California Secretary of State Shirley Weber, pictured here in 2023, is encouraging Californians to vote as early as possible.
Cameron Clark
From a federal lawsuit over California’s voter rolls to a fired White House press secretary trashing her Central Coast hometown, Sacramento Bee readers had plenty to argue about last week. Here are the five stories that drew the most comments between Oct. 12 and Oct. 18 — and the conversations your neighbors are still having.
Feds sue California over alleged noncitizen voters
The U.S. Department of Justice sued California on Thursday, demanding the state set aside the ballots of some 20,000 voters it says may not be citizens. Gov. Gavin Newsom didn’t mince words, calling the suit a “sad, desperate attempt by” President Donald Trump “to use his politicized Justice Department to try to suppress California voters just three weeks before Election Day.” The DOJ says California is “knowingly imposing an obstacle” on federal investigations of voter fraud. Readers lit up the comments on both sides.
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Weber urges Californians to vote early
Secretary of State Shirley Weber told voters not to wait, saying returning ballots quickly could help speed up California’s notoriously slow count. Weber also said the state is ready to go to court if anyone tries to interfere with voting — a message that landed as federal immigration sweeps continued in parts of the state.
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Fired press secretary calls Cambria ‘a liberal cesspool’
Katie Zacharia lasted just five days as White House press secretary before being fired Friday. But what really got commenters going was a resurfaced interview in which she described her Central Coast hometown of Cambria as “a liberal cesspool” with “a lot of drugs, meth, pot.” In the same interview, she warned viewers, “do not raise your kids there.” Zacharia attended Coast Union High School, where her 2003 yearbook voted her “most talkative.”
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Suspicious white powder sent to Panetta’s office
U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta’s district office in Santa Cruz was briefly evacuated Friday after a staffer opened an envelope containing “a suspicious white powder.” The staffer put the envelope in the trash, cleared the office and called 911. Everyone was medically cleared. “Threats, fearmongering, and violence against public servants have become far too common over the past decade and undermine our democracy,” Panetta said. “But these attempts to intimidate us will not deter us from doing our job.”
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Harris rallies for Pan, bashes Kiley in Sacramento
Former Vice President Kamala Harris swung through North Natomas to boost former state Sen. Richard Pan in his 6th Congressional District race against Rep. Kevin Kiley, who recently rebranded as an independent after a long Republican history. “His opponent, who is trying to hide behind being an independent now,” Harris told the crowd of about 100. Kiley fired back, accusing Pan of “rolling out the red carpet” for national figures at “closed-door fundraisers.”
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This report was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence and using our own originally reported, written and published content. It was reviewed and edited by our journalists.
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