‘Saving California’ Begins Recall Effort Against Gov. Gavin Newsom

A new recall effort against Governor Newsom began officially on Thursday in Los Angeles, with members of Saving California, the main group behind the recall, announcing and collecting signatures for their notice of intent to recall.

Several recall efforts have been mounted against Newsom since he was sworn in as Governor in 2019. The most successful attempt to date came in 2021, where organizers collected enough signatures to place the recall on the ballot. However, Newsom managed to defeat the recall in September of that year, with 7.9 million voting against the recall and 4.9 million voting for it.

While recall attempts since then fizzled out relatively early in the process, a new attempt this year rapidly gained steam in the past few weeks because of the Southern California wildfires. Mismanagement of the fires by Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass brought their actions to an international audience, with many in California turning swiftly against them. A recall effort against Newsom was already in the works for later this year, based on other issues including crime, homelessness, the cost of living, increased drug use, and high business costs. But with wildfire mismanagement now the main issue working against Newsom, Saving California moved up their timeline to this week, leading to their initial announcement on Thursday.

“Sometimes with fire comes blessings,” said Saving California Chairman Randy Economy speaking at a press conference outside the Kitson store in the Beverly-Fairfax neighborhood. “Tens of thousands have lost homes in these fires, and they want leadership. Governor Newsom is not bringing that leadership. Sometimes things are not in our hands. We were going to do this in a few weeks, but the wildfires moved up our schedule.

“The recall is a last resort. Newsom is off track. He is not focused. He is consumed with Donald Trump instead of being concerned with the people of California. Welcome to the end of your career Gavin Newsom. We’re coming after you.”

Other speakers followed, covering issues ranging from the loss of the entertainment industry in Los Angeles to wanting funding shifts in Sacramento for more fire hydrant pressure checks across the state to prevent fires that Los Angeles has seen in the past two weeks.

“We were always taught that the San Andreas fault would eventually slide California into the Ocean,” said former KCBS anchorman Bob Jimenez. “The fault is holding, but the state is sliding. This recall is a last resort. We can’t let Newsom use the office to get to a higher office.”

Art Olivier, the former Mayor of Bellflower, the 2000 Libertarian Vice Presidential nominee, and a member of the Board of Directors for Saving California, spoke as well.

“In the state of California we have thousands of fire hydrants with insufficient flow,” added Olivier. “Instead of wasting millions on projects that don’t benefit Californians that Newsom is doing, let’s spend it on things that benefit Californians. Like pressure checks for hydrants.”

Economy further laid out what the roadmap to the recall would be. He noted that 50 signatures were needed for the initial intent to recall. Once that is done, the notice is then sent to Newsom, who has 10 days to acknowledge the notice. Once that is done and the petition is okayed by the state, which should take a couple of weeks, then signature gathering can begin. Signature gathering for the recall is expected within 30 days, but Saving California is hoping for sooner. In total, around 1.2 million and 1.3 million signatures are needed to place the recall on the ballot, although hundreds of thousands more are likely going to be collected as well in case of invalid voters signing the petition, duplicate signatures, and other issues. In 2021, the Secretary of State’s office found that just below 80% of all the signatures for the recall that year were valid, or roughly 1.7 million of the 2.1 million collected.

In terms of logistics, Economy confirmed that a budget of $8 million to $12 million is needed for the recall. The group hopes to have around 20,000 volunteers across the state gathering signatures later this year, with 3,300 already being confirmed ready to go on Thursday. In addition, Economy said that the group has been in contact with senior members of the Trump administration, with Economy hoping to talk with Elon Musk soon as well. Other recall groups and members of recall efforts in California, including those that ousted San Francisco D.A. Chesa Boudin in 2022 and Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao this past November, have likewise reached out in support.

Finally, they also noted positive moves on an additional recall attempt against L.A. Mayor Bass.

“Our job isn’t to recall Mayor Bass. Yet,” Economy said. “But we have taken initial steps to recall Mayor Bass. It’s a different process to recall the Mayor of Los Angeles. It’s a work in progress. Stay tuned.”

More on the recall effort can be found at savingcalifornia.vote.