Liberals in California see opportunity in the coronavirus pandemic, using sweeping government intervention that came to slow the spread of the virus there to push for progressive policies they have long sought to implement.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, declared a state of emergency in response to the pandemic in mid-March, shuttering bars, restaurants, and other businesses the government had deemed nonessential.
One of the country’s hardest-hit states, California, has reported more than 55,000 cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, and more than 2,000 citizens have died from the resulting disease.
Today, as the national trajectory of new cases and deaths begins to flatten, and some states begin the process of partially reopening their economies, champions of Democratic causes in deeply blue California say the pandemic provides a chance to reshape statewide policies.
“The pandemic has forced a lot of things that were being talked about to actually take place at a very rapid pace,” George Gascon, a former San Francisco district attorney who is now running in Los Angeles, told the New York Times. “The reset button was pushed, and I don’t see us coming back.”
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An example of a renewed push from the state’s political Left is displayed in proposed reforms to California’s cash bail system, which voters are set to rule on whether to scrap via a referendum in November’s election.
In response to the pandemic, the state issued an emergency order last month, reducing all cash bail for most low-level offenses to $0 in an attempt to reduce jail populations and slow the spread of the virus among inmates.
“It’s a welcome decision, particularly at this moment of crisis, in a time of emergency when we need to depopulate and decarcerate,” said Kate Chatfield, a senior adviser for legislation and policy at The Justice Collaborative. “It really shows the physical dangers.”
Some local law enforcement officials say the move rewards bad behavior while putting innocent people in danger.
“I just don’t think it’s good government, and it’s not safe to force the release of people on zero bail,” said San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon. “Maybe I’m missing something, but that doesn’t seem to me to be the right thing to do to protect the citizens of our county. If that person is in our custody, we can protect the victim, if he’s not, we can’t.”
Criminal justice reform isn’t the only policy objective Democrats in California have sought to expand since the pandemic began.
Newsom’s initial shutdown order did not include gun shops and firearms dealers as “essential” services.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva announced in March that because gun shops and ammunition stores in the area had been deemed “nonessential businesses,” they must close.
The National Rifle Association sued California over the measure, and the federal government eventually identified “firearm and ammunition product manufacturers, retailers, importers, distributors, and shooting ranges” as “critical infrastructure” in updated guidance on statewide shutdown orders.
As the state stay-at-home order enters its eighth week, critics say the Democratically controlled government in California is infringing on the personal liberty of people who are fed up with staying home and have a right to enjoy the state’s parks, city streets, and beaches.
“Huntington Beach has never been one to just roll over and take these mandates from the governor,” said Huntington Beach City Attorney Michael Gates. “We’re going to be fighting the order on a constitutional basis. We’re fighting for the city. We’re fighting for our decision-makers locally who have done a good job managing this crisis. We’re also fighting for the citizens of Huntington Beach.”
Newsom responded to protesters, saying: “This virus doesn’t go home because it’s a beautiful sunny day around our coasts.”
Homelessness, another crisis the state had already been grappling with before the pandemic, has been exasperated as local rescue missions aim to comply with social distancing guidelines and plead for help from the state and federal government.
Mark Ridley-Thomas, a county supervisor in Los Angeles, is advocating for a program that would allow previously homeless Californians who have been granted housing through FEMA during the pandemic to remain off the streets.
“We are aiming for the fences,” he said. “We are playing the long game.”
Experts predict the statewide stay-at-home order, which has no announced end date, will cost Southern California’s local economy $63 billion.
With the state suffering the worst economic downturn in recent history, Democrats in California have warned that some of the economic relief money appropriated to the state from the federal government will not make it into the hands of the people who need it most.
California also became the first state in the country Monday to borrow money, $348 million, from the federal government to pay claims for unemployment benefits.
On April 16, Newsom announced the state would supply one-time cash payments of $500 to all illegal immigrants in the state in an effort to help them get through the pandemic. Illegal immigrants do not qualify for direct coronavirus relief payments from the federal government.
“California is the most diverse state in the nation. Our diversity makes us stronger and more resilient. Every Californian, including our undocumented neighbors and friends, should know that California is here to support them during this crisis,” Newsom said. “We are all in this together.”
