Gavin Newsom Recall Petition Approved For Signature Gathering

The petition to recall Governor Gavin Newsom was approved for signature gathering by California Secretary of State Shirley Weber on Monday, with Saving California, the group behind the recall effort, saying that petitions are already going out.

According to a press release by Saving California, petitions for signatures are already available, with the goal of getting enough by this summer to bring a second recall election against Newsom.

“Saving California is pleased to announce that today, the California Secretary of State approved our petition to begin collecting signatures to recall and remove California Governor Gavin Newsom from office,” said Saving California Chairman Randy Economy.

“California is based upon Democracy and people’s rule of law. However, Gavin Newsom does not believe in governing based on the will of the people but rather on his personal agenda geared toward furthering his career aspirations.”

The press release went on to point out a list of issues surrounding Newsom that led to the recall effort this year. They included, amongst others:

• Gross mismanagement during the Los Angeles County fires
• Rise in the cost of living, including gas, electricity and insurance
• Soaring crime rates, with law enforcement having to be lenient on offenders
• Homelessness becoming a visible crisis
• The drug epidemic
• Unaddressed border issues
• Misallocation of state funds based on political agendas

“This campaign, it’s about the people of California, and their frustrations that have been exacerbated the past several months due to the lack of leadership of one useless politician in Gavin Newsom,” Economy told the Globe on Monday. “Thousands of people have lost their homes due to massive wildfires. Newsom’s response is that he wants to reimagine the way California is rebuilt. My response to that is that it’s time for California to fire this lousy politician once and for all be done with him. Enough is enough. Gavin Newsom must be recalled and removed from office.”

Signature gathering begins

The announcement from the Secretary of State comes just over two months from when the recall process started in January with the intent to recall. Speaking in Los Angeles, Economy and other recall supporters pointed out the many issues against Newsom, including the Palisades and Eaton fires, which were still burning at the time. Newsom himself was informed of the recall attempt forming only days later. Las month, the recall movement received several big name supporters, including actor Mel Gibson, who lost his home in the Palisades fire. In addition to signing the initial petition for the recall, he has also given speeches alongside Saving California, including late last month in the ruins of Altadena.

“We deserve much more and much better, and there is absolutely no adequate excuse the governor or mayor can make for this gross mismanagement and failure to preemptively deal with what they knew was coming,” Gibson said last month.

Saving California’s swift action on initial signatures led to the group’s announcement on Monday of the recall petition being approved. According to the group, they will now need roughly about 9,000 signatures a day until the deadline in order to have Newsom face a second recall election.

“California shouldn’t be a perpetual state of near disaster. We deserve something more than a Governor who is missing in action. And, we can’t afford to tolerate another year of random disasters with minimal preparation, no real plan, and post-disaster denial,” added the Saving California team on Monday.

“Apathy isn’t a plan. And, waiting out our current failed leadership isn’t a plan. Sure. Maybe, we could slide by eighteen months without another “big” disaster. But, there is a good chance that, sometime in the next few months –forget the next year– a few thousand of our fellow Californians will be impacted by the next big wildfire, the next mudslide that takes out a major road, the next flood –it could happen– or, if we’re very unlucky, a 7.2 earthquake on the Richter scale.

“This has been in the planning stages for months. Now, finally, we can move on to the next step. Yes, we can start gathering signatures. You heard it the same day the press heard it. This campaign is about transparency. This is a genuine grassroots campaign. At Saving California, our goal isn’t the excitement of theatrical “action” –our goal is saving California. Right now, we think Governor Gavin Newsom’s failure of leadership is one of the major issues we’re all facing. (The podcast isn’t helping us feel better.) We’ve been doing everything by the book so nothing gets thrown out.”

Should enough signatures be collected and verified, it would become Governor Newsom’s second recall election, following the 2021 recall election in which he successfully defeated a recall at the ballot. It would also be the third Governor recall election in California since the turn of the Millennium, with the successful 2003 recall of then-Governor Gray Davis being included with the Newsom attempt.

As of Monday afternoon, the office of Governor Newsom has yet to respond to the signature gathering phase of the recall beginning against him.