LOS ANGELES – With an increasingly likely recall effort, California government Gavin Newsom promises the state will “roar” after suffering devastating setbacks during the coronavirus pandemic.
“California will not crawl back. We will roar back,” Newsom said in his annual state of the nation address at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Tuesday night.
Newsom said in an interview on Wednesday that he is focusing on being governor of the most populous state in the country. killed nearly 55,000 people, according to NBC News’ counts, the highest death toll of any state.
“The reality is that the [recall] “The process began long before this pandemic,” Newsom said. It’s part of the governor of California. ‘
Since 1913, there have been 179 recall attempts in California. Fifty-five were addressed to the governor, and only one was successful. Government Democrat Gray Davis was recalled in 2003 and succeeded by Hollywood icon Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican. It was also the last time California had a Republican governor.
Opponents of Newsom must submit at least 1.5 million signatures by next Wednesday to enforce an election this year. Randy Economy, a member of the Recall Gavin 2020 campaign, said the effort has already garnered nearly 2 million signatures.
The Secretary of State will verify the signatures and may announce the final version next week.
Economy said Newsom’s address was “farcical” and “a waste of tax money.”
“It was a sham,” Economy said. “He tried to become a Hollywood showman with his dramatic, and it was a complete failure.”
Unlike in his previous State of the State speech, Newsom focuses this week on his accomplishments over the past year, trying to paint a rosy picture of California’s revival. He avoided technocratic jargon and instead rattled off a list of state achievements.
He defended California’s response to the pandemic, pointing out that it was the first state to close when the coronavirus began to spread. Newsom said his office was “tormented” because he had to make difficult decisions, such as closing schools and certain types of businesses. The Associated Press reports the strict rules restricting the businesses that can start have resulted in the state losing 1.6 million jobs last year.
Newsom on Tuesday also stressed the state’s commitment to equitable distribution of vaccines, including reserving 40 percent of the doses for underserved communities.
But, he told NBC News, more needs to be done to ensure that people hardest hit by Covid-19 have access to the vaccines.
“At the end of the day, this country is failing in terms of the stock state,” he said. “We’re failing.”
Newsom, which says it is particularly focused on getting the economy going, has signed a measure that includes a $ 7.6 billion aid package for coronavirus to send $ 600 direct payments to low-income residents . The plan also includes immediate relief for small businesses.
Small business owners are one of the most outspoken people facing Newsom in the recall effort. He is accused of forcing businesses to close permanently by not reopening certain parts of the economy, such as restaurants.
“All of us had to meet at that moment, and there were sacrifices,” he said. “That’s why we are doing immediate relief for families affected by this pandemic.”
He said previously reopened states, such as Texas and Florida, were ‘reckless’, and he doubled his commitment to gradually lift health guidelines in line with standards set by public health officials.
CORRECTION (10 March 2021, 21:45 ET): In an earlier version of this article, the deadline was set to submit signatures in support of the attempt to recall Gavin Newsom’s government. The deadline is March 17 and not March 16.
