California governor names new leaders on water, education
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom named new leaders Tuesday to top posts in water, transportation and education policy, his latest moves to set the state government on a fresh path during his first months in office.
It’s typical for new governors to shake up key posts even when the transfer of power remains within a party, and the appointments Newsom announced in his State of the State showed he’s moving in his own direction in policy areas considered a priority by his predecessor, former Gov. Jerry Brown, a fellow Democrat.
“There’s been too little oversight and not enough transparency,” he said of the highspeed rail project. Later, he added, “we also need a fresh approach when it comes to meeting California’s massive water challenges.”
Constructing a high-speed train between Los Angeles and San Francisco and building two massive water tunnels to remake how the state’s water is moved from north to south were among Brown’s chief priorities. Newsom restated his call for a single water tunnel and said there “isn’t a path” right now for to complete the highspeed rail line as planned, though his staff said he’s still committed to seeing it through.
To chair the board of the High-Speed Rail Authority, he named Lenny Mendonca, his administration’s economic development director. He’ll replace Dan Richard, who had worked with Brown since the 1970s.
Newsom named Joaquin Esquivel to lead the State Water Resources Control Board, replacing Brown chair Felicia Marcus. He also appointed Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg to a lead commission on homelessness and chose Linda Darling Hammond to lead the state Board of Education, saying it’s time for an “honest conversation” about how California’s schools are funded.
Newsom sounded themes of honesty, frankness and transparency repeatedly throughout the speech as he sought to craft himself as a leader bold enough to confront the uncomfortable challenges facing a state that ranks as the world’s fifth largest economy but is also home to deep poverty.
“Now, let’s talk honestly about clean drinking water,” he said before calling it a “moral disgrace” that some Californians still lack access to clean water. He’s proposed a new tax to raise money for water infrastructure projects.
Newsom criticized Republican President Donald Trump for promoting a “manufactured” crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border and for vandalizing pieces of former President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul law. But he also praised Trump for his calls to lower prescription drug prices.