Breaking News: Enough Signatures Verified to Qualify Recall Election for Senator Josh Newman
Posted by Newsletter Reprint on August 18, 2017
This came over the wire from the California Republican Party just minutes ago announcing enough signatures have been verified by County Registrars of Voters to qualify the recall election of Senator Josh Newman (D-Fullerton):
Statement by California Republican Party Chairman Jim Brulte on the Counties Verifying Enough Signatures to Qualify Recall of State Senator Josh Newman
Sacramento, CA — Today, the counties of LA, Orange and San Bernardino have verified 66,597 signatures from voters who signed the petition to recall State Senator Josh Newman. This is significantly more than the required 63,593 verified signatures from voters within Senate District 29 by mid-October to qualify the recall for a vote.
“Despite every cynical effort by the Democrats to stall this election, the time has come for Senator Newman to stand before the voters in Senate District 29 and answer for his tax-raising antics,” stated California Republican Party Chairman Jim Brulte. “We call upon the Secretary of State to certify the recall so that voters can finally have their say at the ballot box.”
Ever since SD 29 voters filed a petition to recall Senator Newman this Spring, Sacramento Democrats have gone out of their way to undermine and upend the electoral process.
In a cynically corrupt attempt to shield Senator Newman from the impending recall, Democrats in the Legislature scrambled to pass Senate Bill 96—a gut and amend bill that would needlessly extend the state’s recall approval process—denying voters in SD 29 the due process of a speedy election. In response, SD 29 voters joined with the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and sued to stop the implementation of SB 96. In a win for the recall proponents, the courts granted their request earlier this week.
In a move to further bolster Newman’s chances of surviving the recall, Senate Democrats last month filed a motion with the supposedly non-partisan political watchdog, the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), to lift the contribution limits for Newman’s recall campaign. Going against the recommendation of its legal counsel, the FPPC approved the Democrats’ request earlier this week. Newman’s colleagues in the Legislature will now be allowed to raise and contribute large sums of cash to Newman by using their committees to funnel money from special interests. To add insult to injury, it was reported that one of the FPPC commissioners had held several conversations with the Senate Democrats’ attorney prior to the ruling, calling into question the objectivity of the Commissioner.
“Make no mistake about it, the Democratic supermajority and the special interests who benefit from it will continue to fight dirty. They have all the money in the world, the power to change laws at will, and a direct interest in ensuring that Newman keeps his seat,” stated Brulte. “It’s despicable that the Democrat Party is pulling out so many stops to prevent voters from having their say. It’s really no wonder that voters are so cynical these days.”
Once the Secretary of State certifies the sufficiency of the recall petition, the Governor must order an election for SD 29.
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OC Political 
Jane Rands said
What’s really “despicable” is that the voters in my city were lied to by the petition circulators. Circulators sat at tables in front of stores with signs telling people they could repeal the gas tax by signing their petition. Circulators also knocked on doors and asked people to sign a petition to repeal the gas tax. Not to recall Senator Newman.
It was all lies. And now Brulte is continuing the lies by misrepresenting a legitimate successful challenge to the FPPC’s interpretation of election laws and attempts to undo the damage to our democracy by the sham recall petition circulators by allowing time for people who were lied to to remove their names from the petition.
And all because the Republicans can’t accept the results of a fair election. Instead they want a re-do in what is typically a low turnout gubernatorial primary election.
Weak.
Gary "water watchdog" Langdale said
Drain the swamp
It is no wonder that Trump won as a non-politician who didn’t need the money!
Joshua Ferguson said
“Damage to our democracy”? “Can’t accept the results of a fair election”?
Please. Newman sold us out when he lied about his position on gas taxes and then once in office opted to vote to raise those very taxes. The recall doesn’t damage democracy as it is a part of our California system. Every legislature knows the risks of voting against their district as it is literally codified into law despite the (D)s trying to rewrite the rules mid-stream with SB96. THAT was despicable.
If the best argument against the recall is the somewhat laughable premise that people didn’t know what they were signing then the real argument isn’t against the recall but rather against the union-controlled public education system that failed to teach voters to read before John Hancocking something.
Dissecting Newman's Recall Response - Joshua Ferguson said
[…] Enough signatures have officially been gathered to recall CA State Senator Josh Newman. Much to the chagrin of the CA (D)s about 1/10th of the 930K residents of Senate District 29 have added their signatures to the effort to remove him from office. […]