Since reopening California in May, Gov. Newsom is no longer ‘meeting the moment’
Click the California Nation link above to hear Joseph Rodota discuss how Gov. Newsom bungled the state’s coronavirus response.
There has been a palpable change in mood among many Californians in recent days, as Gov. Gavin Newsom has reimposed restrictions on various activities in 31 counties and instituted additional measures statewide to combat rapidly rising COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths.
Restaurants post signs in their windows that read: “We’re closed – on orders of Governor Newsom.” Democrats in the California State Legislature grumble about the governor’s imperiousness and lack of transparency. Media reports increasingly mention Newsom’s “chaotic” governing style or his “verbosity.”
Critical media coverage, and carping from rival politicians, comes with the job of governor.
But Newsom has also angered California’s 60,000 licensed barbers and hair stylists, who find the state’s directives bewildering or infuriating.
Who has the ear of every Californian? The person who cuts your hair.
In a disaster, a politician’s strengths and weaknesses become obvious.
I served as cabinet secretary and deputy chief of staff to former California Gov. Pete Wilson. Even his toughest critics acknowledge his effective response to a string of various disasters, most notably the 1994 Northridge earthquake, which killed 57 people and injured nearly 9,000. It leveled freeways throughout the region and caused $35 billion in damage.
Wilson deployed a new way of contracting for freeway reconstruction – offering $200,000 bonuses for every day a freeway reopened ahead of schedule. Sacramento contractor C.C. Myers completed reconstruction of Interstate 10, the busiest stretch of freeway in America, 74 days ahead of schedule and collected a whopping $14.5 million bonus (worth $25 million today).
Every other major California freeway was reopened by Election Day 1994 and Wilson won reelection with 55% of the vote.
Gov. Newsom is optimistic by nature. He’s energetic and bold. Those traits were visible as he moved quickly to close California, sparing us the horrors being visited upon New York City in March and April of this year.
But Newsom is no longer “meeting the moment.”
He has lacked focus. He has wrestled with nail salon regulations and launched a meal delivery service that was duplicative of other efforts, and failed to live up to the announcement hype. Meanwhile, state prisoners were transferred into San Quentin prison, sparking an outbreak that accounts for almost half of all Marin County virus exposure. And the state’s Employment Development Department still owes unemployment checks to tens of thousands of Californians.
Newsom has likened his approach to the pandemic as a “dimmer switch” and has said that he is “adjusting the volatility”
If California must adjust, then the governor should make some changes as well.
For starters:
▪ Ditch the PowerPoints, but keep the laser: Newsom should focus on a smaller number of big problems – and deliver. Curbing nursing home deaths must be a priority. Perhaps some of California’s thousands of empty hotel rooms could be deployed to shelter workers in nursing homes and other frontline workers who risk exposing their families to COVID-19.
▪ Harness California brainpower: The “nation-state” of California is home to an army of innovators in medicine, technology and related fields. Gina Raimondo, the governor of Rhode Island, has reached out to California companies like Salesforce.com and SurveyMonkey, which have deployed tools that have been effective in curbing COVID-19 in her state. Newsom should enlist more experts, from the University of California and the private sector, to battle the pandemic here.
▪ Dial back the verbosity: The governor’s press briefings seemed like virtuoso performances for a few days, but they quickly became tiring. Newsom should turn the podium over to health professionals with line responsibility. When he appears in person, he should aim for a 10-minute statement, allow some time for questions from the press – including follow-ups – and then get back to his desk.
This story was originally published July 25, 2020 at 5:00 AM.