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BOMBS… As we hit send on this morning’s Beat, two more packages containing eighth and ninth bombs were discovered at actor Robert De Niro’s Tribeca Enterprises office in Manhattan and at a facility after officials searched for a package sent to former VP Joe Biden. This follows attempts to deliver pipe bombs to former President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Eric Holder, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), and former CIA Director John Brennan, as well as the one received at the home of billionaire investor and Democratic donor George Soros. What do all these people have in common? They’ve all spoken negatively about Donald Trump. BAD PEOPLE ON BOTH SIDES? That seems to be what the president was suggesting yesterday when he spoke out about the violence. He criticized and blamed the media saying they need "to set a civil tone and to stop the endless hostility and constant negative and oftentimes false attacks and stories." THEY’RE LISTENING… Foreign agents routinely listen in on personal calls made by Donald Trump, who has refused to give up his iPhone despite warnings that it is not secure. THERE’S AUDIO… CIA Director Gina Haspel listened to audio purportedly capturing the interrogation and killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. FAKE NEWS… A Fox News host apologized after a morning news segment showed a picture of Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) in a story about a murder-suicide suspect in Salt Lake City on Tuesday. HEAR ME ROAR… Women are entering the U.S. workforce in the highest numbers in decades, but gender parity isn’t improving. Only about one in five senior leaders is a woman, and one in 25 is a woman of color. IGNORANCE… It’s the thing that all too frequently produces violence. Be informed. Be engaged. And be safe. The House and Senate are out. And so are we. We’re back on Monday, but don’t miss a Beat! You can catch up on this week’s editions here. We’re kicking off today with this...
- Congresswoman Mia Love (R-UT) teams with Dems over economic inclusion.
- MacArthur pledges millions to reduce over-incarceration.
- 7.8 million Latinos will cast votes in this year’s midterm elections.
- WaPo’s Seung Min Kim joins CNN.
- Alaska appoints first Native woman Lt. Gov.
- Tune in this weekend to catch The Beat DC’s Tiffany D. Cross on MSNBC Sunday morning on Up with David Gura. Stay tuned to Twitter for more.
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ID Democratic gubernatorial candidate Paulette Jordan with church members last Sunday at the Agape Christian Worship Center in Boise. | |  |
CNN’s Jim Acosta getting prepped for a live shot at a Trump rally this week. | |
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Catherine Cortez Masto Wants to Know Why Google Waited Six Months to Inform Users About Data Breach
Google exposed the private data of nearly 500,000 of users of the Google+ social network and then opted not to disclose the issue until six months later. Now, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) wants to know why. She and Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) penned a letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai expressing their serious concerns. “At a time when Americans’ trust in large, online companies is at an all-time low, we are deeply dismayed that more care was not taken to inform consumers about threats to their personal information,” the lawmakers wrote. Part of the reason Google stayed quiet about the breach was due to fears that disclosure would draw regulatory scrutiny and cause reputational damage, according to people briefed on the incident and documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. “Time and time again we have seen that tech companies and social media platforms are unwilling or unable to self-regulate in a way that protects consumers,” the Senators wrote. Alphabet, Google’s parent company, announced a sweeping set of data privacy measures amid the fallout that included permanently shutting down all consumer functionality of Google+. A software glitch in the social site gave outside developers potential access to private Google+ profile data between 2015 and March 2018, when internal investigators discovered and fixed the issue. “Does Google plan to reevaluate its internal thresholds for determining when disclosures should be made in cases when consumers’ personal information has been mishandled?” This is just one of the questions Cortez Masto and Klobuchar pressed Pichai to answer in their letter. “Google has directly profited off of the vast amount of data collected on American citizens. These same American citizens deserve to have their privacy protected and to know that the data Google collects is safe and secure,” the letter concludes. Read it in its entirety here.
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NYC Tri-Caucus Members Call for CFPB Official’s Ouster Over Past Racial Slurs
Members of the New York City Democratic congressional delegation including Gregory Meeks, José Serrano, Nydia Velázquez, Grace Meng, and Adriano Espaillat want the administration to dismiss Eric Blankenstein from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) anti-discrimination enforcement arm. Together with members of the New York City Council’s Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus, the NYC congressional delegation sent a letter to Acting Director of the CFPB, Mick Mulvaney, calling for Blankenstein’s ouster given his past use of racial slurs and his demonstrated skepticism of racial discrimination. Blankenstein’s past blog posts, as well as emails uncovered by The Washington Post earlier this month, revealed a lack of understanding about racism and its effects on outcomes, his use of the n-word, and his skepticism about the prevalence of hate crimes. Blankenstein’s 2004 blog post criticized the University of Virginia’s proposal to strengthen penalties against acts of intolerance as “racial idiocy.” “Mr. Blankenstein's appointment poses significant reputational risks for the Consumer Bureau and the financial services industry, and his appointment represents an ugly black eye on this administration,” the delegation wrote. “Mr. Blankenstein's actions demonstrate a lack of understanding of how racial discrimination influences outcomes in America and his words indicate he has no regard for the pain still felt from America's racial wounds. Mr. Blankenstein is simply unfit to work at the Consumer Bureau and he should be removed expeditiously.” More here.
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Farmers & Merchants Bank SVP Scott Dowds with CA Republican congressional candidate Young Kim at the Fullerton Mayor's Prayer Breakfast earlier this month. | |  |
Rapper Ludacris, GA Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, and producer Will Packer on Monday at an early voting rally in Atlanta. | |
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Federal Housing Agency Releases Plan for Diversity and Inclusion
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) on Monday released its plan to expand diversity and inclusion over the next several years at Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Bank System -- which includes 11 banks and the Office of Finance. While the agency is embracing diversity, the demand is for the industry to better serve a more diverse customer base and offer a variety of different ways they can help people become and maintain sustainable homeownership. The agency outlined three strategic goals that, in addition to increasing diversity and inclusion from 2019 to 2021, they say will also fulfill FHFA’s goal to ensure liquidity, stability, and access in housing finance. The first goal that the agency outlined is to strengthen diversity and inclusion understanding to drive cultural awareness. They say they will do this by enhancing the understanding of the OMWI and EEO missions and responsibilities in order to further develop cultural awareness, both within the agency and for its regulated entities. The second goal is meaningful diversity and inclusion communication by engaging stakeholders in the agency’s diversity and inclusion mission. The third goal is ensuring OMWI organizational sustainability by developing the strategic tools, policies, and services that support the long-term sustainability and effectiveness of the diversity and inclusion mission. More here.
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Black Lawmakers Want to Renew Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), Congressmen Gregory Meeks (D-NY) and Lacy Clay (D-MS), and Congresswoman Mia Love (R-UT) are requesting the renewal of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion (ComE-IN) to help continue to expand access to safe and affordable banking services among underserved populations. In a letter to FDIC Chair Jelena McWilliams, the members advocated that ComE-IN has been useful due to the variety of perspectives of its membership -- which includes bankers and other industry participants -- and has provided substantial information to state and federal policymakers, particularly those on the House Committee on Financial Services and the Senate Committee on Banking. They also said ComE-IN could provide input on modernizing the Community Reinvestment Act, which was designed to encourage commercial banks and savings associations to help meet the needs of low- and mid-income neighborhoods. “With the FDIC's role as the banking system's deposit-insurer, ComE-IN can be helpful in informing the FDIC's decision-making as the agency considers the future of banking,” they wrote. “We reiterate our strong bipartisan support for ComE-IN and encourage you to renew the Committee's structure and responsibilities unchanged, consistent with Democratic and Republican FDIC chairs of the past.” More here.
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Agencies Woefully Unprepared for Trump’s “Zero-Tolerance” Immigration Policy
The April announcement of a “zero-tolerance” immigration policy -- which resulted in nearly 3,000 children being separated from their families -- caught the agencies charged with its implementation and enforcement off-guard and unprepared. A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released Wednesday found that the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Homeland Security (DHS) were not aware that Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ directive was being issued. DHS and HHS officials told GAO investigators they did not take steps in advance of the policy announcement to plan for the separation of parents and children or the increase of referrals to the Office of Refugee Resettlement. Communication between the agencies during the transfers of children and parents to shelters was also flawed, and the report found that DHS officials did not notify shelter staff that a child had been separated from his or her parents. In some egregious cases, they only learned about a separation when the child told them. Children were deemed “unaccompanied minors” after the government had separated them from their parents; the refugee office was used to dealing with minors who arrived at the border alone. Also, many of those children were considerably younger than the teens and pre-teens the refugee office normally saw. “Shelters converted space previously used for classrooms for older children to be space for children under age 5, with one shelter adding cribs, smaller tables and chairs, and toys appropriate for younger children,” the report noted. More here.
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The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah with his mom Patricia in South Africa in the late 80's. | |  |
Senator Mazie Hirono's (D-HI) high school yearbook photo from 1966. | |
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NALEO Says 7.8 million Latinos Expected to Vote in 2018 Midterms
A new National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund analysis projects that more than 7.8 million Latinxs are expected to cast ballots in the 2018 midterms -- a marked 15% increase in turnout and 6.9% increase in the Latinx share of the vote versus 2014. NALEO has made a tradition of releasing expected Latinx voting totals that have generally been close to the final numbers. The new NALEO report predicts that the largest increase versus 2014 will occur in Arizona, where they expect 486,000 Latinx voters (+33.4%); California, where they expect 2,133,000 Latinx voters (+25.0%); Illinois 252,000 15.8%); and Florida, where they expect 1,008,000 Latinx voters (+12.6%). Notably, in Texas, where Republican Senator Ted Cruz is facing a challenge from Democratic Congressman Beto O’Rourke -- who has invested greatly in getting out the Latinx vote -- NALEO expects a modest 1.4% increase in the number of Latinx voters. Still, "Latinos are ready to make their voices heard," said Arturo Vargas, Executive Director of NALEO. Their survey found that 5% of registered Latinx voters say they have already voted. And enthusiasm is high, with 71% reporting that they are certain they will vote and another 12% stating they will probably vote. Plus, a majority (69%) of those surveyed said they have encouraged a friend or family member to either register to vote or vote this year, up from 56% in 2016. We’ll learn more in 12 days. See the full report here.
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Florida Gubernatorial Candidates Square Off in Final Debate
Florida Gubernatorial candidates Andrew Gillum and Ron Desantis traded blows in their final debate Wednesday night at Broward College. Gillum faced questions over accepting Hamilton tickets from an undercover FBI agent. He said he thought he was accepting tickets from his brother but acknowledged he should have asked more questions. In an effort to focus on issues impacting Florida, Gillum said, “We got 99 issues, and Hamilton ain’t one of them.” He then turned to DeSantis’ affiliation with white supremacists, punctuated by racist remarks the Republican made on Fox News. “Now, I am not calling Mr. DeSantis a racist,” Gillum said. “I’m simply saying the racists believe he is a racist.” DeSantis responded by accusing Gillum of “always playing the victim.” The pair clashed on gun control, Gillum’s plan to raise the state’s corporate income tax, and if DeSantis and Republicans could be trusted to protect Floridians with pre-existing health conditions. The debate, hosted by the Florida Press Association and Leadership Florida, was the last chance to move Florida’s 13 million registered voters. More than 1.4 million voters have already cast early ballots in the battleground state. DeSantis is traveling to Jacksonville today to rally with VP Mike Pence. Gillum is heading to South Florida with civil rights icon Congressman John Lewis (D-GA). Watch the final debate here.
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MacArthur Foundation Announce $22 Million to Reduce Over-Incarceration
The MacArthur Foundation on Wednesday announced an additional $22 million in grants through its Safety and Justice Challenge -- a national initiative to reduce over-incarceration by changing the way America thinks about and uses jails. The new funding will support 12 new cities and counties working to reduce incarceration and 13 sites already part of the growing national movement. The initiative supports local leaders tackling the misuse and overuse of jails. Local leaders at each site identify the causes of over-incarceration locally. They engage diverse local voices including elected officials, health providers, law enforcement, formerly incarcerated residents, and other community members, all to determine ways to reduce over-incarceration, address racial and ethnic disparities, and make local systems more just and equitable. They also work together to build infrastructure to design, implement, and track progress over time. “There is growing demand for criminal justice reform across the country, and local jurisdictions are leading the way,” said Laurie Garduque, MacArthur’s Director of Justice Reform. “MacArthur is increasing our investment because we are seeing promising results and an appetite for more reform as evidenced by the diversity and creativity of the solutions implemented and tested across the Network. While progress is not always easy, and there is no single solution or quick fix, these jurisdictions are proving it is possible to rethink local justice systems from the ground up with forward-looking, smart solutions.” There are 2.2 million people in prison or jail in the U.S., and many states are struggling to manage their high inmate populations. According to Bureau of Justice Statistics data, the U.S. incarcerated 471 people per every 100,000 in 2014 alone. More here.
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CNN’s Van Jones with Cedric the Entertainer at NBCUniversal offices earlier this month. | |  |
Chef and author José Andrés meeting Institute of Culinary Education student Sabrina Love in NYC last week. | |
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WaPo’s Seung Min Kim Joins CNN
WaPo's Seung Min Kim has added a new gig as a Political Analyst at CNN. She is currently a White House Reporter for the Post, covering the Trump administration through the lens of Capitol Hill. Before that, she spent more than eight years at Politico, primarily covering the Senate and immigration policy. While there, Kim also served as Assistant Editor of the Arena, Politico’s opinion site, and as Web Producer. The bilingual journalist, who is fluent in English and Korean, has reported for USA Today, The Star-Ledger, Des Moines Register, St. Petersburg Times, and more. The 2007 University of Iowa graduate, who also has a Master’s from American University, is a member of the Asian American Journalists Association. More here.
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Bakari Sellers Releases Documentary with Charlamagne Tha God
CNN commentator Bakari Sellers recently released a new documentary titled While I Breathe, I Hope. The film chronicles his losing bid for Lt. Governor of South Carolina and also shows his response to two pivotal events that occurred in his home state in 2015: the Charleston shooting and the removal of the Confederate flag from the State House grounds. “One of my good friends, Clementa Pinckney, was killed in a church with eight other parishioners during Bible study by Dylan Roof,” Sellers told Black Enterprise, recalling the murder of the late state senator and pastor in the racially-motivated massacre. Fellow South Carolina native Charlamagne Tha God, co-host of the nationally syndicated radio show The Breakfast Club, served as an Executive Producer on the film. “I feel like Bakari could be president of the United States of America one day,” Charlamagne said. Sellers says he wants young people to see the film and feel inspired to run for office, themselves. “It’s unfiltered. It catches me at my highs and my lows,” he said. While I Breathe, I Hope made its world premiere at the New Orleans Film Festival this month and will be screened at the DOC NYC film festival in New York on November 11th as well as in other film festivals. More here from Black Enterprise.
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Policy Advocate
Protect Democracy is seeking a Policy Advocate who is passionate about protecting our democracy to develop policy solutions and strategically organize coalitions to defend and strengthen democratic norms and institutions. The Policy Advocate will lead our efforts to influence the Hill and executive branch oversight bodies. Click here to learn more & apply. | |
Communications Organizer
Protect Democracy is seeking a highly motivated Communications Organizer. They will cultivate and manage relationships with media; increase Protect Democracy’s visibility; represent Protect Democracy; ensure effective rapid response and crisis communications management; and more.
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Alaska Appoints First Native Woman Lt. Gov. Amid Shake-Up
Alaska Governor Bill Walker swore in Valerie Nurr’araaluk Davidson as Lt. Gov. on Tuesday, making her the first Native American woman to serve as Lt. Gov. in any state. Her historic appointment doesn’t come out of thin air, however. She succeeds former Alaska Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott, a member of the Tlingit tribe, who abruptly resigned from his post after speculation that he made “inappropriate comments” to a woman. The incident occurred last week during the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) annual convention in Anchorage -- the biggest annual gathering of Alaska's indigenous people -- with Walker scheduled to open the conference on Thursday and Davidson to deliver the keynote address. “Alaskans deserve the highest standards of conduct by their elected officials. While I am deeply saddened by the resignation of Lt. Governor Byron Mallott, I am profoundly disappointed by his conduct,” Davidson said in a statement. “Respect for women, and the dignity of all Alaskans, is our responsibility. I stand ready to serve as your Lieutenant Governor.” Davidson, who is Yup’ik, most recently served as Commissioner of Health and Human Services to Walker. Prior to that, the University of Alaska Southeast graduate, who also has a law degree from the University of New Mexico, was the Senior Director of Legal and Intergovernmental Affairs at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, where she represented Alaska Native health needs at federal and state levels, and was a key player of the state’s Medicaid expansion. “Just two days ago, our world shifted, and I want you to know Alaskans deserve the highest standard of conduct by their elected officials,” she said at the AFN conference. “These last few days have been tough for all of us, but today is a new day. Today we move forward.” The announcement is bittersweet, as Walker announced on Saturday that he is suspending his re-election campaign after concern that he and Davidson would not win the crowded three-way race for the governorship. Walker encouraged his supporters to support the Democratic candidate, Mark Begich. More here.
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Chuck Schumer Adds New Director of African American Media
Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has added Alysa James to his staff as the Director of African American Media of the Democratic Caucus. In her new role, she’ll serve as the liaison between Senate offices and multicultural media. She previously served as a temporary press staffer for the Senate Judiciary Committee, where she worked with key stakeholders to pitch and place stories regarding Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s record on topics such as civil rights, voting rights, and healthcare. Prior to that, James was the Upstate Deputy Press Secretary in Schumer’s office where she managed relationships with NY reporters and publications, as well as prepared media advisories and talking points for the Senator. Before that, she was a Press Assistant for the DCCC and also worked for Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA), Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-MD), and the 2016 campaign for Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy (D-FL). The 2015 Cornell University graduate is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. More about her here.
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Meet Trump’s Nominee for Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
The White House on Wednesday announced that Donald Trump will designate Commissioner Neil Chatterjee to be the Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The current Chairman, Kevin McIntyre, announced that he is stepping down from his position due to his health, which has made him "unable to perform the duties of chairman." He will, however, stay on as a Commissioner. Chatterjee was the acting Chairman of FERC last year before McIntyre’s Senate confirmation. The St. Lawrence University graduate, who received his law degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Law, was the energy policy advisor to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). Prior to that, the Lexington, KY native worked as a Principal in Government Relations for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and as an aide to then-House Republican Conference Chairwoman Deborah Pryce (R-OH). He began his career in DC with the House Committee on Ways and Means. More here.
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Voto Latino’s Steve Alfaro, María Teresa Kumar, and Jessica Reeves at the Voto Latino Power Summit in Austin, TX earlier this month. | |  |
Rev. Al Sharpton and The Wendy Williams Show’s Wendy Williams on Tuesday on-set in NYC. | |
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R/GA Names First SVP of Technology
International advertising agency R/GA New York has hired Preeti Patel as its first SVP of Technology. In the newly created role, she’ll oversee the tech strategy, delivery, and innovation practices across the R/GA New York client roster. She joins from Rauxa, where as VP of Technology, she led long-term strategy and innovation opportunities for a group of clients including Vans and Frontpoint Security. Prior to that, Patel worked at the digital agency Huge, where she delivered award-winning campaigns, platform strategy, and product development for clients such as Thompson Reuters, Verizon, and Morgan Stanley. The Maharashtra Institute of Technology in India graduate has also worked for 360i and the Marlin Company. “In the new era we understand that technology and business are inseparable to fuel new customer experiences and models to deliver and scale products and services,” Patel said in a press release. “I look forward to helping brands build a stable foundation with technology, data and operations.” More here.
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CCCADI Appoints Melody Capote as New ED
The Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute has named Melody Capote as their Executive Director. She is the organization’s first chief administrator since Founder Marta Moreno Vega started the institute 40 years ago. In her new role, she’ll work towards preserving the institute’s mission to develop and nurture future cultural leaders of color, while also bringing in new programs and community awareness. Capote joined the Institute in 1984 as a Development Associate, where she helped expand and secure private sector funding for the organization. Over her 30-year tenure at the organization, she served as Deputy Director, and most recently as Director of External Affairs, where she implemented African diaspora programming and built collaborations with local NYC-based organizations such as Loiza Festival/El Barrio, Lincoln Center, and the Apollo. The Bronx native, who is of Puerto Rican descent, graduated from the City College of New York. More here.
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| BLAH BLAH BLOGS Progressives file ethics complaint against Mario Diaz-Balart over mortgages (Florida Politics) http://floridapolitics.com/archives/278574-ethics-complaint-diaz-balart-mortgage
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| FOMO Today - Friday, October 26th: National Congress of American Indians’ 75th Annual Convention & Marketplace, “Honoring the Past, Shaping the Future.” Hyatt Regency Denver, 650 15th St., Denver, CO. Click here for more information.
Today - Friday, November 2nd: The March on Washington Film Festival holds Legacy 21st: an online summit of arts & ideas 50 years after King. Click here for more information.
Sunday, October 28th - Tuesday, October 30th: The Atlantic, The Aspen Institute, and Bloomberg Philanthropies' CityLab 2018, a summit to address the most urgent urban issues of our time. Westin Book Cadillac Hotel, 1114 Washington Blvd, Detroit, MI. Click here for more information.
Monday, October 29th, 5P: The Thurgood Marshall College Fund’s 31st Anniversary Awards Gala. Honorees include Dr. Glenda Baskin Glover, President of Tennessee State University, and Leslie T. Thornton, SVP, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary of WGL Holdings, Inc., & Washington Gas Light Company. Washington Marriott Wardman Park, 2660 Woodley Rd N.W., DC. Click here for more information.
Thursday, November 15th - Friday, November 16th: Men of Color in Communications Business Summit, a two-day conference bringing together more than 300 men of color in marketing, advertising, media, PR, and the digital space. Speakers include Jeffrey Litvack, CEO, Adweek; Rodney Williams, CEO, Belvedere Vodka; Jana Fleishman, EVP Strategic Marketing, Roc Nation (JAY-Z's Publicist); and many more. Bloomberg Corporate Headquarters, 731 Lexington Avenue, NYC. Click here for more information.
Wednesday, November 28th: The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute convenes a tech summit. Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., DC. Click here for more information.
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