California Governor Gavin Newsom held onto his seat in office after the highly anticipated recall election on Sept. 14. 

In a two question ballot, 62.8 percent of Californians voted to keep Newsom as governor, with conservative radio talk show host Larry Elder garnering more votes than any other alternative candidate on the ballot.

Newsom, who now will remain in office until at least the end of his term in 2023, said, “I am humbled and grateful to the millions and millions of Californians that exercised their fundamental right to vote.”

The recall petition was filed in Feb. 2020 and was one of six petitions made against Newsom since he took office in Jan. 2019. This most recent petition argued for his removal, with supporters claiming that Newsom is responsible for the state’s tax rate and homeless population, both of which are highest in the nation.

Caspar Turner, a Pali junior and a member of the Cali Conservative Club, supports many of the complaints stated in the petition. “Taxes are very high in California, but my main issue would be the quality of life,” Turner said. “Gas and groceries are way more expensive compared to other places. Newsom claims he is for the working people, but prices are actually going up under his leadership, and then of course homelessness is a big issue, too.” 

One of the main criticisms in the petition highlighted Newsom’s approach to the state’s homelessness issue, citing that homelessness has seen an increase since his 2018 campaign. While Pali freshman Jaron Paris agrees that homelessness is a local problem, he supports Newsom. 

“The homeless encampment at the VA hospital has been in my area as long as I can remember, but it’s gotten worse in the past couple of years,” Paris said. “People are scared to walk by it and there was one time where I was verbally harassed by a homeless person…. But I believe that Newsom was doing a good job.” 

Though the recall petition was introduced before COVID-19 cases began to surge in California, it gained momentum after Newsom imposed lockdown mandates on March 19, 2020. 

Despite his orders for Californians to follow mask and social distancing mandates, Newsom was photographed maskless at a lobbyist’s birthday dinner held at the French Laundry on Nov. 6, 2020. The photos, published by Fox 11 News, were viewed by his critics as a symbol of the Governor’s alleged hypocrisy. 

A suffering economy and widespread school closures further fueled the opposition. More than 1.7 million Californians signed the petition, surpassing the 1.495 million signatures needed to trigger a recall election.

Turner criticized Newsom’s COVID-19 restrictions, stating: “His policies actually favor big businesses. Small businesses went under in mass because those restrictions primarily targeted those who couldn’t afford [to adhere to them].” 

Paris disagreed, stating that Newsom “shut down the schools and businesses at the perfect moment, before the pandemic hit really hard. Without it, more people would have been unnecessarily sick or killed.”

Forty-six candidates ran against Newsom with varying stances on numerous issues ranging from pandemic protocols to the cost of a gallon of gas.

Pali English teacher Stephen Berger said he is pleased with the results of the recall. “Regardless of the quality of the administration, the candidates who were available would have been a disaster for the state,” he said. “There are huge problems in the state that need to be addressed, but I don’t think the candidates who were using those arguments were sincere in their desire to actually make any changes.”