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Arvin Kupumbati
Professor Chang
California Government and Politics
3 November 2021
California’s Recall Election: A Matter of Lost Promises and Efficacy
The year 2020 was a very tumultuous time for California as well as the rest of the world.
While battling against Covid-19 there were nearly five million cases and a total of 71,646 deaths
in total. When a state is up against a threat this large, it is hard to say what the next steps will be.
In this situation, Californians usually look to the government to find a solution. Gavin Newsom,
the current governor of California provided worker’s compensation for those not able to work
from home while also creating a vaccine mandate for those in schools. On the surface, Newsom
did create an effort in stopping the spread and benefitting first responders, but to some it seemed
as if he did the bare minimum. It is also clear that Newsom is a mask proponent and heavily
encourages the use of masks, but while believing this he was seen at the French Laundry
Restaurant with a group of family and friends while not wearing a mask. To many of the right
wing voters in California and the general population, they saw this as the straw that broke the
camel’s back and a sign of hypocrisy. Due to this the citizens enacted their power of the recall, to
recall Governor Gavin Newsom and replace him with someone they desire should he get enough
votes. That person was attorney and conservative radio host Larry Elder. Elder vowed to change
the state of California for the better, and many people backed him. It was clear to see that
Newson’s time was coming to an end and after the recall his fate would be decided. Ultimately a
history of the power to recall will be provided as well as the results of this year’s recall election.
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To give a background, the California Constitution was written in the year 1849. The
constitiuion is the primary governing document for the state of California and it highlights the
duties, laws, powers, structures, as well as functions of the government of California as well as
how it should be be run. Article 2 Section 13-19 of the California Constituion is the part of the
constituion that allows the general public of California to recall state and local offcials. Due to
this law, the citizens are given the authority to recall those that work for the governing bodies of
California. This power rests with the citizens of California as they determine whether or not they
need a new local or state official, should that official break the law, create unfair laws, or do
something unconstitutional. This law is unique to California, as only the citizens of California
can exercise this right. In total there have been a total of fifty five attempts to try and recall the
governor of California, only one attempt was successful and this was in 2003. This was when
former governor Gray Davis was recalled and replaced with Arnold Schwarzenneger
(Ballotpedia). Now there were many reasons why the citizens of California wished to recall
Newsom, and there were a total of 1.7 million signatures to do so. Ultimately these reasons go
back to Newsom’s lack or performance or even action against the threat of Covid-19, failed to
keep his promise of stopping the homlessness in California, expanded sanctuary cities and
freedom for illegal immigrants in the state of California, as well as his support for unfair water
rationing (Ballotpedia). This along with the outrage that was caused by him not wearing a mask
at a gathering with more than 20 people at a restaurant is what ultimately culminate into the
power of recall being used once again. Not just Republican voters, but many Californians did not
like the fact that Newsom was in office and was not creating fair policy to the point where the
people of California could benefit. Some even felt like he was trying to always please his higher
ups or was putting illegal immigrants over the people of California. Newson ultimately edged out
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the Republican Candidate, Larry Elder, in the Recall Election, but Newsom’s actions goes to
show that when a government official is seen not to do his job that the power of the recall can be
used.
The Republican Candidate running in the recall election was Larry Elder. Elder grew up
in the impoverished area of Los Angeles, and made his way to become a conservative radio talk
show host while also becoming an attorney. Elder ran on the basis of waiting to save California,
essentially his goal was to enact as much policy as he can while tearing down the ones Newsom
created. It is also evidently clear that in his effort to oust Newsom from his gubernatorial seat he
was also appealing to minorities such as Asian, Latino, and African American individuals
(Calmatters.org). Elder believes that these people makeup the majority of California, and that
they work hard. While Newsom has not adequately created policy that has benefitted these
people, Elder claims that he will. It is also clear that most Republican candidates, such as Elder,
tend to be unpopular with Latino, Asian, and Black voters. So due to this Elder is making sure
that these people know for sure that they will be accounted for, should he be elected governor.
(Calmatters.org). Newsom, on the other hands believes that the recall is an attempt to put him out
of power by the right (Ballotpedia). He believes that the Republican National Convention,
anti-maskers, anti-vaxxers, Trump supporters, as well as those that want to overturn the
presidential election and what has been done in the fight against Covid-19, have all come
together in order to make sure that he does not stay in power as governor (Ballotpedia). The
recall election was held on September 14th, 2021 and ultimately 61.9% of the votes were to keep
Newsom while 38.1% wanted to recall him. Ultimately Newsom remained in power, but the
attempt to recall and the idea that this effort got this far goes to show how telling Newsom’s
actions were as governor.
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Ultimately, the recall election boiled down to a matter of two things: Would a seemingly
capable Larry Elder be able to transform the state of California for the remainder of Newsom’s
term (1 year) and will his policies remain or will governor Gavin Newsom remain in power
while also learning his lesson and creating more favorable policies in the future? Will there be a
new California, or will Gavin Newsom create policy that the individuals of California can
actually benefit from? While factoring in all these thought processes, a key fact remains and that
is that should Elder become the new governor of California he would only remain governor for
the remainder of Newsom’s term which is one year. Would this be enough for him to transform
California into the state he had in mind? Factually speaking, this just is not enough time.
Furthermore if Elder wins he would have to run again in 2022, and he would have to win in order
for the policies he implemented to remain. So though the recall election effort was initiated by
Californians out of practical reasons, the very premise of the election itself is impractical as
Elder will barely have enough time to do what he wants in office. Newsom’s victory showed
Californians that rather than using the power of the recall whenever they deem it necessary that it
should be used in a manner that is true to its purpose but also is practical in the grand scheme of
things. In the future, it is evidently clear that Gavin Newsom will be more aware of his
constituency as well as those that oppose him so that he could be a governor that accounts for
both sides.
In conclusion, the Gubernatorial Recall Election, was something that gained traction
because of Newsom’s lack of action in the Covid-19 pandemic among other reasons, as well as
him not wearing a mask at a large public gathering. The recall election was ultimately built on
practical reasons to make sure Newsom stays in power, but was not practically thought out
because Larry Elder would have barely any time to carry out what he campaigned for. The recall
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ultimately showed Califronians that though there are some problems with the governing system
of California, the power to recall should not be abused. But the election was also eye opening to
the point where citizens could see that Newsom was not doing his job correctly, and this election
also served as a way to keep him accountable. It is only a matter of time before the next
gubernatorial election, and based on this it will be seen whether this recall election has
permanently hurt Gavin Newsom or not. Until then Gavin Newsom is the governor of California,
and under him the Califrnians must listen as he now has a change of heart.
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Works Cited
“Laws Governing Recall in California.” Ballotpedia, 2021,
ballotpedia.org/Laws_governing_recall_in_California.
“Gavin Newsom Recall, Governor of California (2019–2021).” Ballotpedia, 2021,
ballotpedia.org/Gavin_Newsom_recall,_Governor_of_California_(2019–2021).
Christopher, More By Ben. “California Recall: Why Is Larry Elder Focused on Latino, Asian
Voters?” CalMatters, 7 Sept. 2021,
calmatters.org/politics/2021/09/newsom-recall-larry-elder-latino-asian-voters.
Myers, John, and Phil Willon. “California Recall Election Officially Ends as Results Certified.”
Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2021,
www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-10-22/california-recall-election-official-results-g
avin-newsom-prepares-for-2022.