California Politics 360 Full Episode | Government shutdown, Prop 50’s final stretch, OpenAI’s future in the state
The special election just 2 days away, the future of congressional maps now in the hands of voters. California voters have been very, very clear. They want citizens that are drawing these districts. Prop 50 is our way of fighting back. The final push from the campaign. Shutdown showdown. The government closed for more than *** month. This has gone on way too long. It needs to be resolved. What Senator Adam Schiff hopes both parties can accomplish open AI committed to California. The questions raised as the artificial intelligence giant restructures its business. Thank you for joining us for California Politics 360. I’m Ashley Zala. We are two days away from the special election here in California. Voters are deciding whether to adopt new congressional district maps. They were designed by Democrats to counteract President Trump’s push for Republicans to pick up seats in other states. If voters approve Proposition 50, the adopted congressional maps will be in effect through the 2030. If voters reject the measure, the congressional districts drawn by the state’s independent redistricting commission will remain in effect. We’re sitting down with both sides of Proposition 50, former Republican Party chairwoman and the leader on the no on 50 campaign, Jessica Milan Patterson, and Democratic Senator Adam Schiff, who has spoken out for yes on 50. Here’s part of my conversation with Senator Adam Schiff. Senator Schiff, thank you so much for being with us. Great to be with you. I want to get to Proposition 50 with you, but first, we should talk about the government shutdown. Uh, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said that conversations have picked up with Democrats. Is there anything you can share with us right now? You know, I think conversations have picked up at an individual member level, but what we really need is *** conversation with the president and the Republicans in Congress are not likely to make any deal with us unless the president says, make *** deal, we need to resolve this, we need to get government reopened. Uh, in the House of Representatives, the Speaker has sent all of his members home for the last 6 weeks. So they’re not even here to negotiate, but this has gone on way too long. It needs to be resolved. We need to figure out how to make sure that people aren’t priced out of their health insurance. Californians are getting those notices right now. They’re going on to the website. They’re seeing their premiums double or go up dramatically, um, to the point where it’s estimated that, uh, *** couple million people will simply become uninsured, and that will raise the cost for everyone else who remains in the health insurance pool. So this needs to be fixed. We need, need to get the government reopened, uh, and I hope that, you know, we can have the president sit down at the table and help us resolve this. I want to unpack two of those, but I’ll pick up where you left off with the president. I mean, now that he’s coming back to the United States after being out of the country, are you confident that maybe talks could pick up and there could be *** resolution with him being on the ground? I’m hopeful that that will happen. There’s no guarantee though that it will. I say that because we have been urging the president to sit down with us and negotiate for quite some time. Uh, and it hasn’t happened. So this might be different though, now that I think Americans are seeing their insurance costs, I think it has really increased the pressure on the White House to try to fix this, uh, but time will tell. Nevertheless, um, this needs to get done. It’s gone on way too long. Um, and we need to fix the insurance problem because if we don’t fix it immediately, Then those premium increases people are already seeing are gonna be permanent for the year. There’s still time, I think, to change that, but the longer we wait, the more young people, particularly young people decide, I’m just not gonna buy insurance this year, and that pushes up the cost for everyone who’s left. Speaking of the weight and, and that sticking point, I mean, do Democrats have an expiration date? I mean how much longer can government workers go without pay before. Democrats there essentially for lack of *** better term, give in. Well, I think, you know, people all around the country, in addition to federal employees are experiencing these health insurance increases, so everyone is feeling the pain right now. Um, and we need to get federal workers back to work. We need to make sure that people get the food assistance. That they need that the president is unilaterally withholding and by the way, there’s nothing in the law that requires that during *** shutdown. In fact, the law requires the president to use *** contingency fund that is set up that has billions of dollars in it, but he’s refusing to. Uh, this is the first time during *** shutdown where *** president has actually tried to increase the pain people are feeling rather than mitigate the harms, but, uh, we need to resolve this, get people back to work. But also, we can’t simply say, well, OK, 2 million people losing their health insurance, that’s just too bad, and millions more who are gonna pay *** fortune more for the healthcare, and it’s gonna mean less money for food and for family. That doesn’t work either. That also needs to be fixed. And uh, so circling back to Proposition 50 now, Senator Schiff, I, I know that’s ***, you support this measure. Um, I wonder with some of the independent redistricting commissioners right now stating that they don’t believe this would be temporary as *** former House member, do you see it being easy for any Democrats who could get elected under these new maps to give up those districts um that have been gerrymandered for them if this passes? Well, California passed this resolution establishing the commission, uh, even though members benefit from being able to draw their own districts or having *** legislature do it. So we were able to get this, um, in place in California, but frankly, many of us had the concern that is now materializing, which is that other states would decide they’re gonna continue to gerrymander or even gerrymander worse, and Californian uh voters will have their votes diluted. Basically, the only reason this is necessary, the only reason it’s happening is that the president told Texas, you need to redistrict in the middle of the census because the administration is afraid they’re gonna lose control of the Congress, they’re gonna lose the majority in the midterms over health care, over their cuts to healthcare and the cuts to food assistance. And so the only way that the administration evidently believes they can hold on to power is if they redraw the lines elsewhere. So California was forced to respond. Otherwise, our voters just don’t have the same voice in deciding national policy. But my hope is that at the end of the day, That Democrats and Republicans will agree on *** national redistricting reform that prohibits the gerrymander in every state that insists that every state use *** commission like California has been using. I’ve been sponsoring that legislation for years, but now that things have gotten so out of control, I hope it has new impetus and more bipartisan support or at least some bipartisan support. But regrettably, I think it is very necessary to preserve our voice and things in California, to preserve our democracy, to change the course of policy in this country that we passed Prop 50. But you’re confident it would be temporary? Yes, you know, the only caveat being, um, if *** president like Donald Trump goes through this exercise again and tries to rig the election by redrawing the lines in other states, California can’t unilaterally disarm. But yes, this is intended to be temporary. I hope it is temporary, uh, and I think the way to ensure that it’s temporary is to make sure that this obligation to use commission extends to other states as well, not just the blue states. Senator Adam Schiff, we thank you so much for your time. Thank you for being with us. Thank you. My full conversation with Senator Adam Schiff is online right now at Cal Politics 360.com. Next on California Politics 360, we hear from the No on 50 campaign, their push to sway voters in the final days. We are 2 days out from the state’s special election on redistricting. Governor Gavin Newsom and Democrats in the state legislature quickly drew the maps that voters are deciding on. Voters will choose whether or not to adopt proposed congressional maps designed by Democrats to specifically flip 5 Republican-held seats in the US House of Representatives. It’s *** move to counteract President Trump’s push. To flip seats in other states, *** new poll from UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies shows *** majority of likely voters say they will vote yes on Prop 50. 38% say they will vote no. Earlier this week, I spoke with the chair of the No on 50 campaign, also the former Republican Party chairwoman Jessica Milan Patterson. Here’s that conversation. Jessica, thank you so much for being with us. Thanks, Ashley. Jessica, what’s your reaction to the latest polls showing Prop 50 is poised to easily pass on Tuesday? Well, we’re gonna be pushing all the way to the finish line, you know, we are watching, we’ve had to have *** very targeted race, uh, where we are going after individual voters, and we are turning them out. We’re watching those returns come in, so it’s *** lot closer from what we’re looking at. We’re gonna be going all the way. Through the finish line, our voters tend to vote later in the process, so you’re gonna see us running *** hard campaign all the way through Tuesday night when polls close. Speaking of the campaign, supporters of Proposition 50 have raised essentially double the amount of money as opponents of it overall. With that, supporters have also been able to spend significantly more on ads. When these campaigns got started, former Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was reportedly aiming to raise $100 million on his end. What happened there? Well, we’ve seen the yes side raise about $65 million from all of the different committees, and we knew that we are always going to be outraged. Um, this is something. That happens with every single one of our races here in California, whether it’s *** congressional seat, *** legislative seat, or *** statewide ballot initiative. So this is not unfamiliar territory for us. That’s why we have to get incredibly targeted with the way that we turn out voters and as you’ve seen over the last several years, this is also the way we win races, um, and we’ve been counted out before. We’ve been on the tough side. And working our way up the mountain before and so this is an unfamiliar territory to us. Despite that, um, we still win races. Whether it’s congressional seats, we were responsible for the House majority. In fact, that is why Gavin Newsom has decided to do this gerrymander uh uh ballot initiative, um, or ballot initiatives. Last cycle California voters with the California Republican Party. Position 89% of the time when it came to statewide ballot initiatives. So we’re not unfamiliar with being, uh, on the side of less money. Um, what we’re going to do is what we do every time, and that’s how we work on. Jessica, *** recent PPIC poll shows the president’s approval rating is at 26% here in California. With supporters making this *** referendum on Donald Trump, do you think that is hurting your campaign? Well, certainly that is the only play that we’ve ever seen out of California Democrats, and that’s because if they had to talk about the issues, if they had to talk about their policies, they’d have to talk about their failures and what they are doing that is wrong, um, everything from soft on crime policies to our children’s education to the unaffordability crisis, the homeless crisis. California Democrats have failed us. If they had to talk about their own record, that then they would, they know that they would fail. So you don’t think the president is hamstringing the campaign at all here? I think that what we have done is try to talk about the issue and the issue here is that California voters have been very, very clear. They want citizens that are drawing these districts. They do not want backroom politicians drawing these lines with DC lobbyists and insiders. They know that when we give. The power to Sacramento. 1, we never get it back, and 2, they fail us. So we have tried very, very hard to keep this about the issues. The other side, on the other hand, has wanted to make this about politicians. They wanted lifelong politicians who never supported the Citizens redistricting Commission on their ballot title, on their summary. We tried to make this campaign about what it is, the people. Jessica Milan Patterson, we really appreciate your time today. Thank you. Thanks, Ashley. OpenAI restructuring its company. What this means for California. OpenAI made major moves this week announcing the company is restructuring and committing to California in the process. OpenAI is known for its online AI chatbot known as Chat GPT. This restructuring can be complicated to explain, so we went right to the source, Chat GPT, and asked it to simplify it for us. This is what it said. With this week’s update, the company that started out as *** nonprofit will have both *** nonprofit side that controls decision making. And *** for-profit entity that can raise money, have investors, and operate more like *** business back here in California with the change, OpenAI and Attorney General Rob Bonta signed an agreement to ensure the company and the state continue working together. Earlier this week I spoke with OpenAI’s chief of global affairs, Chris Lehane. Here’s that conversation. How does OpenAI’s restructuring agreement um benefit California moving forward? Yeah, you know, I think of this, you know, people often talk about win-wins, um, maybe this is *** win, win, win, win. Um, I mean, it’s certainly, you know, *** win for OpenAI in terms of our ability to move forward and help create, you know, what will be one of the biggest nonprofits in history and stay here in California. Um, look, I think it’s *** win for California in terms of it’s the 4th largest economy in the world, something that you’ve covered and talked about *** lot. Um, this helps position California for the next great economic age, the age of intelligence. Third, I think it’s *** win for leaders in California, you know, who really give this some thought, um, and really sought to make sure that they’re gonna keep this company here in California. And 4th, I think it’s *** win for the AI industry and sector. Um, you know, I do think that this is an interesting corporate model for artificial intelligence where you have *** nonprofit that oversees *** public benefits corporation. Which in our view, is basically created *** corporate structure that builds in democracy by design. I mean, they have *** nonprofit overseeing what is going to be *** very powerful technology that’s gonna impact all of us, uh, and to have it governed by *** nonprofit, I think is *** really interesting approach. And every time you’ve had big Technological innovations over human history, particularly in the capitalist structure, you’ve had to develop new types of corporate structures to help ensure that the democratic benefits are really distributed and broadly, uh, spread out. And I do think, um, that this is *** structure people will look back upon, uh, as having built in that democracy by design. With the restructuring, the attorney general mentioned that OpenAI is also simultaneously committing to California. Can you provide specifics? I mean, does that mean you are committed here for *** certain number of years or or what that entails? Uh, so, um, look, I’m here in California, you’re here in California. Sam Altman, um, the CEO co-founder, has talked about how much he loves the state and the fact that Open, open the eye will not exist today, but for the fact that it was born here in California. Um, and so I think one of the most important, sort of just moments in, you know, probably the last 12 months, you know, roughly as we were going through the conversations with the California Attorney General Rob Bonta, was *** moment, I guess, maybe *** little bit over 2 weeks ago, um, and the two of them were on *** video like this. Um, and, you know, probably the first, they, they had met earlier, but this was really the first, really probably intense comprehensive discussion between the two of them. On specifically the restructuring and, you know, the attorney General as he should, you know, asked Sam about, you know, how he was thinking about California. And Sam, you know, through the video screen, you know, looked the AG in the eye and said, hey, look at, we wanna be here, we intend to be here. We’re not gonna be like one of those other companies that has left California, that threat to sue California. Uh, and I think that really then served as the foundation for The memorandum of understanding that was signed between OpenAI and the Attorney general office. Uh, and if you read that document, like the first, I think 4 or 5 sentences, you know, talks about the history of OpenAI in California and the commitment to be here, including, uh, an explicit reference to the fact that following the signing, we’re now in *** position that in fact, be able to expand our operations. I mean, look, in the last year, I’m doing this *** little bit off the top of my head. I think we had over *** billion dollars in direct economic impact on the state. I think over $2 billion. An indirect economic impact, you know, as we stand here today, California is #1 in terms of the number of jobs being generated by AI. #1 in terms of the number of companies in the world. 33 of the top 50 companies are in California. Number one, in terms of talent in AI that exists in the entire world, and OpenAI has sort of been at the center of all of that, and I think the Attorney General understood that. I think Sam understood that. And to me, that is one of the foundational elements of the agreement that we were, we were all able to come together on. Chris Lehane, thank you so much for your time. Awesome to see you. I look forward to seeing you in Sac Town. Um, I come up and see my kings sometime, so, uh, hopefully we can get together, OK? My full conversation with Chris Lehane is online right now at Calpolitics 360.com. Next on California Politics 360, look back at the history of the governor’s mansion. It’s been 122 years since the first state leader moved into the California governor’s mansion. The Victorian house on the corner of 16th and 8th Streets served as the first official governor’s residence. Governor George Party and his family moved in during November of 1903. The state parks office says it was home for 13 governors for 64 years. In 1967, the Reagans moved out of the mansion and into *** home in East. In 2015, then Governor Jerry Brown restored the mansion and became the first governor to live in it since the Reagans. He stayed there until the end of his term. Governor Newsom considered moving into the governor’s mansion, but with young kids, he opted out. Thank you for joining us for California Politics 360. See you next Sunday.
California Politics 360 Full Episode | Government shutdown, Prop 50’s final stretch, OpenAI’s future in the state
Updated: 8:28 AM PST Nov 2, 2025
With two days left until the special election on redistricting, California Politics 360 hears from representatives from both sides of the state’s ballot measure known as Prop 50. Senator Adam Schiff talks about his support for the measure, the likelihood it’s temporary, and provides his insight into the ongoing government shutdown.Former California Republican Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson discusses what the ‘No on 50’ campaign is doing to turn out voters. Political Director Ashley Zavala also speaks one-on-one with OpenAI’s Chief of Global Affairs Officer, Chris Lehane, about the company’s restructuring and what this means for the company’s future in California.Watch the full episode in the video above. KCRA 3 Political Director Ashley Zavala reports in-depth coverage of top California politics and policy issues. She is also the host of “California Politics 360.” Get informed each Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on KCRA 3.
With two days left until the special election on redistricting, California Politics 360 hears from representatives from both sides of the state’s ballot measure known as Prop 50.
Senator Adam Schiff talks about his support for the measure, the likelihood it’s temporary, and provides his insight into the ongoing government shutdown.
Former California Republican Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson discusses what the ‘No on 50’ campaign is doing to turn out voters.
Political Director Ashley Zavala also speaks one-on-one with OpenAI’s Chief of Global Affairs Officer, Chris Lehane, about the company’s restructuring and what this means for the company’s future in California.
Watch the full episode in the video above.
KCRA 3 Political Director Ashley Zavala reports in-depth coverage of top California politics and policy issues. She is also the host of “California Politics 360.” Get informed each Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on KCRA 3.