Politics

Newsom Shares Vision for California in Inauguration Speech

Published

6 years ago

January 12, 2019

Former Mayor of San Francisco and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom was sworn in as California’s 40th governor on Monday to the backdrop of serene gospel music provided by Compton-based choir Voice of Destiny. Newsom’s first speech as governor touched on his vision for California and his plans to keep the Golden State in the national spotlight.

“This is a place where anything is possible,” said Newsom who was joined on stage by his wife and four children. During the speech, Newsom said that while California had many successes, such as Silicon Valley and Hollywood, there was also startling signs of wealth inequality.

“We … face a homeless epidemic that should keep each and every one of us up at night,” he said.

Newsom thanked his predecessor, outgoing Gov. Jerry Brown, for eliminating the state’s deficit and leaving a surplus.

“Back then, we were $27 billion in debt. Unemployment above 12 percent. The worst credit rating of any state in our nation. Today, our economy is larger than all but four nations in the world. We’ve created nearly 3 million jobs and put away billions for a rainy day,” he said.

According to Newsom, he wanted his policies to bring the state together.

“We will not have one house for the rich and one for the poor, or one for the native-born and one for the rest. We will build one house for one California,” said Newsom.

Newsom also touched on some of the areas that he planned to focus on such as supporting organized labor.

“Working people deserve fair pay, the right to join a union, and the chance at a middle-class life for themselves and their families,” he said.

Newsom also compared the success of California with the political chaos in Washington, D.C.

“At a time when so much of America is divided, we are united. Our people are big-hearted and fair-minded, when those qualities are more vital than ever. I’ve seen that again in just the past few weeks,” said Newsom. (He recently visited Paradise, a community that was devastated by wildfires.)

Mark Ridley-Thomas, a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, said he was impressed by Newsom’s inclusive message. Ridley-Thomas also liked some of the topics Newsom touched on such as affordable housing, reducing child poverty and jobs. Newsom also quoted an African proverb that says, “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.”

“He talked about things that were relevant to African Americans statewide,” said Ridley- Thomas. “African Americans want to know what’s going to enhance their lives.”

Ridley-Thomas also gave a pointed message to Democrats who want to win the African American vote. Newsom’s message was more than just being “anti-Trump,” he said.

Another African American political insider also liked the speech.

“Gavin Newsom is going to be a great governor. Today he showed his commitment to inclusion and highlighted the diversity of California through his inaugural ceremony. His speech was all-encompassing and set the tone that we are moving towards being one California,” said Taisha Brown, vice president of the African American Caucus, California Democratic Party.

Like Ridley-Thomas, Rev. Shane Harris, president and founder of the newly-formed national group, the People’s Alliance for Justice, a civil and human rights organization, was optimistic about Newsom’s speech.

He said the issues Newsom discussed, free community college, child welfare and the private prison industry, are all issues that resonate with African Americans.

“Many of the things he discussed affect the African American community and will be big in the African American community,” said Harris.

He also hoped Newsom continued to discuss prison reform and commute more sentences. Harris noted Newsom had already named several African Americans to high-level positions, such as Malia Cohen, who now serves on the State Equalization Board.

During his address, Newsom made a few other jabs at the Trump administration, especially its treatment of migrants on the border.

“We will offer an alternative to the corruption and incompetence of the White House,” said Newsom.

He was also critical of other areas such as drug companies’ price gouging, the gun lobby, polluters and the payday loan industry.

“Here in California we have the power to stand up to them and we will,” said Newsom.

He also said Washington had failed on climate change and praised Brown for his work on the issue.

Newsom has many big projects he plans to implement such as spending almost $2 billion on early childhood education. He also plans to make community college free. Newsom added that he looked forward to working with his Democratic colleagues in the legislature on his agenda. Democrats control both houses.

Manny Otiko, California Black Media

Posts by Manny Otiko, California Black Media

Activism

LIVE! — TOWN HALL ON RACISM AND ITS IMPACT — THURS. 11.14.24 5PM PST

Join us for a LIVE Virtual Town Hall on the Impact of Racism hosted by Post News Group Journalist Carla Thomas and featuring Oakland, CA NAACP President Cynthia Adams & other Special Guests.
Thursday, November 14, 2024, 5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. PST

Published

3 days ago

November 12, 2024

Oakland Post

Discussion Topics:
• Since the pandemic, what battles have the NAACP fought nationally, and how have they impacted us locally?
• What trends are you seeing concerning Racism? Is it more covert or overt?
• What are the top 5 issues resulting from racism in our communities?
• How do racial and other types of discrimination impact local communities?
• What are the most effective ways our community can combat racism and hate?

Your questions and comments will be shared LIVE with the moderators and viewers during the broadcast.

STREAMED LIVE!
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Oakland Post

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of November 6 – 12, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 6 – 12, 2024

Published

6 days ago

November 9, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

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Barbara Lee

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Reflects on Historic Moment Less Than One Week from Election Day

Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-12) today released a piece on Medium reflecting on Vice President Kamala Harris’ historic presidential campaign 50 years after Lee worked on the presidential campaign of Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm.

Published

2 weeks ago

November 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Congresswoman Barbara Lee.

Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-12) today released a piece on Medium reflecting on Vice President Kamala Harris’ historic presidential campaign 50 years after Lee worked on the presidential campaign of Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm:

“As Election Day approaches, I’m reflecting on a few dates and numbers that mean something to me.

Zero: the number of Black members in Congress 56 years ago. Next Congress, we hope to swear in over 60 members in the Congressional Black Caucus.

Three: The number of Black women to ever serve in the United States Senate since the first Congress in 1789.

Two: The number of Black women that will be elected to the Senate this year alone if we do our job.

1972: The first time a Black woman, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, ran for president in one of the major political parties of the United States.

Zero: the number of Black women to ever serve as president of the United States.

IF we do the work, we can change that with President Kamala Harris.

As I reflect on what would be Congresswoman Chisholm’s 100th birthday next month, I could not help but remember that my first official involvement in U.S. politics was working for her presidential campaign in 1972.

Over 50 years later, I have been involved in every single campaign since. Shirley was my mentor — she was a bold visionary, a progressive woman who understood that working together in coalitions was the only way to make life better for everyone, to build an equitable society and democracy that lived up to the creed of “liberty and justice for all.”

The historic moment we are in today is not lost on me. I have had the privilege to have known Vice President Kamala Harris for over three decades. She, after all, is a daughter of the East Bay. She, like Shirley, truly is a fighter for the people.

And I know she can move our country forward in a new way. As a member of her National Advisory Board, I have campaigned across our country to help take her message, her legacy of service, and her “to-do list,” as she says, to voters who were almost starting to feel hopeless, but are now feeling hopeful once again, captured by the politics joy and the bright possibilities brought upon by a possible Harris-Walz administration.

Recently, I visited churches in North Carolina with members of the Congressional Black Caucus. The chair of our CBC political action committee, Chairman Gregory Meeks from New York’s fifth district, eloquently and powerfully presented a vision of what Dr. Maya Angelou wrote in her famous poem, “And Still I Rise:” “I am the dream and the hope of the slave.”

Meeks remarked that on Jan. 20, 2025, we will observe the birthday of our drum major for justice, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

He also described that on Jan. 20, IF we do the work — if we knock on doors, if we make those phone calls, if we spread our message — standing on the podium at the U.S. Capitol will be the first Black speaker of the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries.

In the wings will be over 60 members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Holding Frederick Douglass’ Bible will be the first African American woman appointed to the highest court of the land, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

She will be swearing-in the first Black woman to serve as president, Kamala Harris, in front of the shining white dome of the United States Capitol, built by enslaved Black people.

In front of her and beyond, the tens of millions of Black men and women who voted for her. The world will witness the hope and the dreams of our ancestors ushering in a new way forward.

As I sat in front of the stage this week at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., as Vice President Harris delivered remarks with the Oval Office behind her, I could not help but feel that our country was ready for this historic moment.

We are not only voting for a Black woman as Commander in Chief of the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world. We are definitively stating that we will not allow the clocks of freedom and justice to be turned back.

We are voting for our ancestors’ hopes and dreams. We are voting for the generations that will come after us, long after we are gone. We are voting for Vice President Kamala Harris.

Let’s get this done.