Republican mayor looking to challenge Newsom in 2022
SACRAMENTO — A potential Republican challenger is trying to seize on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s publicrelations nightmare following the governor’s attendance at a dinner party at the French Laundry and anger over new state coronavirus restrictions.
Outgoing San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer “is strongly considering running for governor of California,” a spokesman for Faulconer said Friday.
“We need leadership — right now,” Faulconer said in an interview with Politico. “And people are rightfully outraged that the governor sets the rules, but he doesn’t follow them, while Californians are sacrificing everything right now.”
Faulconer, mayor of California’s secondlargest city, could be a top Republican contender in an uphill quest to defeat the governor of a state where Democrats have a nearly 21 party registration advantage.
Republicans have tried to cast Newsom as politically vulnerable after his dinnerparty fiasco. Newsom has received widespread backlash over the Nov. 6 dinner, where he sat in close proximity to at least a dozen people from more than three different households.
“He can dine on a $ 350 meal at one of California’s fanciest restaurants during the worst recession in generations,” Faulconer tweeted after the
“People are rightfully outraged that the governor sets the rules, but he doesn’t follow them.” Kevin Faulconer, San Diego mayor
story broke. “But you definitely can’t.”
The dinner, as The Chronicle reported, was a birthday celebration for Jason Kinney, a prolific lobbyist and Newsom’s friend, held at the ritzy French Laundry in Napa County.
Newsom’s administration issued guidelines last month limiting private gatherings to three or fewer households. His office initially defended the party because it took place at a restaurant, though it’s unclear if more than three households can gather at a restaurant, per state guidelines.
Photos of the event show Newsom mingling with lobbyists and others in a dining room that apparently opened onto an outdoor patio.
On Monday, Newsom apologized for attending the dinner.
“You can quibble about the guidelines, but the spirit of what I’m preaching all the time was contradicted,” he said. “I’ve got to own that. So I want to apologize to you.”
California is seeing the fastest increase in coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic, and hospitalizations have nearly doubled in the past two weeks.
Faulconer, who is termed out and leaves the mayor’s office on Dec. 10, has criticized Newsom’s handling of the pandemic’s economic toll, though case rates in California have been lower than in the country as a whole.
Matt Awbery, a spokesman for Faulconer, said the mayor has “received an outpouring of encouragement to shake up Sacramento,” especially from people hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
Faulconer told Politico that business owners are tired of “open and closing every other month.” He urged people to exercise “personal responsibility” by wearing masks and physically distancing.
Faulconer is the second highprofile Republican to announce his candidacy. John Cox, a San Diegoarea businessman who Newsom defeated handily in 2018, announced in September that he formed an exploratory committee for a rematch.
Faulconer is seen by many Republicans and independents as a more moderate alternative to the conservative Cox.
Dan Newman, a consultant for Newsom’s planned reelection campaign, said Faulconer’s gubernatorial ambitions aren’t a surprise. Newman said the governor is more focused on responding to the pandemic than on his potential 2022 opponents.
“There’s always a crowded field of ambitious, opportunist Republicans, and this won’t be any different,” Newman said. “( Faulconer has) been running for years.”
On Thursday, Newsom
announced a state curfew to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The order takes effect Saturday, and prohibits nonessential work and gatherings between 10 p. m. and 5 a. m. for counties in the state’s purple restriction tier.
“The governor will keep his focus on reopening, recovering and rebuilding from COVID as quickly and safely as possible,” Newman said.