Vote No on the Newsom Recall
THE RECALL PROCESS
The California recall process can be considered The People’s Impeachment; a necessary tool to be used by voters when no other remedy is available.
Despite what opponents of recall may say, recalling an elected official is a democratic process. It is an exercise of the same power that elects an official: voting,
Recalling an elected official is a democratic process. First, many signatures (as many as 12% of votes that were cast in the last election) from registered voters need to be collected across the State; which is a high bar to pass. Then the choice is given to voters in a statewide election. Voters will decide if the Governor should be recalled, and if the Governor is recalled, who should replace them. For more information on this process, and information on candidates running in the election, visit our non-partisan voting guide.
The California Constitution allows voters to recall and remove elected state officials and justices of the State Supreme Court. State law does not require a justification for recall, but they require a significant number of signatures in order to hold a recall election.
Voting is an individual decision. We believe the decision to support or oppose a recall (either by voting and/or by signing the petition) belongs to each voter and should be respected. It is a personal, democratic, and (hopefully) informed decision.
Families for San Francisco supports the mechanism of recall as a lawful democratic process. However, cutting short an elected official’s chance to govern should be carefully considered. Therefore, we believe any decision to recall must be based on well thought-out guiding principles that can be applied equally to all elected officials.
PRINCIPLES FOR RECALL
Although our state and local laws are silent on what justifies a recall, we believe that, similar to an impeachment, the justification for a recall must clear a high bar.
Volunteers at Families for San Francisco came together to discuss what sort of principles ought to apply when evaluating recalls in California. We first applied these when debating the SF school board recall, and we have applied them to governor Newsom as we debate his recall election. As a group, we agreed that a recall decision should take into account the following principles:
Performance: failure to perform the duties of the office to the minimum standard; abdication of duty.
Process: undemocratic process while in office; blatant disregard of rules and procedures.
Power: abuse of power and position to harass or diminish the voice of constituents.
Interest: placing personal interest over the interest of the public and/or the institution the official oversees.
Conduct: pattern of conduct that disrupts the proper functioning of the position, office, or agency.
As background to inform our debate, our volunteers researched the recall rules in other states. We found the following grounds for recall in other jurisdictions instructive:
Criminal conduct
Misconduct
Gross incompetence
Failure to perform duties
Lack of fitness (mental/physical)
Malfeasance (wrongdoing)
Misfeasance (permissible but inappropriate conduct)
Nonfeasance (omission)
Misappropriation of public property or funds
Violation of ethical code
Violation of oath of office
Corruption
Oppression
Extreme bias
Misuse of office
It is our recommendation that recalls in California be based on one or more of the five principles listed above. We believe a recall should only be used in an emergency as a tool of last resort. Only in extreme circumstances should an elected official be removed from their office before the term they were elected to ends.
APPLICATION TO GOVERNOR NEWSOM
Being in any leadership position is difficult, and no one could have expected a global pandemic when Governor Newsom took office in early 2019. From a quick vaccine rollout to his advocacy for a safe return to in-person learning for students, we have been impressed by his leadership through a tough time, especially when it comes to children and families. We are especially grateful for the direct economic payments that his administration has extended to families across California.
We do not believe that Governor Newsom has met any of the standards set out to be recalled.
We feel his performance as Governor has been good, even as he faced the difficult task of leading the largest state in the nation through a pandemic. More importantly, he has not abused his power or been undemocratic in any actions he has taken as Governor. We do not believe that Newsom’s conduct has qualified him to be recalled, nor has he placed his interests above those of the State of California. Therefore, Families for San Francisco endorses a ‘no’ vote on the recall of Gavin Newsom.