A number of counties in California have adopted the Healthy Communities Resolution, which seeks to abandon Gov. Gavin Newsom’s regional stay-at-home order. It also allows each county to choose its own way of dealing with the pandemic.
The Resolution was introduced by Assemblyman Kevin Kiley. He said Newsom abused his power and violated the California constitution.
“He’s issued 58 executive orders. Orders that span 17, 18 different California codes, touching upon education, elections, businesses and professions, corporations, harbors, and navigation. The totality of California life. He’s doing this just issuing orders with a stroke of a pen, without the opportunity for any members of the public to participate, without an open debate. It’s a total departure from the representative form of government that is supposed to be at the heart of the American system. ”
Newsom’s latest regional stay-at-home order took effect on Dec. 6. It shut down businesses such as hair salons, outdoor dining, bars, wineries, and others, affecting 30 million people, 77 percent of California’s population.
Newsom also threatened to revoke the licenses of businesses if they don’t comply with the order. Kiley said he has introduced another legislation to stop the governor from doing so.
“If they want to try to threaten you with a license revocation, then they need to actually show that you are causing a problem. … If they can prove that, then OK, that’s one thing, but right now what they’re doing is they’re just going around trying to catch you, saying ‘gotcha’ in some technical violation of these orders, and then threaten you and pulling your license and ruining your businesses because of it. I think that’s not right,” said Kiley.
Kiley criticized the California legislative leaders’ lack of actions and letting the governor take over what the legislature should do.
“It’s been perhaps, worst of all, a complete reversion to an autocratic model of government where Gavin Newsom has decided that he has the power to simply rule the state by decree, which he does not. That’s a violation of our constitution, but the legislature has refused to stand up to him, so all in all, it’s caused a great deal of suffering for 40 million people in California,” said Kiley.
Meantime, an effort underway to recall Newsom is gaining traction. The campaign has collected more than 800,000 signatures, more than half of the 1.5 million necessary to put the recall onto a ballot by March 17.
