Stop the recalls

Benicians are facing two recall efforts. The closest to home is the unjust recall effort of Benicia Unified School District trustees Sheri Zada and Mark Maselli — supposedly for their votes to postpone the immediate return of students to the classroom during the 2020 holiday season.

The last three months of the year — and the period in question — was the worst time Californians faced during the past pandemic year, so it’s no surprise the trustees voted unanimously, 5-0, to postpone the return to in-person instruction until the fourth quarter. The decision of Zada and Maselli, made with the rest of the trustees and based on science as well as the dramatic increase of positive Covid-19 numbers for Solano County, proved to be correct when the death toll became so dire that we entered statewide lockdown again.

The other is the unfounded statewide recall effort against Gov. Gavin Newsom — the sixth attempt to recall Newsom since his election in 2018. This recall is Folsom resident Orrin Heatlie’s second bid to take Newsom down, but this time it has gained more traction, in large part due to the $400,000 Republican Party — both in California and nationally — has funneled into the scheme.

One NBC News headline reads, “Recall effort against California governor an attempt to ‘destabilize the political system, analysts say” (Dec. 12). Does this seem suspicious? It is, and it gets even more suspicious: Out-of-state donors to two pro-recall committees, Patriot Coalition and Rescue California, have added another $200,000 to the fund. From the Sacramento Bee, “People from across the country are funding effort to recall California Gov. Gavin Newsom” (March 3). This is troubling, even without considering the recall’s connections to conspiracy theorists, hardline anti-vaxxers and far-right extremists like the Proud Boys. From the Los Angeles Times: “Far-right movements including QAnon, virus skeptics linked to Newsom recall” (Jan. 24).

If this recall goes through, there won’t be any other sanctioned Democrats on the ballot. The next largest political party in California is the Republican Party. Who’s slated to benefit from this unethical way of gaining a governorship?

I witnessed the Newsom recall effort last week while visiting Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey, where a petitioner was yelling, “You won’t have to wear a mask if he’s recalled.” This told me all I needed to know, and that Gov. Newsom was right when he stated, “… a handful of partisan activists supporting President Trump and his dangerous agenda to divide America are trying to overturn the definitive will of California voters and bring Washington’s broken government to California with this recall effort.”

Both efforts are frivolous, lack justification and will cost us California taxpayers over $1 million for the Newsom recall election and the BUSD over $300,000 for the Zada and Maselli recall special election. Wouldn’t this money be better spent on California’s residents and Benicia’s students?

Our state is reopening, workers in education are now being vaccinated and there are plans to return to in-person learning in the near future. We are well on the road to recovery, so we must ask ourselves who stands to gain from these recall efforts while we do all we can to protect those who have everything to lose.

I urge all Benicians and Californians to not sign these recall petitions.

— Pat Toth-Smith/Benicia