Governor touts city cleanup program
California Gov. Gavin Newsom trekked to Long Beach on Thursday — with some high-profile help — to clean a cluttered lot near the 91 and 710 freeways.
But his goal was more than picking up the litter. He made the trip to the coast to promote his $1.1 billion Clean California program, which aims to clear trash from thousands of other lots, too.
Newsom called the effort unprecedented.
“Two years ago,” he said, “the entire budget for this kind of effort was $80 million for all of California.”
“We’re just getting started,” Newsom added. “Four hundred people already are employed, and 10,000 people will be employed.”
Assemblyman Patrick
O’Donnell, D-Long Beach, who represents the North Long Beach area where the event occurred, praised the effort.
“We’re cleaning more than just an eyesore,” O’Donnell said. “It’s a moving hazard. A lot of this debris ends up on cars as you’re driving on a freeway. It’s a public safety issue.”
Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, who also helped tidy the lot, praised the program.
“It’s about ensuring the whole state will recover from the pandemic,” Garcia said.
“Part of our recovery is not just about health,” he added, “but that cities also are clean.”
State Sen. Steven Bradford also joined in on the cleanup event.
Newsom has been crisscrossing the state in recent weeks to promote programs enabled by the state budget he signed into law, buoyed by federal relief dollars. His journeys have taken him to a patch of dirt under the 110 freeway in Los Angeles to talk about his plan to clean up California’s roadways, to Magic Mountain and Universal Studios to urge people to get vaccinated and to Bell Gardens to encourage Californians to apply for relief if they are unable to pay rent amid the pandemic.
These events come as the governor prepares for a Sept. 14 recall election.
Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, television personality and Olympic gold medal winner Caitlyn Jenner and radio personality Larry Elder are all running against Newsom.