California Gov. Newsom facing new recall effort over response to wildfires

by Jessica Marie Baumgartner

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A new effort to recall California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is being stoked as state residents express anger at the recent wildfire mismanagement. 

Randy Economy is leading the recall effort, citing Newsom’s “incompetent response” for the new effort. He noted that Newsom should expect to be formally served recall papers within two weeks.

He directed Californian’s to visit the Saving California website, which is a self-proclaimed bipartisan coalition that was recently formed to recall Newsom for his “burdensome” leadership.  

During an interview with Newsweek, Economy noted that Newsom’s focus on rebuilding without resident input fueled the new recall effort. “It’s up to the people,” he stated. 

“This is emblematic of who he is as a leader, and I think this is emblematic of who he is as a politician, and he has no depth,” he added.

Newsome has faced backlash for failing to properly ensure an adequate water supply and focusing on combating “misinformation” instead of the fires, in addition to discussing how to use the affected land once the destruction is assessed.

According to Fox News, just months before deadly wildfires broke out in Southern California last week, Newsom cut over $100 million from the fire prevention budget.

Firefighters struggled to control the deadly wildfires as fire hydrants went dry, per the Associated Press, and according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention, as of Wednesday morning, only 18 percent of the fires have been contained, and 23,713 acres have been affected. 

President of the Family Research Council, Tony Perkins posted an interview with Pastor Jack Hibbs on X. Hibbs stated, “Nobody knew that the local reservoirs were out of water. Nobody knew that there was not a water supply to fire hydrants in this critical area.”

He recalled witnessing a firefighter attempting to combat the flames by filling a broken flower pot with water to throw it into the blaze. He compared it to living in a third world country. 

In addition, a clip of the California Governor’s interview with local Fox 11 has sparked added concerns for residents who have lost their homes. 

During the interview, Newsom noted receiving advice from the governor of Hawaii (who dealt with massive wildfires in 2023) and added that he had “some ideas about land use concerns he has around speculators coming in, buying up properties and the likes, so we’re already working with our legal teams to move those things forward.”  

This is not the first time Newsom has faced a recall. In 2021, a recall vote was held on Sept. 14, per UC Berkley Law, after multiple issues surfaced, including a report that found Newsome “misled” the public about his wildfire prevention promises and had slashed funding for fire prevention programs, via Axios

Just last spring, the California Secretary of State approved another recall effort to remove the California governor, but he remained and now faces yet another potential recall. 

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