As the state moves toward easing restrictions on school and business reopenings, it’s raising questions about how much the Covid lockdowns may influence a potential recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom or whether fundamental discontent runs deeper.
“I don’t think the recall is going to alter the pace of economic recovery, that’s determined by the pace of easing restrictions,” Lawrence McQuillan, director of the Center on Entrepreneurial Innovation at the Independent Institute in Oakland, told the Northern California Record.
But residents still seem angered by the governor’s appearance at a dinner for a lobbyist friend in November when recovery uncertainty loomed large and the state was on the verge of entering another surge in coronavirus cases.
The Secretary of State has until April 29 to validate the recall signatures; so far 1.2 million have been validated, according to SOS data released late Friday. Roughly 1.5 million valid signatures are required for the recall to proceed.
Recall organizers said in a news release that more than 2.1 million signatures had been collected by the March 17 deadline.
“The biggest motivators of the recall were hypocrisy,” McQuillan said. “People hate that picture of the governor at the French Laundry unmasked with lobbyists, that was really his undoing.”
The timing was particularly inopportune as people’s health and livelihoods hung in the balance.
McQuillan noted some of the governor’s decisions on virus testing have caused concern.
“One of the things you can criticize him about is he went all-in on PCR testing firms,” McQuillan said.
The tests took too long to produce results and cost the state more than $60 million, the Mercury News reported. A CapRadio report also found a number of no-bid contracts also went to Newsom campaign donors. A contract to produce less expensive tests in a deal with PerkinElmer has led to whistleblower allegations of mismanagement and hundreds of inconclusive tests, CBS Sacramento reported.
“Newsom used the outbreak for justification for the lockdowns; he chose to sign contracts with PCR companies, which can take up to a week for results, instead of demanding antigen tests,” McQuillan said. “He should have heeded the warning of experts, and refrained from signing ever-larger contracts.”
As part of the effort to reopen schools, the state is now deploying antigen tests, which can provide results in roughly 15 minutes, according to a news release issued by the governor's office on Thursday.
The actions speak to the governor’s reactive instead of proactive response amid the pandemic, McQuillan said.
McQuillan noted that using this strategy sooner could have helped curtail the spread of infection that led to the winter lockdowns that fueled much of the momentum in the recall effort.
An upcoming report by the institute will focus on reforming healthcare regulations to improve patient care amid the pandemic response.
“The testing regime strategy Newsom employed in California was completely worthless at containment and ultimately lengthened the lockdown,” McQuillan said. "Ultimately, he did ease restrictions, but he waited until there was a crisis.”