Newsom is Still California Governor after Historic Recall Elections
It seems like Gavin Newsom is here to stay.
Governor Gavin Newsom of California remains as the Golden State’s governor with 68% of the votes recorded: 64% of this opposing Newsom’s removal while 36% approve.
“I’m humbled and grateful to the millions and millions of Californians that exercise their fundamental right to vote, and express themselves so overwhelmingly by rejecting the division, by rejecting the cynicism,” Newsom said of his victory.
The recall petition was introduced in February 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in California. The reasons stated on the recall petition don’t actually have anything to do with Newsom’s handling of coronavirus.
The petitioners’ grievances include:
“Laws he endorsed favor foreign nationals, in our country illegally, over that of our own citizens. People in this state suffer the highest taxes in the nation, the highest homelessness rates, and the lowest quality of life as a result. He has imposed sanctuary state status and fails to enforce immigration laws.”
“He unilaterally over-ruled the will of the people regarding the death penalty. He seeks to impose additional burdens on our state by the following; removing the protections of Proposition 13, rationing our water use, increasing taxes, and restricting parental rights.”
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The governor, who was elected by historic margins nearly three years ago, worked throughout the recall campaign to live down pandemic-era missteps. Parents were frustrated when public schools remained closed in California for far longer than they did in other states.
Under Newsom, the state’s unemployment department struggled with major backlogs and paid out an estimated $31bn in fraudulent claims. The governor also faced harsh criticisms over the state’s initially slow vaccine rollout and its ineffectual sign-up site.
An ill-timed, lobbyist-laden dinner at the Michelin-starred French Laundry restaurant amid the state’s Covid-19 surge last November gave his opponents further ammunition against him.
Governor Newsom is only the second governor in California history to face a recall election. The first was in 2003 with Gov. Gray Davis, who was successfully recalled and removed from office.
Newsom is only the fifth governor in U.S. history to face a recall election. The first was North Dakota’s Lynn J. Frazier in 1921, who was successfully recalled.
In 1988, Arizona’s governor Evan Mecham faced a recall election but was impeached and removed from office before the scheduled date. In 2012, Wisconsin’s governor Scott Walker faced a recall election and survived.
Republican talk show host and notable supporter of the former President Trump Larry Elder was poised to replace Newsom but conceded defeat eventually. However, Elder continues to say that the recall election was rigged.
