Since the announcement of an exploratory committee earlier this month to challenge California Governor Gavin Newsom, former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer has raised more than $ 1 million, a figure that Faulconer’s campaign manager believes he is. a sign that Californians are thirsty for new leadership.
Faulconer, who was Republican mayor of San Diego between 2014 and 2020, launched the committee as a petition to oust Newsom because his treatment of the coronavirus pandemic is gaining momentum. As of January 31, the organizers of the recall effort claim to have collected more than 1.2 million signatures out of the 1.5 million needed. The deadline is March 17th.
Faulconer’s campaign manager Stephen Puetz told Fox News on Sunday that if any Republican has the chance to remove a Democratic governor in California, this is Faulconer.
San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer attends the San Diego Pride Parade at Balboa Park on July 14, 2018 in San Diego, California.
(Getty Images)
“During his time as mayor, (Faulconer) was known as the only big-city Republican mayor in the country. And he was known as someone who could get things done,” said Faulconer. “He was the only mayor of a major city in California to reduce the number of homeless for two consecutive years. He promised to pave more than 800 kilometers of streets. He ended up paving half the streets across the city in more than six years. did everything without raising taxes. ”
Since the launch of the exploratory committee, Faulconer’s team has reached a wide spectrum of potential supporters in California, said Puetz, ranging from grassroots organizers, political decision makers, state legislators, regional leaders such as public prosecutors and county supervisors, too as major donors and “ordinary Californians”.
“Whether they are Republican donors, party activists or Democrats, or simply fed up with the one-party regime, people are hungry for an alternative,” said Faulconer. “People are hungry for a check and balance in Sacramento.”
Faulconer, a moderate Republican councilor, was elected mayor of San Diego in early 2014 in a special election prompted by Democrat Bob Filner’s resignation on charges of sexual harassment.
San Diego had the distinction of being the largest city in the country with a Republican mayor, and Faulconer was the only Republican to lead a large city in California, where Democrats are firmly in control of state offices.
Despite running against a Latin Democrat and despite being overtaken by the unions by about $ 5 million in his re-election, Faulconer won with 42% of the Latin votes and 30% of the Democrats supporting him.
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Faulconer’s ability to do this, said Puetz, “provides hope for people who pay attention, who say, ‘well, of course, we would like to make a change. Of course, we want someone who can defeat Gavin Newsom’.”
“But there is also the element of realism in that, which must be someone with a proven ability to win and do things. And, frankly, he is the only person in California who has done that,” said Puetz. “There is no one else who won a difficult race … with demographic data similar to that of the state of California, like Kevin Faulconer. And that is part of the reason he has gained so much support in the past few weeks.”
The recall effort against Newsom – the sixth of its kind since he took office in January 2019 – was initially dismissed as a crazy effort by marginal activists. But the effort won majority support amid growing discontent with the governor’s handling of the pandemic. Critics – Republicans and even some Democrats – have accused the Newsom administration of failing to make the data they were supposed to rely on by ordering the closure of businesses and schools transparent.
The recall campaign saw an increase in support last November, after Newsom was photographed having dinner at the sophisticated French Laundry restaurant, while appearing to violate some of his own government’s guidelines against coronavirus.
But Puetz believes that years of failed Democratic leadership in California are also playing a key role in the success of the recall effort.
“Is it just Gavin Newsom? No, it’s not just Gavin Newsom. It’s the whole system, the whole system that was broken in Sacramento,” said Puetz. “We are one of the most taxed states in the country. And when we don’t even need to raise taxes, they still raise taxes … while donating somewhere between $ 10 and $ 30 billion to criminals in unemployment fraud.”
Last week, the California state auditor found that the state agency that oversees unemployment insurance paid at least $ 10.4 billion in fraudulent claims due to “significant errors and inaction”. The audit also found that the agency paid at least $ 810 million to prisoners – more than double the amount previously considered. Newsom’s government pointed a finger at the federal government and refused to share details of how often Newsom was informed of the problems.
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“It does not reflect the majesty and beauty of our state and its people,” said Puetz. “The state government does not reflect who the people of California are, innovation, care, intelligence, entrepreneurship. Gavin Newsom and the state legislature of the one-party regime are preventing Californians. I think people will see this and they will already They are. ”
Morgan Phillips and The Associated Press of Fox News contributed to this report.