Grenell’s ‘Fix California’ Seeks To Do Just That

By Katy Grimes, California Globe,   6/8/21    

Last month the California Globe talked with Richard “Ric” Grenell, former Ambassador to Germany, and President Donald Trump’s former Director of National Intelligence, about his long term plan to “Fix California.”

Grenell’s is a long game plan to revamp state politics. “Fix California is committed to pursuing longterm solutions that advance conservative ideas and causes throughout the state,” Grenell says.

Fix California recently emailed a confidential investor memo to supporters, on how supporters’ investments are paying off. A recipient of of the letter forwarded the memo and update to California Globe on Monday. It’s interesting because rarely do supporters and investors get such detailed updates, and the work quietly being done is compelling.

“Fix California is committed to doing the hard work that will make a long-term impact on our state,” Grenell’s memo says. “So, while this work is not sexy and you may not be reading about it every day in the news, we want this effort to make a lasting difference for the expansion of conservative ideas throughout California.  I want to do to California what Stacy Abrams did to Georgia.”

Grenell reports they have been strategically and systematically working to address all three pillars of Fix California: (1) Election Integrity, (2) Voter Registration, (3) Education Reform.

What We’ve Done

1.     Voter Integrity: Fix California has launched a statewide legal survey analyzing the current status of voter rolls throughout the state. This survey is initially led by Cooper and Kirk, PLLC. And will help develop legal strategies for ensuring election integrity in every county in California. Through that work, we have identified at least two strong legal theories, which have established precedent. Additionally, through our work on the data front, we are identifying key areas where there appears to be high concentrations of inaccurate or poorly maintained voter rolls.

2.     Voter Registration: We have launched an aggressive effort to deeply dive into California’s voter data. The team leading this effort, which includes Susie Wiles, has had tremendous success targeting and registering voters. We’ve already identified over one-million targets for a statewide voter registration campaign thanks to the very generous support from some early donors. We’ve also identified conservatives who are at risk of falling inactive on the voter file and therefore must be re-engaged immediately. This data-first approach will allow us to execute the most efficient and effective voter registration effort in California history.

3.     Education Reform: Julie Luckey is helping to spearhead a statewide coalition of policy and grassroots leaders to find the best solutions to our state’s poor educational performance. Fix California helped finance an initial statewide poll on the issues of school choice and education thanks to the generous support of our donors. Through this poll, we are focusing in on the circumstances around school closures and government-imposed limitations on educational choice over the past year. There is clearly a unique appetite to pursue alternative solutions that expand education choice and equality.

What’s Next

“We want to be data-driven,” Grenell said. “We have spent the first quarter doing thorough research and establishing the strategies necessary to put Fix California in a strong position to succeed in every pillar. This work will pay dividends and ensure every dollar invested in Fix California is being spent wisely. However, admittedly, the next step of Fix California is costly. For instance, our statewide registration effort, which will prioritize target counties that will have the most immediate impact on advancing our conservative values, is budgeted at $4,224,995.31. This combines a statewide plan that will realign California, while also adding an additional targeted supplement on priority areas – meaning an increased frequency on registration efforts that will have the largest impact in advancing conservatism.”

“We are also working to continue building coalitions. There are a lot of organizations throughout California doing meaningful work. We believe strongly in working together, sharing resources and data where appropriate (given some legal limitations), and advancing our shared cause together. I am committed to helping ensure more groups and leaders are working closely together and I am personally investing time into that effort.”

“Finally, we are also looking to expand Fix California’s team. We have been able to accomplish a lot already with very minimal overhead. We believe in keeping those costs down, but will need to add a few more people to our small, dedicated team that will allow Fix California to expand at a grassroots level. Currently, we are looking to bring on an Executive Director who will be responsible for managing each pillar and overseeing the day-to-day administrative duties of Fix California.”

Grenell is also talked about as a potential candidate for California Governor since the recall election against current Gov. Gavin Newsom qualified for the ballot. While the recall might oust Newsom from office, it will take a massive effort to realign California’s politics, which is Grenell’s focus.

“Right now in California, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is limited to the ultra wealthy, the ultra powerful… or those who can afford to move to another state. I am not moving, I am fighting back,” Grenell said in our May interview. “California can be first state to say ‘progressive policies didn’t work.’”