Skip to main content

Newsom Drops Out of Governor's Race

Support Provided By
KCETNewsom2I.jpg

No one officially wants to be the Democratic governor for California next year--leaving "exploratory" former Governor and current attorney general Jerry Brown heir apparent to his old throne.

What caused San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom to run away from the race to lead our troubled state? Calbuzz has the skinny on Newsom's lack of fire for the fundraising part of politics:

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's publicly-stated reason for dropping out of the Democratic race for governor was the absolute truth: "With a young family and responsibilities at City Hall, I have found it impossible to commit the time required to complete this effort the way it needs to -- and should be -- done."....Despite his charisma, policy depth and breezy communication skills, Newsom found himself behind Attorney General Jerry Brown by 8-to-1 in campaign cash and 20 points in the polls because of three key problems: his utter lack of discipline, his inability to manage his City Hall staff and his faulty judgment about the practical operations of a statewide campaign. Last week, with about $375,000 in the bank, Newsom finally realized he would have to put City Hall on maintenance mode and commit to at least 20-40 hours a week on the phone, schmoozing donors and political shakers, raising money the old-fashioned way - a task he simply could not make himself do.... He would find one excuse after another to blow off scheduled time for fund-raising, even when his campaign staff arranged for an office across the street from City Hall. He could not be made to make the phone calls -- even in the car during drive time -- for a senator's birthday or a labor leader's new baby....

Newsom believed he could fundraise using such new media tools as Facebook, which proved not to be the case. His campaign staff and mayoral staff were also constantly at loggerheads on how to sell the candidate-that-won't-be.

Meanwhile, in the camp of the Last Democrat Standing, not-yet-officially-running Jerry Brown's spokesman at the AG office resigns for illegally taping phone calls from reporters.

So does this mean our mayor Villaraigosa should renege on his commitment to not run for governor?, the L.A. Times asks.

City of Angles has been following the gubernatorial race on both sides of the aisle here and here.

The image associated with this entry was taken by Flickr user jdlasica. It was used under user Creative Commons license.

Support Provided By
Read More
A row of cows stands in individual cages along a line of light-colored enclosures, placed along a dirt path under a blue sky dotted with white puffy clouds.

A Battle Is Underway Over California’s Lucrative Dairy Biogas Market

California is considering changes to a program that has incentivized dairy biogas, to transform methane emissions into a source of natural gas. Neighbors are pushing for an end to the subsidies because of its impact on air quality and possible water pollution.
A Black woman with long, black brains wears a black Chicago Bulls windbreaker jacket with red and white stripes as she stands at the top of a short staircase in a housing complex and rests her left hand on the metal railing. She smiles slightly while looking directly at the camera.

Los Angeles County Is Testing AI's Ability To Prevent Homelessness

In order to prevent people from becoming homeless before it happens, Los Angeles County officials are using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to predict who in the county is most likely to lose their housing. They would then step in to help those people with their rent, utility bills, car payments and more so they don't become unhoused.
blue themed graphic including electric vehicles are charging stations, wind turbines and trees, 2023 in reference to year

A Look Back at Climate Solutions In 2023

The U.S. may have a long way to go in its decarbonization goals, but these stories show signs of progress in climate solutions.