The campaign to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom appears to be edging ever closer to the magic number of verified signatures to trigger a special election. To be exact, that number needs to be 1,495,709 – by mid-March.
If you haven’t yet signed, don’t wait! At RecallGavin2020.com you can download and print your own copy of the petition, which has room for five signatures, so you can nab your neighbors, too. This is NOT an online petition. You have to sign the official paper document in blue or black ink and mail it in, so that your signature can be verified by the county registrar of voters. The website also lists a number of business locations where you can walk in and sign.
The recall effort has been picking up steam of late. Gavin, himself, is our top advertiser. His tyrannical, selfish, unscientific and thoughtless actions stoke the fires daily, jumpstarted by his infamous dinner at The French Laundry in Napa Valley last November. I won’t repeat the story.
After almost a year of “two weeks to slow the spread” and the power Newsom seized under the guise of a never-ending emergency, Californians are beyond weary. Even Democrats are lining up to sign the recall petition. It’s a nonpartisan effort. After all, people of all political persuasions own and operate hard-hit small businesses and have kids who can’t go back to school.
All but the wealthiest individuals are suffering and watching neighbors and family members struggle, shuttered in our homes, told we can’t hug relatives or get together with friends. We’re worried about the emotional health of our children, disgusted with teachers’ unions who make unreasonable demands (Medicare for All, Defund the Police…).
Despite what some may label good intentions, the lockdowns in California appear to have made matters worse. Hospitalizations are pushing our health care systems to the brink, and the economy worsens. Other states may have similar health care numbers, but many have kept their economies open, thus in a better position to weather the storm. And now, even with strained intensive care unit numbers, the governor suddenly decided we can reopen.
What’s changed, Gavin? Your political future?
As Newsom bungles his way forward on the COVID front, there’s the issue of vaccines. In October, he bragged about his administration’s readiness to vaccinate the state’s 40 million residents, vowing that California would lead the nation. Our state subsequently ranked dead last when it came to getting shots in arms.
Newsom punted responsibility to county health departments, which were drastically underfunded and already drowning in pandemic-related duties, such as COVID testing, contact tracing and bullying local businesses to comply with his unscientific directives.
And, in case you’ve forgotten, there’s the issue of Newsom’s sending a $500 million up-front payment to China for the purchase of N-95 and surgical masks. That’s right. With no legislative oversight or transparency, he penned a $1 billion contract with a Chinese electric car manufacturer in the country that was the genesis of the virus! You simply can’t make this stuff up!
The COVID situation has brought Newsom’s recklessness to the fore, but it’s only the most obvious manifestation of his ineptitude.
As if California weren’t heading fast enough toward the cliff of insolvency, we got an extra push from the state’s unemployment system – billions of dollars in fraudulent claims. A recent audit blames Newsom’s administration for “significant missteps and inaction.” California State Auditor Elaine Howle found that the Employment Development Department was flagging as many as 1,000 suspicious claims per day in the first four months of the pandemic, yet had allocated only two people to review those reports. The agency is now investigating another $20 billion in suspicious payments. They even sent money to prisoners – more than $800 million to about 45,000 state prison inmates!
Predictably, Newsom blames the unemployment fraud problem on the federal government. Seriously? Sounds like Gov. Andrew Cuomo blaming the feds for his nursing home decisions in New York.
The list of malfeasance goes on and includes increasing water shortages, power outages every time the wind blows and massive wildfires emanating from inadequate forest management. Remember Assembly Bill 5? It devastated independent contracting work in the state. California has the highest state income tax, highest gasoline tax and highest poverty rate in the nation. Don’t forget the bullet train to nowhere, taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal immigrants, and increasing infringement on your Second Amendment rights. Check out the longer list at recallgavin2020.com/reasons/.
Gavin has to go. And the rest of our elected officials who have let him run rampant over the citizens of this great state need to wake up. We are watching YOU.
Patricia Suzanne is a retired small business owner and conservative activist. She was born and raised in California, where once upon a time, under Republican leadership, the state grew into a model of prosperity for the world.
