Recall threat puts pressure on Newsom speech

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is set to give perhaps the most important speech of his political life Tuesday, and he’s spent weeks laying the groundwork for an upbeat address aimed at nearly 40 million people exhausted by a year of coronavirus restrictions.

Newsom’s popularity has fallen significantly after reaching record highs at the start of the pandemic and he’s likely to face a recall election later this year driven by critics of his stewardship during the crisis. That makes Tuesday’s State of the State a critical step for keeping voters on his side.

Dr. Mindy Romero, founder and director of the Center for Inclusive Democracy at the University of Southern California, said the speech is an opportunity and a test. Newsom needs to assert his focus on vaccination equity, reassure the general population that California is on the right track and back up his claims that his pandemic restrictions were the right choice.

I listened as church bells tolled to represent the more than 500,000 people in this country who have died from the coronavirus in a little over a year. It is amazing that three vaccines have been developed in less than a year to combat this virus. COVID-19 deaths will certainly decline as more of the population is vaccinated.

Other statistics to consider: In 2020, 606,520 people in the U.S. died from cancer. In 2019, 606,880 died, and in 2018, 609,640. The number of annual cancer deaths has not significantly decreased, yet I hear no church bells tolling for these deceased.

Year after year, more people die of cancer than have of COVID-19. If effective vaccines against COVID-19 virus could be made so quickly, I have to wonder what is holding back the medical field from developing an effective cancer treatment that could reduce a greater number of deaths.

Margaret Bruno

Branford