Opinion: Clash over teen sex solicitation bill reveals rift within California Democratic Party

Assemblymember Maggy Krell during the first Assembly floor session of the year at the state Capitol in Sacramento Photo by Fred Greaves CalMatters This column was originally published by CalMatters Sign up for their newsletters A reliable political axiom at least in California is that when one party achieves dominance in specific arena it fragments into factions defined by ideology gender economics ethnicity geography or even personality The axiom has been demonstrated at the local level for decades such as the perpetual infighting among San Francisco s dominant Democrats or the ceaseless squabbling among Republicans when they controlled Orange County Democrats achieved absolute dominance in state politics over the last quarter-century holding all statewide offices and capturing supermajorities in the Legislature and within the state s congressional delegation One might think that such hegemony would manifest itself in sweeping responses to California s bulk pressing issues such as homelessness poverty water supply wildfires and housing shortages particularly after Gavin Newsom became governor on promises to seek big hairy audacious goals It was not to be The issues that were plaguing California when Newsom took office in are as formidable as ever reflecting not only their complexity but the tendency of the dominant party to become a collection of often hostile quasi-parties The disunity has appeared on multiple occasions but what s happened over law to crack down on sex crimes against children is a stark example Two years ago state Sen Shannon Grove a Republican from Bakersfield carried ordinance that would have added human trafficking of a minor to the state s list of serious felonies thereby qualifying an offender for tougher penalties Democrats stalled the bill which was opposed by criminal justice revision groups But when reporters solicited Newsom about it he intervened essentially compelling the Legislature to pass it Last year Grove took up the issue again with measure that would increase penalties for anyone who solicited sex from a minor but Democrats insisted that they wouldn t apply if the minor was or years old Gay rights advocates demanded what was termed a carveout contending that including older teens could backfire if the law was used to punish consenting relationships Grove grudgingly accepted the amendment as the price of getting the measure approved but the issue was rejoined this year with a bill carried by Assemblywoman Maggy Krell a Sacramento Democrat who had been a sex crime prosecutor Krell s measure would eliminate the carveout for - and -year old casualties but in a replay of the previous year fellow Democrats on the Assembly Population Safety Committee struck that provision of the bill leading to a constituents squabble on the Assembly floor last week Republicans sought to restore the bill s original purpose and Krell endorsed the effort saying We need to say loud and clear that if you re under a child a minor the person buying that person should be charged with a felony It s plain and simple sex without consent that s rape She picked up vocal encouragement from specific other Democrats but Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas beat back the effort and punished Krell by taking her name off the bill and inserting a phrase declaring an intent to deal with the issue later No one in the room is OK with minors being sold for sex Rivas noted This is a nuanced issue and conversation That however is not the end of it because Newsom once again entered the debate The law should treat all sex predators who solicit minors the same as a felony regardless of the intended victim s age Newsom disclosed in a message Full stop The image that emerges from this dustup is that of a Democratic Party at war within itself with Rivas trying to be an ayatollah as former Speaker Willie Brown once described himself and Newsom distancing himself from his party s leftish tendencies as a prelude to running for president in CalMatters is a residents interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California s state Capitol works and why it matters