Local Residents Voice Mixed Feelings About Recalling Governor

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at California State University Long Beach, in Long Beach, Calif., on March 3, 2021. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

As an effort to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom reaches its final stretch, Orange County residents share their thoughts on the prospective ousting of California’s political leader.

“I’ve signed a petition myself; the guy’s got to go,” Huntington Beach resident Ralph Bostic told The Epoch Times. “He’s doing nothing for the people in California. Somebody can do better than he does. This guy is terrible.”

Bostic said he’s concerned about the state’s illegal immigration policies and the lack of public maintenance.

“I hate the fact that he’s letting all these immigrants in, and we’ve got to pay to support these people in the future,” he said. “That’s probably my biggest concern.”

An ongoing campaign to recall the governor has reached more than 2 million signatures, a Rescue California official told The Epoch Times on March 12.

About 1.5 million verified signatures are needed to trigger an election, but organizers are working to vastly exceed that number to account for votes that are discarded during the validation process.

Varied Opinions

Not everyone is in favor of the initiative.

Orange County resident Bob McCann said he was against the recall because he believed Newsom handled the challenges of the past year well.

“It’s really been a lot of pressure because of the fact that the coronavirus has not gone down in California,” McCann said. “I don’t blame Gavin Newsom for it. I blame the people who don’t wear a mask in California, who don’t protect the other people from them. They just don’t think that they can get this disease, this viral disease.”

He said it’s up to the public to make a change.

“We have people going into the hospitals all the time, and they’re dying. ... It’s just completely out of hand because of the people,” McCann said. “People are not taking care of themselves or their neighbors.”

Marilyn Palomino of Huntington Beach said she doesn’t agree with the recall, either, considering the weight of the governor’s role.

“I don’t agree with everything that he’s done,” Palomino told The Epoch Times. “California is like another country, and it’s a really tough state to run. I think he’s done an OK job. I don’t want to change.”

Call for Change

Orange County resident Jim Puro said he was frustrated with Newsom’s COVID-19 response, and accused him of unnecessarily overregulating the state.

“He’s creating laws that don’t exist,” Puro said. “People should be able to do as they please. If they don’t feel safe, they should not go to a restaurant. If they feel like they could eat out, they should be allowed to eat out. They’re taking away our personal liberties.”

Orange County resident Katie Herbert said she was indifferent to the campaign to recall Newsom.

“That’s all silliness,” she said. “It needs to just be put to rest and move on.”