Newsom and Bass recall efforts gain momentum after fallout from wildfires – Washington Examiner
Campaigns aimed at recalling California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass are gaining momentum in the wake of catastrophic wildfires that have devastated the state. The wildfires, which began on January 7, have tragically resulted in at least 24 fatalities and the destruction of numerous structures in the Los Angeles area. Activist Randy Economy is spearheading the recall efforts, citing Newsom’s inadequate response to the crisis and plans to file official recall papers soon.
Supporters will need to collect approximately 1.3 million signatures within five months to proceed wiht the recall. Critics accuse Newsom of failing to address longstanding issues such as poor policies that have escalated living costs, crime, and homelessness, and also inadequate fire management practices. In a statement, Economy condemned Newsom’s governance for its handling of the fires, declaring that living in California has become increasingly challenging under his leadership.
Despite previous unsuccessful recall attempts against Newsom, this current crisis may provide proponents with the impetus needed to advance their efforts. Simultaneously occurring, Newsom’s office asserts that he is focused on managing the fire emergency and recovery efforts rather than political matters, dismissing the recall campaigns as politically motivated and previously unsuccessful endeavors by far-right activists.
Newsom and Bass recall efforts gain momentum after fallout from wildfires
Campaigns to remove Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass from office have gained steam as devastating wildfires continue to rage in California.
The two officials have faced sharp censure over their handling of the wildfires that first erupted on Jan. 7. The fires have killed at least 24 people, torched 12,000 structures, and destroyed large sections of the greater Los Angeles area.
California activist Randy Economy, who is leading the movement to recall Newsom, escalated the effort because of the governor’s “woefully unprepared and incompetent response to the fires.” In a recent statement, Economy said he expects to file papers in the next two weeks to start the recall process. Recall supporters will have to gather roughly 1.3 million signatures in the next five months.
Newsom already survived one recall attempt spearheaded by Economy in 2021. However, this time around, the fire crisis could give anti-Newsom activists the fuel they need to push the governor out of office.
“Under the reign of Governor Newsom, living in California has become impossible for average people through years of poor policies which have increased the costs of living, increased crime, increased drug use and homelessness, increased the cost of burden [sic] on small businesses and communities, while decreasing our professional standards, education standards, the disappearance of billions of taxpayers’ dollars to failed pet programs, and our public services,” Economy said. “This was most recently demonstrated by the woefully unprepared and incompetent response to the fires currently ravaging the Los Angeles area.”
As California’s governor, Newsom experienced swift backlash when the fires broke out. Critics said state policies about brush and debris removal fed the fires and argued Newsom ignored years of warnings to change course and avoid the latest disaster. Some furious Californians also said Newsom’s water policy left firefighters without the tools they needed to stop the crisis and slammed him for approving a special session to fight President-elect Donald Trump while Los Angeles burned.
“Governor Newsom is 100 percent focused on the fires, ongoing rescue efforts and the recovery process – not politics,” Newsom’s office told the Washington Examiner on Tuesday. “Readers still should have the context that the same group of far right activists have launched 6 different recall attempts against the governor since he’s taken office, each of which have failed spectacularly. Even Republican Party leaders have criticized these repeated attempts as a brazen campaign finance ‘grift,’ and the recall organizers have been sued by their own donors for pocketing funds raised previously. For example, they didn’t even turn in a single signature in their last attempt.”
While ousting Newsom is the primary focus of Economy’s grassroots coalition, Saving California, he is also eyeing plans to remove Bass from office, according to Newsweek.
A separate online petition calling for Bass to step down as the mayor of Los Angeles launched Wednesday. The Change.org petition had garnered more than 130,000 signatures as of Tuesday morning.
“We demand the immediate resignation of Mayor Karen Bass due to her failure to lead during this unprecedented crisis,” says the petition. “Water supplies have been severely strained, billions of taxpayer dollars have been misallocated or left unaccounted for, and countless lives have been lost… the city has been woefully unprepared to ensure the safety and well-being of its residents.”
Footage of a speechless Bass after she was asked questions about the fires went viral last week. She has faced intense criticism over revelations the Santa Ynez Reservoir, a 117-million-gallon water storage complex that is part of the Los Angeles water supply, sat empty and out of commission when the fires broke out.
The mayor also faced scrutiny over why local fire hydrants went dry as emergency personnel tried to fight the disaster as well as questions over her presence overseas in Ghana when the Palisades fire ignited.
“I don’t understand how they did not cancel her trip,” a senior staffer for another local elected official told the Los Angeles Times, explaining that their office began viewing the coming wind event as a grave threat during the preceding weekend. “It was political malpractice.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to Bass’s office for comment.
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