After Extending California’s State of Emergency, and Vacation in Cabo, Gov. Newsom On a Book Tour

California Gov. Gavin Newsom extended California’s COVID  State of Emergency in November into its second year. He recently ordered all students ages 5-11 to receive COVID vaccinations in order to attend in-person school. Mask mandates and vaccine requirements are still in place.

And then he left the country to take a week-long vacation in Cabo San Lucas, leaving the State of Emergency in the hands of California’s Lieutenant Gov. Eleni Kounalakis.

Whenever the governor leaves the state, he relinquishes the governorship. So Lt. Gov. Kounalakis has been acting governor quote a lot.

And now Gov. Newsom is traveling the country on a book tour. “Despite a wave of smash and grab robberies throughout his state, Governor Gavin Newsom is leaving California to promote a new children’s book he wrote,” the DailyMail reported.

“Newsom is beginning the tour for Ben & Emma’s Big Hit in New York City this week, leaving California on Monday.”

Gov. Newsom even had time for an interview on The View:

COMING UP: California Gov. @GavinNewsom joins #TheView co-hosts LIVE to weigh in on the latest headlines and share about his new children’s book, ‘Ben and Emma’s Big Hit.’ pic.twitter.com/GxYBgdCET9

— The View (@TheView) December 8, 2021

“Gavin Newsom is off to NYC to promote his new children’s book. This comes after 3 days in Nevada, a week in Cabo, and a mysterious 13-day disappearance,” Assemblyman Kevin Kiley (R-Granite Bay) also noted in a post on his website.

As the Globe reported after his mysterious October disappearance, Gov. Gavin Newsom, back from his two weeks of “family obligations,” said on Tuesday that wearing masks will remain one of his mandated orders – “for your safety and those around you.”

“Winter is coming. Winter is here,” he said at the California Forward conference in Monterey, sounding more like a scene from the Hunger Games. “COVID is not taking the winter off.”

And neither is crime taking the winter off, as California’s horrific crime wave has achieved national attention, despite politicians’ attempts to deny this.

“The wave of group mob-style smash and grab robberies around the Golden State continued on in California over the Thanksgiving holiday period, resulting on the ramping up of police protection despite some departments facing strained resources following defunding efforts,” the Globe reported.

“He’s chosen a bad time to go jet-setting,” Kiley said. “Just as courts have stopped all 3 of Biden’s mandate orders, the Orange County Board of Education, led by Mari Barke, has filed a lawsuit to terminate the State of Emergency. The premise is simple: a Governor doesn’t get to end the emergency at his leisure. He’s required to do so ‘at the earliest possible date that conditions warrant.’ The Court made this clear in my case against Newsom:”

“The Emergency Services Act is not a statute of indefinite duration…The Emergency Services Act obligates the governor to declare the state of emergency terminated as soon as conditions warrant.”

In Gallagher and Kiley v. Newsom, the Court based its decision on the need for a Governor to respond quickly to emergency conditions. This suggests that if the Governor vacates his office to go on a book tour, it’s no longer legally an emergency.

This is the ultimate lawsuit, as ending the emergency terminates all other orders automatically. Granted, the courts have failed us time and again. But with Newsom barely ever in California, they’ll have a harder time ignoring what a farce this has become.

Newsom’s kids book is about growing up with Dyslexia, as he says in this pinned Tweet from Sept. 30th announcing the book release date:

Growing up, I struggled with dyslexia.

Eventually, I found my confidence on the baseball field.

I wrote this book, Ben and Emma’s Big Hit, in hopes of helping other kids who are struggling with learning differences.

Out December 7th and on pre-sale now! https://t.co/GZT9uofr9Z pic.twitter.com/mEdUktRhEA

— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) September 30, 2021

The responses were poignant:

It really is striking that Gov. Newsom is ordering children vaccinated and masked at school, while he travels around the country selling a children’s book.

Others commented that the governor is using his office to sell his book. And some questioned where the proceeds of the book will be going.

Twitter can be a contemptuous place, but with Gov. Newsom still not conducting live, in-person press conferences, the Capitol press is mostly kept away from him, and has been since March 2020. And he rarely gets a difficult question anyway.

These Twitter commenters ask viable questions. Their governor has been remote and unaccessible now for nearly two years.

Assemblyman Kevin Kiley has repeatedly asked his Assembly and Senate colleagues to end the State of Emergency which will also terminate all of Newsom’s executive orders automatically… to no avail. It’s apparent the Legislature likes keeping the Capitol in lockdown and the public away.

This mom got it right in her reply to Gov. Newsom: