Group losing its neutral facade in recall campaign
‘Let Them Play CA’ losing its neutral facade in Newsom recall campaign
For return-to-play leaders, it was the imagery they had attempted to avoid in the fight to loosen youth sports restrictions.
Gavin Newsom powered through his latest update on youth and high school sports in California, but there was something different this time. His words were largely the same, but in the background, a growing chorus alternated between chants of “Recall Newsom” and “Recall Gavin.”
For return-to-play leaders, it was exactly the imagery they had attempted to avoid in their fight to loosen youth sports restrictions, which they maintain has stayed out of the political fray and given kids a voice. For Newsom, it was the latest sign of a growing coalition of fed-up parents, exactly the potentially massive constituency necessary for an underdog campaign that wants to recall a popular Democratic governor in deep-blue California.
“You really need a movement,” said Terry Christensen, professor emeritus of political science at San Jose State. “It takes something to get a movement started. These are the kinds of issues that can do that. … A coalition is really crucial, and where the school issues come in is it broadens the potential base for a recall.”
Eleven months since he garnered praise for some of the earliest and most sweeping COVID-19 restrictions in the country, Newsom’s star has faded in the eyes of Californians. Despite its handson approach to the pandemic, California has largely fallen victim to the same brutal outcomes as many of its less restrictive counterparts. And even some who initially supported the steps taken last spring have come to question the reasoning behind keeping their children out of school and off the playing field, with mounting evidence in other states it can be done safely.
Julia Kirshner’s 15-yearold daughter, Ellie, hasn’t been allowed to train with or see her San Jose Junior Sharks teammates since November. Kirsher, an executive at a San Jose biotech company, said she looks at the data but wonders why a 200-foot rink cannot safely hold a couple dozen hockey players.
“I would have expected more than just lip service from all of the officials, both the governor and the local officials,” Kirshner said. “He keeps bringing up his four children, OK good, at some point that kind of loses meaning when you tell me you have the same problem I do, but you’re in a position to do something about it.”
That said, Kirshner hasn’t signed on to the recall petition. She has taken to writing to county officials, pleading as a scientist to look at data from other states and reopen schools and sports.
This past week, there were dueling rallies at the state Capitol calling for the return of youth sports and inperson learning. To cap off the week, the Recall Newsom campaign announced it had met the 1.5-million signature threshold to get on the ballot. With another month to collect signatures before the March 17 deadline, the campaign hopes to reach 1.8 to 2 million total to account for any that are invalidated.
One signature belongs to Jonathan Zachreson, a parent of three near Sacramento, who would often find his children asleep during their online school classes. It came time for Claire, an eighth-grader and youngest sibling, to sign up for an eventual softball season after last year’s was canceled.
“After it’s been gone this whole year,” Jonathan remembered, “I told her softball was going to open back up again, and she’s like, ‘You know what, I really don’t want to.’”
He said he voted for Newsom in 2018, but he’s since launched a 12,000-member Facebook group advocating for the return of schools and is an active member in the original 4,000-member Let Them Play group on Facebook, both of which have evolved into pro-recall groups.
“After COVID hit and basically schools have been shut down, for extended periods of time, I was furious,” Zachreson said. “And it just got worse and worse, and he kept changing the rules. … When it came to the first three weeks, I guess I understood it. … But after that three weeks was up, and they shut down schools even more, my initial response was, ‘I’m going to go after every board member and make sure they don’t get reelected.’ I quickly learned that’s not how it works.”
His kids are back in school now, and he credits the school board that once drew his ire. Now, his anger is directed at Newsom.
“Actually, we have a really good board that wants to get our schools open. … But that’s the kind of leadership we have on the board. Mind you, Newsom has made it a struggle to get there.”