Letters to the Editor: Gavin Newsom recall is bogus. But that’s politics

To the editor: I don’t blame Republicans for trying to recall California Gov. Gavin Newsom. They see an opportunity to gain power.

The last time the Republicans saw such an opening was in 2003, when then-Gov. Gray Davis was being blamed for power blackouts. As a result, longtime statesman Davis was ousted and replaced by movie actor Arnold Schwarzenegger. It turned out that the culprit was Houston-based Enron Corp., which was playing the energy market for profits and laughing at the California blackouts.

Now, it’s Newsom who is being criticized, even by some Democrats, for closing down businesses during the pandemic. How many lives he saved by the shutdowns does not matter. Republicans see a perceived weakness and want to take advantage of it.

That is politics.

Martin A. Brower, Corona del Mar

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To the editor: Unable to earn a majority vote with their regressive, discriminatory and upside-down policies during a regular election cycle, California’s sulking Republicans are now perverting the recall process. It is intolerable and unsustainable to allow these Republican electoral disruptions every time a sitting governor does something that Republicans think can be leveraged and exploited emotionally.

I propose amending the entire process to specify that should a sitting governor be recalled, the sitting lieutenant governor will take his or her place.

Gary Karasik, Los Angeles

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To the editor: I signed the recall petition in order to put pressure on Newsom to do better after his failures this summer in coronavirus testing, equitable vaccine distribution and the ham-handed way he both restarted and shut down the economy and schools with little data to back up his decisions.

The bottom line is that he has to ensure that schools are open, people are employed and that life is as close to normal by the time of the recall election. The best way to do so is to ensure that vaccines continue to be distributed and proper protective equipment is provided. Everything else is a sideshow.

As a manager in my day job, I look at my recall signature as putting the governor on a performance improvement plan. If he can get our state back to how it was or better than before the pandemic, I will happily support him. If not, he deserves to be fired to let someone else have their turn.

Hank Fung, Covina