Written by: Amanda Angulo
Ever since the recall ended, the issues that caused the special election have become apparent, such as homelessness, crime, and an expected increase in job loss and unemployment. These issues are not going away any time soon- they are going to get even worse.
At first, the drive and focus behind the election were Gavin Newsom and his failures in policies and leadership. However, during the final month of the recall campaign, Democrats, Newsom, and the Biden administration decided to focus on anything and everything but Newsom and his failures in office.
Overall, they had spent over $100 million for their efforts to keep him in office, and they succeeded. Yet, success did not mean a solution to all the problems that the recall supporters were so focused on getting fixed. In fact, they left it much worse.
California remains the worst in the nation for crime, homelessness, wildfires, water mismanagement, and getting people back to work. And since we all know that the Democrats will not do anything about it or continue to make it worse, Republicans need to be the ones to fix the solutions.
In California, we allow voters to put initiatives on the ballot. Most of the time, California voters are partial to initiatives on the ballot, whether they are supported or opposed by Republicans.
For example, in November of 2020, voters turned down a massive property tax increase, voted against cashless bail, rejected expanded rent control, and even revered a Sacramento law (unsurprisingly made by Democrats) that sought to force Uber and Lyft drivers to be employees.
This reflects that most people are viewing the initiatives as issues with obvious solutions. However, Republicans have struggled for decades to push their initiatives. Water could be their way of changing this.
The Democrats in our state are currently in the process of mandating residents only to use 50 gallons a day. While that may work in city apartments, it will not be accepted or those throughout the rest of the state. Therefore, Republicans should propose a solution, such as a water supply program that includes reservoirs, desalination, water catchment, and more.
Photo from: NYT
