Newsom isn’t Trump. His state worker return-to-office order is huge for Sacramento | Opinion
A missing ingredient in downtown Sacramento’s revival — workers in offices — got a big boost Monday when Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order calling state employees back to their work sites four days a week as of July.
It’s the right thing for downtown Sacramento. It’s the right example for the state government to set for other governments, the private sector, non-profits and everyone else in California. Newsom’s order supercharges the downtown residential market by thousands of area residents, creating possibilities for more people to live and work in the urban core.
Newsom’s official rationale was all about improving the working environment for state entities to make their best efforts on behalf of the paying public. It requires all departments within Newsom’s Administration to update their telework policies to a default of at least four days a week starting July 1.
“When we work together, collaboration improves, innovation thrives, and accountability increases,” the governor said in a prepared statement. “That means better service, better solutions, and better results for Californians, while still allowing flexibility.”
The governor’s announcement comes less than a year after he called workers back to offices two days a week. It’s not crystal clear whether the state’s rank and file have complied with the previous order, with downtown businesses this fall reporting slim weekday activity.
But the governor can only do so much. His agencies and departments now have to deliver.
The COVID pandemic that started in March of 2020 set off a historic retreat from workplaces to homes and apartments. Thanks to new video-cast communication technologies, billions around the world continued to meet on-line to keep commerce and government running.
Yet remote work still has a strong toe-hold in the state government. And long-time Sacramentans, let’s get real here:
If the governor a decade ago declared that all could work from home a day each and every week, there would be dancing in the streets.
There undoubtedly will be howls of outrage coming from employee representatives. Yes, for some, working at work will come with hardships that should be addressed on a case-by-case basis. But Newsom is right. There is no greater teamwork than government. And it’s impossible for government to maximize the public good with everyone working in private.
This does not feel like a case of the governor following the lead of the president, Donald Trump, who called federal workers back to offices full-time as one of his first acts in office. Through buyouts and firings and weekly demands to report accomplishments, Trump is attacking his own executive branch.
As we have said previously, the state has a unique role and obligation to this downtown. The state is the largest landowner. The state pays no property taxes on this land to keep the city of Sacramento running. And since the pandemic was over, the state has been starving downtown of a semblance of urban vitality by keeping workers home and offices empty.
Downtown boosters are rightfully looking to make Sacramento more than a day-time center of governance. There are worthy aspirations for more higher education, more entertainment, more residences and more professional sports.
But every successful downtown has an anchor business from which to build upon. Sacramento’s will be government unless and until the capital moves. There’s no running from who we are. And from Newsom, there was no running from his choice of either getting workers back into offices or vacating these sites permanently for redevelopment.
He made the right choice. Downtown, more than ever, is a great place to live, work and play.
This story was originally published March 3, 2025 at 5:38 PM.
