BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — It’s been a busy last few months for Governor Newsom with schools, vaccines, and the wildfire season, but one thing that continues to loom over him is the chance of a recall election.
The Secretary of State’s Office posted Monday, the results of the number of verified signatures, which is poised to bring the issue to voters.
A petition was started last June by a former retired sheriff in Yolo County in hopes to recall Governor Gavin Newsom, but since then the movement has grown, chances it makes it to the ballot are all but certain.
“The only question that's going to be asked is shall he be recalled, and the answer is going to be 'yes.'”
That's the hope for Randy Economy with the official recall Gavin 2020 campaign, as they are now one step closer to their goal.
“You know it's a historical day but it's not about us, it's about the people.”
On Monday the California Secretary of State Office announced that the recall Newsom effort has officially met the signature requirement that was needed to put Governor Newsom on a ballot sometime this year.
Together, Economy and thousands of petitioners across the state gathered more than 2 million signatures, more than 1.6 million which were verified, and 49,000-plus which were gathered here in Kern County, with the help of local organizer Flor Hull.
“I have friends on both sides of the aisle, they laughed, they said it's impossible, there's no way.”
Hull and Economy joined in on this initiative as they do not agree with Newsom's policies, and both believe that he could have handled the pandemic differently, and although Newsom announced the state could open as soon as June 15, hull says the damage has already been done.
“It's a little too late, my friends lost businesses, my friend's kids lost scholarships.”
But Newsom weighed in, with a tweet in response to the announcement.
This Republican recall threatens our values and seeks to undo the important progress we’ve made -- from fighting COVID, to helping struggling families, protecting our environment, and passing commonsense gun violence solutions.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) April 26, 2021
There's too much at stake. pic.twitter.com/5ZEszlrcYl
This isn’t the first time the state may see a recall election, the last was 18 years ago.
"2003 with Gray Davis and he lost the recall and of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger became the new governor as a result,” said Local Political Analyst Allen Bollar.
Bollar says that if the majority votes to recall Newsom then voters would be prompted to the next step.
“The next section will say if the governor is recalled who ought to be the next governor? it will include many Republicans, it'll include many Independents, and it will also include many Democrats.”
Counties still have until April 29 to submit the rest of their verified signatures, which can then be followed by a 30-day period where people can withdraw their signatures, of course, 23ABC will continue to follow this throughout the year and will have details as they become available.
