There are a lot of Californians who want to see Gov. Gavin Newsom out of office. But no one, least of all Newsom, believed there was a serious chance he would get booted and replaced by a conservative talk show host. Incredibly, there is such a chance — and it has forced Newsom to start paying attention to the state he’s supposed to govern.
This week, Newsom announced he would send additional state law enforcement support to Oakland, which has experienced an alarming surge in crime that has cost 77 lives already this year. In addition to sending California highway patrollers to assist Oakland’s local law enforcement, Newsom also said the state would invest more than $400 million to address crime in several cities.
“So all of those supports are new, all of those supports are available, and additional law enforcement support will be forthcoming into Oakland,” he said.
It’s good Newsom wants to do more to address the state’s rising crime rates. But where was this concern before he was on the edge of being recalled?
Violent crime in Oakland has been a problem for years. Last year, it reached an alarming high point. Homicides jumped 47%, making 2020 the deadliest year for the city since 2012, according to police. This year hasn’t been much better. Robberies and assaults have become so common that several city officials proposed declaring a state of emergency.
Former Sen. Barbara Boxer was attacked and robbed in Oakland last month. Newsom himself was assaulted after being “approached by an aggressive individual” earlier this summer.
The only reason Newsom didn’t act sooner is that he didn’t think he needed to.
The same can be said of his newfound concern about California’s homeless problem that Democrats have been unwilling to solve.
“What you see here is unacceptable,” Newsom said as he oversaw the removal of a homeless encampment near Berkeley this week. “We had a big fire here. This is a high safety risk, a public health risk. There are hundreds and hundreds of rats running around. People should not live in conditions like this, and we’ve accepted it too long.”
Exactly right. But, again, the Newsom Californians see right now is not the Newsom who has been in charge for the past few years. This is the man who, despite his repeated pledges to invest in more affordable housing for the homeless population, oversaw the largest increase of homelessness in a state during a one-year period from 2019 to 2020. And what did he do in response? He invited the rest of the nation’s homeless population to come pursue “the California Dream” with him.
It is far from certain whether Newsom will lose the recall election next month. But if he does, it will be because he waited until he was on his way out the door to start doing something about what’s ailing Californians.
