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In a sign that California's upcoming recall election will be filled with misadventures and bizarre political implications, Gov. Gavin Newsom has filed a lawsuit against his very own hand-picked secretary of state after a 'filing' mistake failed to include his party preference on the upcoming recall ballot.
Newsom filed the lawsuit against CA Secretary of State Shirley Weber on Monday. The suit asks the judge to order the state's top election official to include his party preference on the ballot after a mistake made 16 months ago kept the governor's Democratic party preference from appearing on the ballot.
"Due to an inadvertent but good faith mistake on the part of his elections attorney, Newsom timely filed his answer but did not include his party-preference election." The suit says Newsom is seeking “…to require all recall ballots to include either next to or below NEWSOM’s name his party preference as follows: ‘Party Preference: Democratic.'”
New election laws that went into effect on Jan. 1 2020 required candidates to give their party preference on the ballot. However, Newsom's elections attorney apparently failed to include that detail when filing his answer to the recall notice.
The lawsuit goes on to claim that when Newsom's people noticed the error, they tried contacting the Weber, but she declined to accept the notice. Because the election has yet to be certified by Weber and Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, Newsom's attorney argue that the state should be able to accept changes to the recall ballot.
According to a statement, "The Secretary of State's office has a ministerial duty to accept timely filed documents. Acceptance of filings beyond a deadline requires judicial resolution."
Organizers of the recall effort have focused on Newsom's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, criticizing his lockdown measures as too restrictive, saying he has “failed at his job and destroyed the lives and business of too many hardworking Californians,'' according to RecallGavin2020. In November 2020, during the height of the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns, Newsom was also widely criticized for attending a dinner for a lobbyist at a Michelin 3-star restaurant, The French Laundry in Napa Valley. The dinner violated a number of Newsom's own coronavirus restrictions, including an excessive number of attendees at the party and the fact the dinner appeared to be held indoors.
Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, businessman John Cox (who lost to Newsom in 2018), and former Rep. Doug Ose, R-Sacramento, both Republicans, have announced their candidacies to replace Newsom. Other candidates include Caitlyn Jenner, Angelyne, Mary Carey (who finished 10th in 2003) and Dakota Vaughn.