SoCal Republicans help drive effort to recall Gov. Newsom

Politicians, donors, organizations and volunteers boost the recall campaign as a critical deadline approaches

ORANGE COUNTY » Republican politicians, donors, organizations and volunteers, many from Orange County, are playing a pivotal role in reviving a once-stagnated recall effort against Gov. Gavin Newsom.

“Orange County is the heart and soul of this campaign,” said Randy Economy, spokesman for Recall Gavin 2020.

Organizers had secured more than 1.1 million signatures as of Thursday, Jan. 14, from Californians who support putting the recall question on the ballot, with many citing frustration over how Newsom has handled the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. They have until March 17 to gather at least 1.5 million valid signatures, though they want 2 million by then to cover any signatures that are thrown out. If they hit the legally-required signature target, a special election will be scheduled sometime between late summer and early next year.

Newsom is up for reelection in fall 2022. He was elected in 2018 by the widest margin in a gubernatorial race since 1950 and has maintained favorable approval ratings with a majority of Californians throughout his term. Democratic voter registration also has continued to grow in the state, and four previous recall attempts brought against Newsom have failed to qualify for the ballot.

Those factors have some political observers predicting that even if the effort gets enough money and signatures to force a recall election, it isn’t likely to result in Newsom being booted. Cal State Fullerton political science professor Scott Spitzer, for example, put those odds at “almost zero.”

But recall proponents say such predictions don’t account for voter frustration that’s built up in recent months, on both sides of the political aisle, as businesses have struggled and coronavirus cases have surged — coupled with mounting examples of Newsom and some other Democratic leaders breaking state rules. As evidence they point to a surge in signatures and funding that’s come their way in recent weeks, much of it from Orange County.

Recall gets a jolt

Through much of last year, the recall campaign — launched in the spring by former Folsom law enforcement officer Orrin Heatlie and Covina business executive-turned political organizer Mike Netter — languished and seemed destined to end as the four previous Newsom recall efforts.

But that changed on Nov. 6, when Newsom attended a birthday party for a lobbyist friend at The French Laundry, a pricey restaurant in Napa Valley. The event, which soon became a news story and dominated talking point for recall proponents, included guests from multiple households, a violation of Newsom’s own health recommendations. And while Newsom initially said the event took place outdoors, photos that ran in newspapers around the state including the New York Times and Politico, showed guests were at times in a dining room that largely was enclosed.

Economy said the party was “an early Christmas gift” and a turning point for the recall effort, which has now reported more than $1.3 million in fundraising. Irvine-based Prov. 3:9 also is by far the biggest donor on that ticket, having given $499,999 directly to the campaign in the weeks after what’s known as “the French Laundry incident.”

“He lost the moral authority to lead our state in the pandemic,” said Seth Morrison, executive director of the GOP fundraising group the Lincoln Club of Orange County, which is supporting the recall.

Proponents got a second gift in November when a judge, citing the pandemic, extended the deadline they have to collect signatures. Without that extension, the effort already would have failed to qualify.

Left pushes back

Newsom’s camp has largely avoided discussing the recall effort, saying the governor is focused on the pandemic. They also have described the recall as a waste of money and attention during difficult times.

The California Democratic Party called a press conference on Jan. 12 where party Chair Rusty Hicks and other Democratic leaders promised to discuss how recall proponents were linked to the violent Jan. 6 siege at the U.S. Capitol. But they didn’t give concrete examples of any such connections. And they caused an uproar by calling the effort to recall Newsom as a “coup” because it seeks to oust an elected governor — ignoring the fact that the recall process is constitutionally protected.

There have been some reports of individuals connected to both movements. That includes Michelle Stauder Peterson, lead organizer for the Huntington Beach chapter of the “Recall Gavin Newsom” effort. She posted a video on Facebook showing herself and a friend rushing into the U.S. Capitol as people yell expletives at police officers.