Gavin Newsom, sworn in as the replacement for Jerry Brown as Democratic California Governor in 2019 is in trouble. There is increasing pressure for a recall election as he faces a storm of bad news, mainly over his handling of the pandemic, but also about high taxes, homelessness, wildfires and summer blackouts. It’s not clear whether those pushing the threshold of 1.5 million signatures needed for the initial vote will be successful and even after that, it is a complicated process. In 2003 a recall election saw Arnold Schwarzenegger step in as Governor.
Gavin Newsom, 10 October 1967 5.13 am San Francisco, has a background in a successful winery, restaurant and hotel business and has been in politics for 25 years, becoming the youngest Mayor of San Francisco along the way. He has a Sun Libra on the cusp of his financial 2nd house opposition a self-reliant Saturn in Aries square a Capricorn Moon – hard-working, designed for a pubic career. More significantly he has the innovative and scattered Uranus Pluto in Virgo sitting on his Ascendant in a volatile and super-determined square to Mars opposition his Gemini Midheaven. Tr Neptune is doing him no favours in 2021 as it returns to the undermining square to his Midheaven and Mars from later this month, which was around last year, bringing a panicky sense of failure. Tr Neptune is then moving to oppose his Pluto; and tr Pluto will trine his Uranus from late this month for upheavals on and off till late 2022 – all of which adds up to a pile of problems none of which he looks like overcoming for some considerable time.
His Swearing In chart of 7 January 2019 12.07pm isn’t a total disaster but it has a road-blocked Saturn, Sun, Pluto on the Midheaven which doesn’t suggest easy progress; with Saturn square Mars which was guaranteed to bring setbacks. And an over hopeful Jupiter square Neptune.
He’s not as good a fit with California as Jerry Brown, who was the golden state’s longest running Governor from 2011 to 2019. Brown, 7 April 1938 12.34pm San Francisco, is an Aries Sun with Cancer Moon and a dynamic Mars Uranus in Taurus which trines the CA Virgo Sun. Newsom’s Uranus Pluto square Mars hits the California Virgo Sun awkwardly – arguably hinting he may be a bringer of crises. His relationship chart with CA has two Yods – one Mars Saturn and the other Mars Pluto; with a more than challenging Neptune opposition Uranus Pluto square Saturn. So maybe he was always destined to lead through a time of rolling disasters – not his fault but he’s landed with the responsibility and will take the brickbats, deserved or otherwise.
California is in an exceptionally bumpy patch of several years at the moment with tr Pluto moving in square to the Saturn/Pluto and Saturn/Uranus midpoints and then squaring Pluto Uranus in 2023/24. So whether Newsom stays or goes it’ll be a time of rolling challenges.
@JAS, I’m not hearing any presidential buzz around Newsom right now. I also don’t think he’d challenge fellow Californian and friend Kamala in 2024, if Joe Biden doesn’t run.
Governor Jerry Brown had a surplus around 2014-2015, so for things to be going so much worse, I can understand some of the blame being put on him. Newsom is expected to run for president in 2024, at least that’s what Californians are telling me.
@Chris, I live in Southern California. If the recall makes the ballot, and signature gatherers are fueled by wealthy right-wing Trump supporters eager to stick it to Dems and Newsom in particular, it’s likely to be a low- turnout election. Enough people are angry at Newsom over the pandemic shutdowns that he might be vulnerable. Unlike in the last recall when Dem Gray Davis was ousted, there’s no charismatic character like Arnold Schwarzenegger waiting in the wings. The two Republicans planning to run in the parallel replacement race are John Cox, a colorless right-wing carpetbagger whom Newsom drubbed in the last election, and our former San Diego mayor, a bland and genial finger-in-the-wind politician named Kevin Faulconer, known as a moderate who announced recently that he’d voted for Trump, much loathed in California. I know Kevin personally and he has a few good scandals, one of which may explode further, demonstrating his incompetence.
I think Newsom has done a pretty good job overall during the pandemic and don’t want to see him recalled. But recalls are unpredictable and a small, well -funded motivated fringe might be able to provide a scalp that Trump wants.
Popular or not, Gavin Newsom is unlikely making any plans to step down. Also, California is a solid blue state (the Republicans have very little power there) and the Democrats control the state legislature, both U.S. Senate seats, most U.S. Congressional seats, and ALL statewide offices.
In other words, the only way Gavins Newsom is leaving office is if he chooses to resign on his own free will (which he won’t) or if he’s primary challenged in 2022 (which is certainly a possibility).
If neither of these things happen, then Newsom is all but certain to be reelected quite easily.