Like many new political candidates at the time, Rebecca Bauer-Kahan first ran for the state Assembly in 2018 because she was troubled by the election of then-President Donald Trump and wanted California to fight back against his administration.
Six years later, that dynamic has flipped on its head. In the just-concluded regular legislative session, the San Ramon Democrat and her colleagues instead battled a against the state鈥檚 liberal governance.
On issues including abortion access, election rules and LGBTQ rights, Democrats in Sacramento passed legislation this year to stifle emerging local policies that they argued undermine the state鈥檚 commitment to diversity, civil rights and other progressive values.
鈥淚n certain ways, we have the right to hold the line for our constituencies,鈥� said , who compared the relationship between the Legislature and local governments to a system of checks and balances. 鈥淎nd I think that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e doing right now 鈥� we鈥檙e checking them.鈥�
Tensions over local control are nothing new in California politics, as anyone who has followed decades of debate about land use and housing development can attest. But the last few years have opened a new front of conflict around cultural grievances more typical of red states.
With Republican power waning in California 鈥� the party hasn鈥檛 elected a candidate to statewide office since 2006 and labors under a superminority in the Legislature 鈥� conservatives are increasingly using the relative autonomy of city councils, county boards of supervisors and school boards to .
鈥淭here鈥檚 just a lot of built-up frustration and that鈥檚 one valve that鈥檚 being used,鈥� said Assemblymember , a Corona Republican who is often an outspoken opponent of bills to shut down conservative defiance. 鈥淲e鈥檙e in an era in politics where you need an adversary.鈥�
The result has been local laws to require voter identification at the polls, block abortion clinics from opening, review children鈥檚 library books for sexual content and mandate parental notification when students change their gender identity at school 鈥� prompting legislative Democrats to respond with measures that would ban those policies.
鈥淭hey don鈥檛 want free people to make up their own minds,鈥� said Fresno County Supervisor Steve Brandau, who for his county because he was disturbed by the children鈥檚 books included in a Pride Month display at a local library. 鈥淲e鈥檙e fighting for our lives, we鈥檙e fighting for our livelihoods, we鈥檙e fighting for our beliefs.鈥�
The clash began intensifying last year, with a showdown over an elementary school social studies textbook. When a Riverside County school board refused to adopt the state-approved curriculum because it referenced assassinated LGBTQ rights activist Harvey Milk, Gov. Gavin Newsom threatened to send the textbook directly to students and bill the district, which then reversed course. Legislators to penalize school boards that ban books because they include the history or culture of LGBTQ people and other diverse groups.
The Legislature also approved, and Newsom signed, a measure to , after Shasta County canceled its contract with a voting machine company because of pushed by Trump and his allies.
A spate of legislation has followed this year, most controversially by Assemblymember , a San Diego Democrat, which when a student starts identifying as another gender. Such parental notification policies began sprouting up across California after the 2022 election, when Republicans , but critics argue they amount to forced outing. Essayli and Democratic Assemblymember nearly over AB 1955, which Newsom signed in July.
Several other measures are headed to the governor鈥檚 desk after receiving final approval from the Legislature last week, including Bauer-Kahan鈥檚 to streamline the permitting process for reproductive health clinics. Though California has positioned itself as an 鈥渁bortion sanctuary鈥� since the U.S Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion 鈥� even putting reproductive rights into the state constitution 鈥� in cities such as Beverly Hills and Fontana.
鈥淲e saw the voters say they overwhelmingly support abortion rights, so it鈥檚 important that we as a state step in to ensure this access that they said they want,鈥� Bauer-Kahan said.
by state Sen. , an Irvine Democrat, would prohibit local governments from requiring voter identification in municipal elections, which as a security measure despite criticisms that it would create unnecessary hurdles for poor and minority voters.
And by Assemblymember , would that Huntington Beach and Fresno County recently created to restrict access to library books with 鈥渟exual references鈥� and 鈥済ender-identity content.鈥� Supporters argue the committees can keep inappropriate material out of children鈥檚 hands, while opponents contend that they target books with LGBTQ themes for censorship.
The legislators behind these bills say they support local control on some issues, but it can go too far when communities use their power to challenge people鈥檚 rights or the values that Californians have broadly affirmed. That鈥檚 when they believe the state should step in.
鈥淚 see it as our responsibility for the Legislature to establish protections for all kids regardless of where they live,鈥� said Muratsuchi, a Torrance Democrat.
Democratic lawmakers suggested the growing confrontation could be a symptom of the divisive politics of the Trump era. They said many conservatives took a signal from Trump鈥檚 refusal to accept his loss in the 2020 presidential election and, like liberal states during the Trump administration, are picking up the mantle to lead a political resistance 鈥� which they believe, in many cases, has gone too far.
鈥淵ou鈥檝e seen a lot of these people really thumb their nose at the rule of law,鈥� Min said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e trying to get around that through sneaky little tactics.鈥�
Conservative politicians counter that they are simply reacting to a state government that has pushed much further left than their constituents by listening to the LGBTQ rights movement and other activists rather than the people who elected them. Essayli said the Democratic supermajority in the Legislature is over-representative of a progressive ideology compared to California voters, only 46% of whom are registered Democrats.
鈥淭here鈥檚 one side changing what the norm is,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hen we鈥檙e considered the instigators, the agitators, the provocateurs for saying, wait, that鈥檚 not the way it鈥檚 always been.鈥�
A spokesperson for Newsom declined to comment on the legislation pending before him or when the governor thinks state intervention is necessary to override local policies. But even if he signs the bills on his desk, is it almost certainly not the end of this fight, as communities such as Huntington Beach 鈥� which has positioned itself over the past two years as a 鈥� consider lawsuits and other forms of protest.
Huntington Beach Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark has already as a direct challenge to AB 1955, the law prohibiting schools from reporting when students change their gender identity.
She said her city is more at odds now with Sacramento because state politicians are trying to stamp out ideological diversity in California and force all parents to raise their children in a certain way.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 none of the state鈥檚 business,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e sick and tired of it. We need to push back.鈥�
鈥淚t would be great if Sacramento could focus on homelessness, crime,鈥� she added, 鈥渁nd leave the parenting to the parents.鈥�
is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.