Gavin Newsom Rebounds Strong From Failed Effort To Recall Him
California governor embraces big climate plan, mulls potential vaccine mandate for kids
If there was any doubt that California Gov Gavin Newsom came away from the failed attempt to recall him stronger than ever, the Democratic incumbent put that to rest this week.
Golden State voters overwhelmingly slapped away a Republican Party attempt earlier this month to force Newsom out of office early and replace him with a Republican, likely radio host Larry Elder.
Newsom has rallied by getting behind a huge, $15 billion state package aimed at climate change action.
“Well, at the end of the day, we have to deal with the smash-mouth realities of climate change that are here right now, we can’t afford to sit back passively and watch the debate unfold in Washington, D.C.,” said Newsom, who is up for reelection to a second term next year. “And so, we’re trying to meet this moment, simultaneously deal with the crisis at hand, 2.3 million acres that have burned so far this year, experiencing and enduring the hottest summer in recorded history.
“At the same time we invest in the future, and we future-proof California, and we try to continue to export good values, good policies, climate policies to not just the rest of the country but to the rest of the world as well,” he added. “And that’s $15 billion commitment which is simply without precedent in any state in the U.S. history and that’s just a down payment on the work we have in front of us.”
Meanwhile, the governor is considering a possible vaccine mandate which would extend to California's young people.
“We’re the first state to do a state home order for a state to require all state employees to get vaccinated or tested as well as school employees to do the same. So we're leaning in,” Newsom said. “As a consequence, we have the lowest case rates in America, even though our state is larger than 21 state populations combined. So we want to continue to be vigilant, we want to continue to lean in.
“We still have a lot of work to do, I worry about a winter surge. So yes, it’s now back on the table to get our kids vaccinated 12 to 17. We're not seeing the numbers we're seeing for other age cohorts. The decision will be made over the course of the next few days,” he added. “We have a lot of partners with 1,050 school districts in the state of California, the largest school system in the United States. But it is true, our health director said it today that this is on the table, it’s being debated, and over the next few days we will come out with some recommendations.”
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