A cure for the common opinion
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The argument from recall supporters that crime in California is out of control and that it’s Gov. Gavin Newson‘s fault ought to sound familiar.
Considering that schools are among the biggest swords on which Gov. Gavin Newsom could fall come Sept. 14, you would expect the top candidates vying for the job to have robust plans for how they would improve education.
Just how important is California in the fight against climate change?
California was the first state in the nation to place a limit on carbon emissions, setting an example that was followed by other states and other countries. When state lawmakers here committed to reaching 100% renewable energy by 2045, more than a dozen states did the same. After California began requiring that automakers sell a certain percentage of zero-emissions vehicles, more than 10 states adopted the mandate as well.
There are Californians who would prefer to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom with Larry Elder, John Cox, Kevin Kiley or some other Republican, because they prefer the right-wing ideology those candidates represent.
California is suffering from extremely dry conditions, so it stands to reason that the candidates trying to oust and replace Gov. Gavin Newsom have latched onto persistent but extremely shallow and woefully outdated claims about the management of the state’s water supply.
Encampments are everywhere in a state that, at last count, had 161,000 homeless people. A humanitarian crisis that has been building over many years has metastasized in recent years, frustrating residents, business owners and all Californians of good conscience.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s most formidable challenger in the Sept. 14 recall election is not radio host Larry Elder, former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer or any of the other replacement candidates on the ballot, though they may like voters to think so.
Ballots for the Sept. 14 special recall election have been mailed to 22 million California voters. The ballot poses two questions. The first is whether Gov. Gavin Newsom should be removed from office.
The correct response is a strong, unequivocal no.
California’s gubernatorial recall candidates have seized on the grim state of homelessness as a prime issue upon which to flay Gov. Gavin Newsom and appeal to voters frustrated by the proliferation of encampments. Their basic message: Tents overrun our sidewalks and parks and beaches, filled with mentally ill individuals who need to be forced into treatment or a shelter.
If Newsom is recalled — a possibility that once seemed remote — polls suggest it will be Elder who takes over, despite his lack of government experience and his extremist views. In a regular election, this couldn’t happen. But the curious rules of the recall election, in which the second question acts like a primary without a runoff, makes it not just possible but also likely, as other Republican candidates — former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, Assemblyman Kevin Kiley and businessman John Cox — split the votes of more reasonable conservatives.
In opposing the recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom, we have said that California’s values are at stake as well. The leading Republican candidates, particularly front-runner Larry Elder, don’t support the values most Californians hold dear.
By now, many Californians have heard about Larry Elder, John Cox and Kevin Paffrath, three of the 46 candidates seeking to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom in a special recall election that will conclude on Sept. 14.
We reached out to the 40 candidates whom we did not meet with personally and asked them to fill out a short questionnaire to gauge their positions on issues we care about. Some didn’t respond, but most did.
A cure for the common opinion
Get thought-provoking perspectives with our weekly newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.