The recall failed, but giant issues remain for Gavin Newsom. Welcome to ‘Crisis California’

Barely an hour after polls closed in California, the recall was over. Democrat Gavin Newsom survived the second-ever recall attempt of California’s governor, and it appeared to be a landslide.

What a pathetic showing for the Republican Party, and a decisive statement that California won’t stand for Trumpism.

Newsom purposefully made the campaign less about his own performance in office and more about the encroachment of President Donald Trump and his acolytes. The leading Republican opponent was a radio provocateur, Larry Elder, rather than an establishment figure like former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer or Rocklin Assemblyman Kevin Kiley.

But while Newsom outlasted a five-month detour into campaigning for his political life, he now returns to his full-time job, governing a state that should have this as its greeting sign: Welcome to Crisis California.

The Golden State is facing a flurry of significant and existential crises that are changing our quality of life. The recall challengers spent most of the campaign complaining about them. Some of them are caused by nature, while others are man-made.

No matter the source, Newsom remains under a major stress test — with a renewed mandate from voters to turn his budget surplus spending into actual progress.

Californians are fed up with problems not getting solved, and paying more for almost everything — from housing to gas to electricity. Residents want sound leadership to deliver not just words, but actual achievements on thorny issues like housing costs and homelessness. The time for posturing, delaying and acquiescing to special interests needs to end.

And without question, Californians are clearly done with overlooking elitist behavior like Newsom’s infamous French Laundry dinner. If he or anyone else in Sacramento thinks they are above the rest of us, they should quit now before the next recall begins.

Newsom will have little time before he has to return to the campaign trail. But he immediately has to get real and recognize that California is not “roaring back,” despite his wishes or the economic signals he cherry-picks for stump speeches.

For one thing, the pandemic remains a major threat. The delta variant has overwhelmed hospitals throughout the state with new patients, most of them unvaccinated. But significant resistance to public health basics like getting vaccinated and wearing masks remains. He needs a better strategy for reaching them, and if it requires public health mandates, he needs to show leadership and enact them.

Other natural disasters such as wildfire, drought, and extreme heat remain, and all are expected to worsen with climate change. The state’s utilities are still allowed to use overhead power lines while forests remain bone-dry and under-treated. Californians have endured far too much fire, smoke, and community devastation in the past few years.

There are also the man-made problems that the Democrats have been woefully ineffective in handling: Housing costs, and the lack of affordable housing. The outrageous cost of gas and energy. Homelessness. Inequality. Poverty. In fact, more than one-third of Californians were considered poor or near-poor before the pandemic, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.

Then there are the Sacramento specialties that the governor and Legislature must own, headlined by the shameful performance of the Economic Development Department in handling COVID-related unemployment claims. Before that, long delays for motorists trying to access the Department of Motor Vehicles. Both agencies blame their failings on poor technology.

These excuses just don’t cut it anymore.

The new state budget has money earmarked to address many of these woes, and Newsom and the Legislature have authorized major spending in the upcoming year. But the proof is in the achievement. It has to be real.

Newsom was the focus of the recall backers, and to be sure, it was a GOP power-play attempt.

The recall is over, but the major problems remain. Welcome to Crisis California. Gov. Newsom and legislators, it is time to get back to work.

This story was originally published September 14, 2021 at 9:04 PM.