One of the questions we will ask of gubernatorial candidates is their view of Gavin Newsom’s performance as governor. In preparation, I’ve been doing a deep dive into the record. Since taking office as governor, Newsom has proposed nearly $2 trillion of spending and signed more than 4000 bills into law. What has been the impact? Schools are still performing poorly, Newsom allowed government employee unions to keep schools closed longer than any other state and raided reserves to cover up spending that grew 50 percent faster than revenues, housing is less affordable, and CA’s unemployment rate is 29 percent higher than the US unemployment rate vs. 8 percent higher when he took office. From my perspective only two groups — government unions for whom Newsom boosted payroll and membership and residents to whom Newsom extended health insurance — are better off. But am I missing something? I’d like your opinion. How, if at all, has state governance in California improved since Newsom became governor? Please let me know your thoughts. In the meantime we are also doing a deep dive into his donors, an analysis I expect will shed some light on why he governed as he did.
