Ex-San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer announces bid to unseat California Governor Newsom

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Ex-San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer announces bid to unseat California Governor Newsom

Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer formally announced his campaign to replace Gavin Newsom as governor of California

Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer on Tuesday formally threw his name in the ring to replace Gavin Newsom as governor of California, becoming the first major Republican to challenge the Democrat who is facing a growing recall threat over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.  

Speaking at a public elementary school in Los Angeles where schools remain closed -- Faulconer spoke of Sacramento's failed leadership and the need to get kids back in school. 

"It's become the land of broken promises. And the promise breaker and chief is Gavin Newsom," Faulconer said after arriving by bus to announce his run for governor. 

Faulconer railed against Newsom, saying that despite the harm he has caused the state, he has suffered none of the consequences.

"Governor Newsom has botched the basics during this crisis. Millions of our public school children are being left behind. He's unable to give unemployment to Californians while racking up $31 billion in fraud," Faulconer said. "And our great state is one of the slowest at distributing life-saving vaccines. His continuous failures are an immediate hazard to the state of California, and he must be replaced." 

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Faulconer's choice of venue -- a public school that remains closed across the street from a private school that remains open -- highlighted what he insisted was the need to get kids back in school. 

"Parents across California are fed up, and they are demanding that their kids be back in school," Faulconer said. "Public schools should start safely reopening now. Not next month. Not next year. Now." 

The former mayor also lamented the mass exodus of businesses and people that have left the state over what he blamed on the current governor's "failed policies." 

"The exodus of jobs and companies leaving California is real. It's not made up. How about a governor who says, 'we value you here in California?' We want to have you grow and keep your jobs here in California," Faulconer said. "It matters to all of us that we should be out there protecting our jobs, protecting our economy, growing our businesses, and not taking California jobs for granted, as if they'll always be here."

Faulconer, a moderate Republican city councilman, was elected mayor of the Democratic-leaning San Diego in early 2014 in a special election brought about by the resignation of Democrat Bob Filner over sexual harassment allegations. He won re-election in 2016 with nearly 60% of the vote. 

Faulconer said last year he was considering entering the race and in early January formed an exploratory committee to begin raising money for a likely run against Newsom. The committee said it has raised more than $1 million in less than a month.

Faulconer's announcement comes as a recall effort to oust Newsom from office continues to gather steam. As of Tuesday, the recall's organizers say they have gathered more than 1.3 million petition signatures of the 1.5 million needed to qualify for a ballot. They have until mid-March to hit the required threshold. If the recall qualifies, Newsom would be forced to fend off rivals in the midst of a pandemic that has cost the state millions of jobs and upended daily life for nearly 40 million residents.

Newsom, who was San Francisco’s mayor, was elected governor in a 2018 landslide in the heavily Democratic state but is struggling in a difficult period in his tenure, with criticism coming from both Democrats and Republicans.

Last spring, Newsom was widely praised for his aggressive approach to tackling the coronavirus outbreak, when he issued the nation's first statewide stay-at-home order. But there has been growing public unrest over subsequent health orders that closed schools and businesses, and investigations continue into a massive unemployment benefits fraud scandal.

Meanwhile, Newsom faced a public outcry after attending a dinner with friends at the opulent French Laundry restaurant in Napa Valley after telling residents to spurn social gatherings and stay at home.

"I think there's no doubt that people of all political persuasions are fed up with what they're seeing out of the governor's office and that anger is real and that's across the state," Faulconer told Fox News in an interview on Monday. "That's not limited to any party. And so I think that the folks want a change. They want their kids safely back in school. They want to make sure they're going to have a governor who's going to solve problems and communicate … It's about making a change now. I think that's why you're seeing the recall gain such strong traction and why I believe it's going to qualify."

Still, Faulconer faces an uphill battle in a state where Democrats hold every statewide office and dominate the Legislature and congressional delegation. A Republican hasn't won a statewide election in California since 2006, and registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by nearly 2-to-1.

Asked Tuesday whether he believes Californians are willing to give Republicans another look, Faulconer said he believed people are looking for a change in Sacramento. 

"The one-party rule is not serving our state well. It's time for a competition of ideas," Faulconer said, before highlighting his ability as mayor to work with Democrats, Independents and Republicans. 

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A recall election could attract dozens of candidates who would cut up the vote and lower the percentage needed to win, a scenario that could provide an opening for Faulconer or other Republican candidates. Faulconer said he was prepared to run for governor in a recall election or in the general election in 2022. 

"I believe the recall is going to qualify. I believe the signatures are going to be there ... because of the frustration and the growing anger across California," he said. "It's in every geographic location (and) every partisan affiliation. People are fed up and they want a change." 

Recalls are notoriously expensive ordeals. The recall effort against California's Democratic Gov. Gray Davis cost nearly $70 million and the current one is projected to reach $100 million -- all at the taxpayer's expense. Asked why he believed it was necessary to organize a recall now and not wait until the general election, Faulconer said, "Californians can't afford to wait any longer." 

"We need to get open our schools. We need to save lives and livelihoods with our small business," Faulconer said. "You know, the fact that we're still hemorrhaging money in our Economic Development Department, that's $31 billion dollars in one year alone. A fraud. We have to end that and stop that now."

Meanwhile, Faulconer's centrist politics have chaffed with some of his party's more hard-line conservatives. Carl DeMaio, a former San Diego city councilman who now is a local political commentator and radio host, has openly criticized the former mayor's positions on environmental policy, taxes, and immigration.

At the same time, it's those policies that might make him attractive to independent-minded voters in California.

On two issues that have hurt GOP statewide candidates in California, immigration and the environment, "he has very mainstream positions," said Thad Kousser, a political science professor at the University of California, San Diego. "He hasn't scapegoated immigrants."

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Rob Stutzman, a former spokesman for former Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who became governor after a 2003 recall election, said Faulconer is the best-credentialed candidate Republicans have seen for statewide office in years.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.