Would You Vote To Recall Gov. Newsom? Patch Readers Weigh In

CALIFORNIA — Gov. Gavin Newsom has been heavily ridiculed for his pandemic response and for his appearance at a well-heeled dinner party at French Laundry after telling Californians to stay home. Now, the Democratic governor faces an all but certain gubernatorial recall election.

In a recent non-scientific voting survey, Patch asked readers to share their thoughts about the recall. Out of a pool of 14,997 respondents, 51.7 percent voted "yes" on whether they would support a recall election for Newsom, 47.4 percent said they wouldn't support it and 1.2 percent said they were not sure.

The survey, which appeared in questionnaire form this week on Patch, is meant not to be a scientific poll but only to give a broad idea of public sentiment.

If an election were held today, 52.3 percent of respondents said they would personally vote to oust Newsom and 47.7 percent said they would vote to keep him in office.

Some 43 percent of those who weighed in were Democrats, 22.7 percent were Republicans, 25.2 percent were of the independent party and 9 percent did not identify with a common party. Voters in the survey were fairly spread out over the Golden State. Approximately 51.6 percent said they lived closest to Southern California, 40.6 percent said they were near or in Northern California and 7.9 percent said they lived near Central California.

More than 4,000 who participated in the survey opted to elaborate further on their opinions about the governor.

"Newsom was way too conservative with the reopening of public schools; he should’ve mandated they open," one participant wrote. "He also was way too strict with youth sports."

Several wrote "rules for thee and not for me," in a blatant reference to Newsom's appearance at French Laundry. And several more said it's better to keep "the devil we know."

"It depends on who will replace him. Right now he is the devil we know," a participant wrote. "I am definitely hoping someone else better comes along because his policies as the pandemic went on became more about control than science. Our kids are hurting and his actions don't reflect the sentiments of the people who voted for him."

Another simply wrote: the "only flaw was that dinner party."

In an interview with KQED, Newsom addressed the French Laundry incident. "That's [one of] those things you can never get back. And, you know, I owned up to that. And no one hid from that. And that was a mistake. Crystal clear," he told the Bay Area news station earlier this month.

Many who participated in the Patch survey rallied behind Newsom, maintaining that he handled the pandemic well given the circumstances.

"Newsom was left hanging by the federal government with the Covid response, and I believe he handled it remarkably well," a surveyor wrote.

"Gov. Newsom made some mistakes, but he kept us informed. His message was consistent and largely coherent," said one respondent.

"This is our first pandemic. He's doing as well as can be expected with the information available. Don't hear any better solutions from those complaining," another wrote.

Others didn't weigh in on the governor but suggested that a recall election could be a waste of time and money.

"This really is completely political and a waste of taxpayer dollars which pay for this election," a participant wrote.

A majority of the complaints written on the Patch survey were leveled at Newsom's pandemic response. Patch asked participants to rate how Newsom handled the pandemic on a scale from 1-10. The answers were very spread out.

Some 23.6 percent gave Newsom a 1 rating while 14.6 percent gave him an 8 and 12.7 percent gave him a 10 rating.

Another survey recently published by the Public Policy Institue of California found that 56 percent of its respondents said they would vote to keep Newsom, while 40 percent said they would vote to remove him, according to the statewide survey of 1,706 adult Golden State residents conducted March 14-23 by the Public Policy Institute of California.

The views broke down largely along party lines: Some 79 percent of Republicans were more likely than independents (42 percent) and Democrats (15 percent) to oust the governor.

Newsom launched his own counter-campaign against the recall, slamming it as a partisan effort led by Republicans. "I won't be distracted by this partisan, Republican recall — but I will fight it," he said earlier this month. "There is too much at stake."

Signature collection for the recall effort concluded March 17, and leaders of the campaign said they garnered more than 2 million signatures. The effort needs 1,495,709 signatures to get the recall on the ballot, and the California Secretary of State's office is still working to verify the signatures.

The recall effort began in February 2020, before the pandemic severely upended life in California; supporters said since then that Newsom's response to the pandemic has been disastrous for businesses and that his leadership revealed serious fissures within the state's unemployment agency after an audit found widespread fraud.

A swath of Democratic leaders rallied behind Newsom earlier this month, including Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA); Reps. Katie Porter (D-CA), Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Ro Khanna (D-CA); and Georgia Democratic activist Stacey Abrams.

No Democrat has announced a candidacy against Newsom, and Democrats are calling for unity to stamp out the recall. Last week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi warned Democrats not to run in the likely recall election.

"I think it's an unnecessary notion," Pelosi said during a news conference, Politico reported. "I don't think it even rises to the level of an idea."

Newsom's vow to fight back poses a formidable threat to recall supporters. Under state rules, the California governor can raise money in unlimited amounts, while other candidates must abide by contribution limits.

"[Newsom has] made tough calls that kept Californians safe and helped them recover financially," Booker said, addressing the governor's pandemic response in a statement. "Defeating this cynical, Trump-fueled recall effort will be one of the most important priorities for Democrats this year."

A few possible challengers to Newsom include Kevin Faulconer, the former Republican mayor of San Diego; former Republican Rep. Doug Ose (CA); and Republican businessman John Cox, whom Newsom defeated in the 2018 governor's race. They have all announced their candidacy for Newsom's seat.