , I , I do wonder , you know , had had we been closer to 20 , 20 , a year when politicians and activists were having a reckoning about racial justice ? I wonder if it would have been popular back then , but this year it does not appear like it's going to pass.

S1: Now I want to move over to California's Senate race. Uh , California has a new senator , Adam Schiff , who defeated Republican Steve Garvey. And Democratic Congressman Schiff is also well known for his role in Trump's first impeachment trial while in the white House.

S4: Um , obviously , we know that Schiff really ran a big portion of his campaign on the fact that he led the movement against Trump when he was in the House. Um , and so I , I'm sure we can expect to see that coming up again.

S1: And as of this recording Thursday afternoon , California still has a fair number of toss up House district races , including here in San Diego , the 49th district in the northern part of the county. What can you tell us about some of these races and how they might influence national politics going forward ? Yeah.

S4: Um , Democrats had gone into this campaign season , uh , saying that the road to them winning back control of the US House would be through California. There are a number of tossup districts in California that were throughout the Central Valley and parts of Southern California , as you mentioned , that Democrats had tried to flip. And , um , the votes are still being counted for those. A lot of these districts are pretty close. They some of them have sort of a Democratic , um , registration advantage , like there are more registered Democrats there , but they've still kind of gone for the Republican incumbents a few different times. And so this year , you know , they were trying again. And at this point , it definitely looks like the Republicans are holding on to those seats. Um , but some of them are really close. So it's hard to say. You know , these are districts that were separated by , you know , just a few thousand or even a few hundred votes in 2022. So I hesitate to make any predictions at the moment.

S1: Well , right ? I mean , votes are still being tallied. We'll find out more , um , you know , going forward.

S4: And I think a lot of that was being driven by the economy. Um , and , and we're seeing that in California as well.

S1: Jeannie Kwong is a reporter at Calmatters. Jeannie. Thanks so much for your insight today and for being here with us during a pretty busy week for you , I imagine.

S4: Yeah , definitely. I appreciate the opportunity.

S1: Up next , we hear about other stories we've been following this week on the roundup , including last week's end to a difficult season for the San Diego Wave. Here's forward Jaden Shaw.

S5: We've had a lot of obstacles , a lot of adversity this year. Um , and for us to just , like , end it on a high note regardless of going to playoffs or not , just like , honestly like putting it in for the fans.

S1: That's ahead on roundtable. You're listening to KPBS roundtable , I'm Andrew Bracken. It's time now for our weekly roundup , where we catch up on some other stories from the week. And joining me , as usual , is KPBS web producer Laura McCaffrey. Hey , Laura.

S6:

S1: But what's what stories are catching your eye this week.

S6: Yeah I know you guys talked with Mr. Andrew Bowen about a lot of local election results , but , um , I want to talk about one particular race that was pretty interesting to me. Um , Assembly district 75. So , um , Mr. Carl DeMaio , longtime , um , figure in politics , uh , he won against a candidate that was backed by the Republican Party. Mr. DeMaio is also a Republican , but he didn't get that endorsement. Um , and he also beat out a candidate that the Democratic Party was pushing for. So both of these parties were like , voters don't do this. But he won by like , I think it was like 60%. He got 60% of the vote. Right.

S1: Right. And our colleague Scott Rod reported on this story , and particularly there was , you know , a press conference called and they kind of called it sort of a rare bipartisan event where it was both a lot of Democratic leaders and Republican leaders in San Diego County calling for them to support D'amato's opponent , who had much less name recognition. Yeah. Um , you know , it was it was definitely like a different scale. But this goes back to the primary. Remember , there was the kind of controversy , um , over the primary and who the local Republican Party was supporting. Um , so it was was it a surprise to you how much he won by ? Because it was to me. Um , but again , it kind of makes sense because I don't know , name recognition , I guess.

S6: Yeah , name recognition is a big deal. Um , and so some of the things that , uh , this coalition was , um , bringing up about Di Maio. They claim he used divisive language and deceptive tactics. And his campaign , like Joel Anderson said , um , de Mayo kept saying he was law enforcement's choice , but he didn't have that endorsement. Um , and there's a couple other well , there.

S1: Are , like , more serious allegations. Too.

S6: Too. Yeah. In the past , he's been accused of sexual harassment. This was way back in the day when he was a council member. And , um , most recently this this it seems like he's had some controversy over whether or not he lives in his district full time. So he and his partner , they own a house , um , in Rancho Bernardo , but , um , kind of. At the last minute , DeMaio rented an apartment in Escondido inside the boundary boundary lines of D 75. And he was able to do that in enough time to pull papers to run for D 75. So it's not illegal but you know. Right. Kind of sus.

S1: And it kind of worked. It looks like he won.

S6: He did it.

S1: So I have another election related story. This was earlier we spoke with Calmatters Jeannie Kwong. This is from her colleague Jeremiah Kimmelman , and he basically documented outside spending in state legislative races. So this is , you know , money from companies. They make these PACs. But what's interesting is like the impact they're having on these kind of smaller legislative races that you may not , you know , um , I don't know , I don't equate with these larger PACs that I think of , you know , Senate races , governor races , presidential races. And he found , you know , there's been an increase of almost 25% of spending by these outside groups. You know , they're largely like companies , maybe union groups. And the number one was the rideshare company Uber. They spent $7 million in this election.

S6: That's interesting.

S1: And it could have , you know , pretty sizable impacts potentially. Because one thing it notes is that , you know , the money in some of these races is like greater than what the actual campaign is spending on the race. So I thought it was interesting just to kind of keep an eye on , um , you know , what companies , what groups are involved and where they're putting , you know , putting their money. This the second highest , uh , spending group was the oil industry. And then the third , I think , was a group of teachers and nurses.

S6: Um , yeah. Oil doesn't surprise me.

S1: Yeah , a lot on energy. Um , but , you know , it said in one race , you know , there was almost like , $3 million put into one Democratic candidate in Senate District 35 and Southern California. So I thought it was interesting just to kind of reference it and to see it all the data kind of spelled out in that piece was kind of I find it kind of helpful. Yeah.

S6: Yeah. So , um , this next story , I want to move on from the election , I'm sure.

S1: Yeah , we've heard.

S6: So much about it. But other stuff happened to , um. So Leonard Francis , he was that Navy contractor that he had this huge , like , bribery scheme with a high level Navy people that he ran for , you know , more than a decade. Um , he was sentenced to 15 years in prison. And this is , uh. Yeah , funny business.

S1: And even , like , the case against him , it went over a decade , I think , like the the case , you know , the scandal itself goes goes even further back than that. And , yeah , he basically would provide services to Navy ships in the Pacific in , in Asia , different ports in Asia. Um , and it really kind of was an elaborate scandal that touched , like , you know , several admirals , a lot of it. What was interesting to me about this is like , this is sort of the last piece in the scandal that's been going on for so long. And it happened , you know , just whether by choice or whatever , the judge , um , set the sentencing on Election day so it didn't get , you know , as much attention just right off the bat. But we spoke with KPBS military and Veterans Affairs reporter Andrew Dyer about it. He was in the courtroom and kind of had some reflections , you know , about this story. And also another former guests of roundtable Washington Post investigative reporter Craig Whitlock. He recently published a book on it called Fat Leonard How One Man Bribed , bilked and Seduced the US. Yeah , but if you want more on on this because it is like a soap opera , it's a roller coaster ride.

S6: You know , and it could be a Netflix Netflix limited series.

S1: Like , I wouldn't be surprised because he's he's just a really wild central character and yet really serious scandal too.

S6: So yeah.

S1: They ended their season about a week ago now , but it's kind of got lost. We were kind of focused on Election Day. So I want to talk a little bit about their season. They had a really difficult year. We've kind of gotten used to the wave making it deep in the playoffs. They've had really successful seasons. This year was not that they fired their coach earlier. Alex Morgan retired earlier this year. But kind of most concerning was the some of the accusations that came out in a lawsuit filed by former employees of the team alleging discrimination , sexual harassment and a hostile work environment that was filed in court last month. So we'll see where that goes. But it was a very strange year. Another thing is another kind of soccer legend , Landon Donovan of formerly of the US men's national team. He became the interim coach and it was a disappointing season. But what made it end in a really strange way was the last game was supposed to be home game. The field conditions were not right , so they moved the game to Louisville. So even the fans didn't have a time , you know , kind of celebrate the season. That was obviously really difficult. I guess the bright side to it is they won that last match. They have some really promising young talent , some really great players on the team going forward. And one of the players that scored in that final match , Jaden Shaw , forward. She's 19 years old. Here's a little of what she had to say about their season after that last game.

S5: It was the biggest test of resilience. I think we've had a lot of obstacles , a lot of adversity this year. Um , and for us to just like end it on a high note regardless of going to playoffs or not , just like , honestly like putting it in for the fans and just being able to represent the crest like , well , for this last game this season and hopefully we can do better next. Yeah.

S6: Yeah. And then they they won that game 3 to 1.

S1: So it's kind of the end of the end of the line. And one of the biggest outstanding questions is , you know obviously what's going to happen with this case , but also with the coach. It was Landon Donovan as the interim coach. That's kind of like questions there about where does it go. I think he said he was going to have meetings this week. I don't think there's been too much news on it. Yeah.

S6: Yeah. It also seems like um , the fan base , the official group , the sirens , they are , you know , posing questions to the team as well. They want more transparency. Um , I think that was , like , directly related to the lawsuit and stuff. So , yeah , the support is shaky. I mean.

S1: One thing , you know , this league has faced allegations like this in the past , unfortunately. But one thing that has been sort of prioritized , like you said , with the sirens with the fan groups , is it's just commitment to inclusivity And just really it's been a really nice , welcoming environment for folks , you know , whether you're super into hardcore sports or not. It's been a really cool space for people to kind of come and cheer on the team. And this definitely kind of makes that relationship more complicated. Like you mentioned the sirens , the fan group has expressed concerns with that. So it remains to be seen where that shakes out of this off season as well. Yeah.

S6: Yeah. On different note , Veterans Day Monday. Yep. Also Fleet Week happening. You remember on sex and the City on Fleet Week happened. They were very excited. No.

S1: No. But my kids had a a field trip at the Fleet Week Innovation Zone. It's like this whole thing where they have all this and they were very excited about that. But yeah , there's a lot happening throughout the county. I mean , there's the there's a parade , um , downtown San Diego on Monday , but there's kind of things happening all over the week throughout the county celebrating Veterans Day. I saw an article on Fox five , had a good run down. The UT had something as well.

S6: Um , yeah , it looks like , um , more somber event there Saturday morning. Um , there's a service at Mount Soledad.

S1: Yeah , there's a lot there. Uh , again , Fox five and the UT both have rundowns of those events. And thanks to all the veterans out there.

S6: Thanks for your service.

S1: That'll do it for this week. There's been a lot going on this week. So Laura , thanks for breaking down some of it. And there's going to be more. We can always go back to KPBS Voter Hub that'll have the latest updates. They're still counting votes.

S6: Yep kpbs.org/voter hub. There's live returns. You can also see which races have been called already. Um , and per usual , we'll always have lots of coverage from NPR and locally from our KPBS team.

S1: Well , thanks so much for all your hard work getting that up there. Laura McCaffrey. Thanks for being here.

S6: Thanks for having me.

S1: That'll do it for our show this week. Thanks so much for listening. You can listen to KPBS roundtable anytime as a podcast. Roundtable airs on KPBS FM at noon on Fridays again Sundays at 6 a.m.. If you have any thoughts on today's show , we'd love to hear from you. You can email us at roundtable at PBS.org , or leave us a message at (619) 452-0228. Roundtable's technical producer this week was Brandon Truffaut. The show was produced by Jacob Air. Brooke Ruth is Roundtable's senior producer. I'm your host , Andrew Bracken. Thanks so much for listening and have a great weekend.