I’ve been bashing Gavin Newsom forever but still voted ‘no’ on the recall. It’s complicated
Tyler Skelly, a conservative friend of mine, wondered why I was supporting California Gov. Gavin Newsom in this wasteful recall election when I’m no fan of Newsom and have said so in print.
It’s a fair question. Many have turned on Newsom after he was busted eating at the ridiculously expensive French Laundry, maskless and with big-shot lobbyists, while some of us dutifully followed state COVID-19 guidelines by avoiding indoor gatherings.
Bureaucratic disasters at the Employment Development Department and Department of Motor Vehicles happened on his watch. His pledge to fast-track affordable housing in a state pricing out young people has gone bust.
He was born on third base and reeks of privilege.
In 2018, when Newsom first ran for governor, I wrote a column called “The Privileged Candidate,” about how Newsom had slept with his friend’s wife when he was mayor of San Francisco and had gotten away with it. At every turn, someone has bailed Newsom out or excused his behavior because he’s cute, glib, funny, rich, connected.
So my man, Tyler, was right to ask: Why was I — of all people — trying to bail Newsom out in my role as the danged California Opinion Editor for McClatchy? Weeks ago, the McClatchy opinion team editorialized that California should vote no on the recall. I voted “no.” If you haven’t voted already, I hope you vote “no,” and I offer my experience as an example of why rejecting the recall is best for California.
Yes, I’ve struggled with this. My issues with Newsom are personal and run a lot deeper than the French Laundry flap.
Newsom and public schools
As the son of Mexican immigrants, I hated how Newsom and the collective power base of California took precious months to wake up to the fact that people in my community — the Mexican-American community — were being devastated by COVID-19.
As a product of California public schools, and the parent of two public school kids, I raged at Newsom for his abandonment of students during this pandemic.
I asked him about it when the McClatchy opinion team met with him in late July. His kids are in private school and were allowed to go to class last year, as many private school and parochial school kids did. My kids lost a year of high school because the California Teachers Association blocked the schoolhouse door.
Newsom gave me a laundry list of how he was directing state and federal dollars to public schools. That’s more than his Republican opponents would do, but it’s not enough.
What could Newsom do besides just doling out money? He could have and should have used the power of his office to champion keeping our public schools open last year.
He could help school districts, such as Sacramento City Unified, which are forced to negotiate with bad-faith actors like the Sacramento City Teachers Association.
I know that Newsom’s education advisers are aware of what is happening on the ground at public schools such as SCUSD. Bad things getting in the way of focusing on student outcomes and they are happening right under Newsom’s nose. School districts across the state have been struggling to offer independent study to students whose parents remain afraid to send their kids back to school.
Newson allies must be checked
In some districts, like SCUSD, independent study kids are still waiting for the instruction to start. The hold-up in Sacramento is caused, in part, because the SCTA is trying to get the district to agree to terms that threaten all schoolchildren.
“The union countered with its own proposal the following week, but it also tied in components, unrelated to independent study, that would have prevented last week’s return to on-campus learning,” The Bee reported last week.
“For instance, the SCTA proposal called for Sacramento City Unified campuses to return to a full distance-learning model if Sacramento County exceeds a COVID-19 rate of 25 daily cases per 100,000 residents. The county has been above that case threshold every day since July 26, according to the local health office.”
The union also calls for the district to maintain 6 feet of separation between students and staff, a demand which is not required or recommended by science.
This is crazy. It runs counter to everything Newsom claims to believe related to keeping kids in school. If SCUSD agreed to SCTA terms, 39,000 kids could be forced back to distance learning.
Newsom should do something about this. He should take a stand to help districts trying to help close the achievement gap for Black kids, Latino kids, Southeast Asian kids, poor kids, disabled kids. He could use his office to push back against a powerful CTA lobby that supports him, and sometimes seems to control him.
Why did I support Newsom?
So given all of this, why didn’t I vote “yes” on the recall? Because none of the Republicans seeking to replace Newsom are credible, capable or qualified.
What’s dangerous is if frustration with Newsom on the first question of the recall — should he be recalled or not — opened the door for a disaster like Los Angeles radio host, Larry Elder.
If enough people voted “yes” on the first question and then Elder got the most votes on the second question, California would be stuck with a man who earns his living by appealing to white supremacists on the radio.
When we interviewed Elder, he had no legitimate ideas for dealing with wildfires, COVID-19, homelessness, affordable housing. Elder told us that President Joe Biden was elected fair and square; soon after, he changed his tune to appeal to Trumpers. Elder as governor presents a real threat to the reproductive rights of women and to stamping out COVID-19, since Elder’s COVID politics are proudly in the “flat earth” camp.
The other Republicans have scant ideas beyond worthless slogans. They would be a disaster for California.
That’s why I voted “no” on the recall. Newsom is the best choice currently available to voters.
In a few short months, if that long, the regularly scheduled re-election cycle for Newsom will begin anyway.
For the 2022 election, Newsom will have to do what he has failed to do so far: Stand out as a governor with the political gravitas to lead a state as complex as ours. He has to do more than act as a front man for Democratic supermajorities at the state Capitol.
When he met with us, it seemed that Newsom yearned to be more than a front man. He forcefully defended his record, sometimes pounding a table for emphasis. He was fiery and feisty, and I actually liked him when freed of handlers whispering in his ear.
Newsom still has a shot to be a governor that people remember for more than the French Laundry. He has the ability to be a great governor, but he should know this: All the people who have bailed him out over the years can’t help him when history judges his time in office.
Newsom has to earn his legacy all by himself.
This story was originally published September 13, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
