rejection

The rejection was “a pretty poignant sign of the times in a state like California,” said John Kabateck, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, which had urged voters to vote no.

“Economic issues are top of mind right now, and that can lead to a rejection of a higher minimum wage.”

But it’s faced pushback as well, including rejection from a county supervisor who represents areas being floated for protection.

Also part of the criminal accountability message was the voters’ rejection of Proposition 6, which would have banned prisons from forcing inmates to work.

Butler described the Senate as a “foreign land” and recounted the unexpected challenges that marked her tenure, including Hamas’ stealth attack on Israel in October 2023 and the bloody war that has resulted; the Senate’s rejection of House Republicans’ impeachment of the nation’s Democratic homeland security secretary; and being asked to vote four times to stop a government shutdown.