During an interview aired on Wednesday’s edition of NBC’s “Late Night,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) stated that people on the right have “been on a doom loop about San Francisco” for a while and “they have to focus on our failures in order for them to be right.” Although he acknowledged he had to threaten to sue San Francisco over housing and the city wasn’t following state law before and the homelessness issue has “overwhelmed the cities and the counties.”
Host Seth Meyers asked, “Ron DeSantis, he tried to…hang the city of San Francisco on you. That’s the city you were the mayor of for many years. Now, it is obviously, a major city in a state you are the governor of. San Francisco — a lot of big cities are having the problems of San Francisco, but it does feel like Republicans, conservatives, they try to make that the avatar for what’s wrong with Democratic policies. What is it about San Francisco, and, also, those are very real problems that San Francisco has. How do you even start to address them?”
Newsom responded, “First, you own the issues, and then you start to address the issues. But look, they’ve been on a doom loop about San Francisco ever since Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) became Speaker. … California has outperformed the American economy. It’s the tent pole of the American recovery. 27% of all American jobs came from the state just last month. It’s the fifth-largest economy in the world. And its values are in stark contrast, the difference is daylight and darkness between the Republican Party. So, for Fox, One America News, … Newsmax, … they have to focus on our failures in order for them to be right. And so, we’re used to it out there. And yet, we still maintain our resiliency. And I’ll tell you, San Francisco is a special place. It is a unique and special place, incredibly resilient and vibrant. And I’m very proud of it, and yeah, I’m defensive about it, as we are here in New York and other places. I’m driving around New York, are you kidding? This place during the holidays, is there anything else like it in the world? It’s beautiful. So don’t believe all that negativity out there.”
He added, “I’m suing cities. I threatened to sue my old city, San Francisco. And, in fact, we did a big audit, and now they are conforming to state law for the first time and finally addressing the housing crisis. The original sin in California, affordability, in all its forms and manifestations, none more acute than the issues you see out on the streets and sidewalks. Decades and decades this has unfolded. And I’ll say this, and I’m very humbled about this, because I’m not naive about the challenges, I’m the first Governor to take on the issue statewide. The issue of homelessness mostly is a local issue. It’s a county and city issue. It’s overwhelmed the cities and the counties. So, the state has asserted itself, and we’ve done it on the issue of our time that I think is really the unity issue, and that’s on the issue of behavioral health and mental health reform. And we are advancing the most significant mental health reforms in this nation, and I’m very proud of that. And California directionally, 68,000 people off the streets since I’ve been Governor. … 6,000 encampments we’ve cleaned up. We’re moving now in the right direction.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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