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In an empty baseball stadium, Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom touted his administration's recent approval of $600 stimulus checks for 5.7 million Californians and other accomplishments while overseeing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Newsom briefly mentioned critics who launched a recall effort to remove him from office, but his speech mostly presented an optimistic view of a state recovering from an unprecedented pandemic. Coronavirus case numbers in the state have been steadily declining since mid-January.
Along with the $600 stimulus checks, Newsom highlighted his administration's recent approval of a $7.6 billion state stimulus package. The package contains money for food banks and diapers as well as funds for farmworkers and grants for small businesses. He mentioned his $6.6 billion initiative to resume in-person learning at public schools by the end of March. He also noted the state's expanded rollout for vaccinations and a push to reopen businesses in counties that had been locked down.
"I know our progress hasn't always felt fast enough," Newsom said. "And look, we've made mistakes. I've made mistakes. But we own them, we learn from them and we never stop trying."
Newsom's speech sought to blunt criticisms that his school and business closures hurt the economy. Opponents have since launched a recall effort with nearly 2 million signatures collected so far. If the secretary of state validates 1.5 million of the signatures, a special recall election to replace Newsom will occur 60 to 80 days later.
"We won't change course just because of a few naysayers and doomsayers," Newsom said. "So to the California critics who are promoting partisan power grabs and outdated prejudices and rejecting everything that makes California great, we say this: We will not be distracted from getting shots in arms and our economy booming again."
He then mentioned his administration's efforts to address "unacceptable disparities" in income inequality. Particularly, he highlighted protections to prevent property evictions while also providing rental support to unpaid landlords. He also mentioned the creation of 35,000 shelters and 6,000 permanent housing units for homeless people, as well as an additional $2 billion towards additional homeless housing and mental health support.
Lastly, he noted a $1 billion investment to fight summertime wildfires caused by climate change. He mentioned his September 2020 executive order requiring zero carbon emissions from all cars and trucks by 2035. He then said that Ford, GM and other vehicle manufacturers are leading the effort to meet that goal by creating technological innovations that will generate jobs while preventing further catastrophic climate change effects.
"When this pandemic ends—and it will end soon—we're not going back to normal," he added. "Normal was never good enough."
Newsom delivered his speech from Dodger Stadium, the home of last year's World Series champions and the location of one of the nation's largest vaccination sites. The 55,000 empty seats in the stadium signified the nearly same amount of Californians who have died from COVID-19, Newsom said.
Newsom's opponents collected signatures for his recall at a time when the state experienced a spike in COVID-19 cases and deaths, as well as ongoing closures of schools and businesses. However, public opinion towards Newsom could change as the state experiences the benefits of his recent COVID-19 recovery initiatives.
In short, the pandemic's effects on the state could look very different when the recall election is likely to occur. A probable summer drought, wildfires and resulting power blackouts could deepen voter dissatisfaction with Newsom's leadership though.
Despite only being governor for two years, Newsom has already faced five unsuccessful attempts to remove him through recalls. California has some of the most relaxed rules to initiating a recall, according to the state news site Cal Matters. Because of the ongoing pandemic, a judge gave his opponents nearly twice the usual amount of time to solicit recall signatures.
Newsom has a higher favorability rating than state Governor Gray Davis did when he was recalled from office in 2003. Newsom had a 51 percent approval rating and a 39 percent disapproval rating in a Morning Consult poll conducted almost entirely during January. Comparatively, Davis' approval rating was in the 20s just before he was recalled, according to the statistics site FiveThirtyEight.
The site also notes that California is much more Democratic-leaning than it was around 2003. In 2004, Democratic Presidential nominee John Kerry received about 54 percent of the state's votes. In 2020, the Democratic Presidential nominee received over 63 percent of the state's votes.
Newsom's spokesperson called the recall effort a Republican "scheme" and "a transparently partisan attempt to install a Trump supporter as governor of a state that elected Newsom and rejected Trump in historic landslides," according to CBS News13 Sacramento.
Newsweek contacted Newsom's office for comment.
