Politics

After Winning Recall Election, Newsom Says “Let’s Get Back to Work”

According to preliminary results, just under 65% of the voters have said “no” to recalling Newsom in the special election that is estimated to have cost California taxpayers $276 million.

Published

4 years ago

September 15, 2021

Isabelle Price

Governor Gavin Newsom Speaking, Photo courtesy of California Black Media

It looks like Gov. Gavin Newsom will remain in the office he won in 2018 after he secured an insurmountable lead in votes counted so far in Tuesday’s gubernatorial recall election.

Several media outlets projected shortly before midnight Tuesday that the attempt to remove Newsom from office failed.

About an hour after thanking Californians for keeping him in office, Newsom tweeted, “Now, let’s get back to work.”

Larry Elder, a conservative Republican Los Angeles-based talk show host, who was the leading candidate vying to remove Newsom from office conceded the race. A total of 46 candidates were on the ballot to replace Newsom.

“Let’s be gracious in defeat,” Elder said after the results started pouring in and it was obvious he had no chance of winning. “We may have lost the battle, but we are going to win the war.”

According to preliminary results, just under 65% of the voters have said “no” to recalling Newsom in the special election that is estimated to have cost California taxpayers $276 million.

With about 67% of all votes counted on September 14, only a little over 35% voted ‘yes’ on the recall.

Reactions on social media included the following:

Kevin Mullin (D-San Mateo), Assembly Speaker Pro Tem tweeted, “A $276 million waste just to reaffirm 2018’s results with an election coming in 2022. The CA recall process must be reformed including elevating the Lt. Guv in the event of a recall. But to avoid partisan power grabs the Governor/LG should be a ticket of the same party (like NY).”

Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis wrote, “Thank you California for recognizing that @GavinNewsom is exactly where he needs to be, in the Governor’s office! His commitment to the people of California is unwavering and I look forward to his continued leadership of our great state!”

Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA 37) tweeted, “Proud of our governor. Proud of our people. Proud of California.”

Newsom told supporters, although Californians voted “no” to the recall, he wants to focus on all the things they were saying ‘yes’ to by their votes.

“‘No’ is not the only thing that was expressed tonight,” Newsom said. “I want to focus on what we said ‘yes’ to as a state. We said ‘yes’ to science. We said ‘yes’ to vaccines. We said ‘yes’ to ending this pandemic. We said ‘yes’ to people’s right to vote without fear of fake fraud or voter suppression.”

The gubernatorial recall was the fifth statewide vote Dr. Shirley Weber has overseen since she was appointed Secretary of State on January 19. Throughout the process, Weber, a former assemblymember who represented the 79^th District in San Diego County, says she worked hard to make sure that voter fraud or the talk of fraud of would not interfere in the results of this election.

“We worked hard to secure our elections. There’s no evidence of fraud or miscounting,” Weber said on CNN. “As Secretary of State, we’ve been even-handed in how we’ve handled every issue. I was sued by the governor as well as by others because of some of the decisions we made that were fair and just.”

Weber’s office has 30 days to certify the recall election once all of the votes have been counted. If there are any discrepancies, Weber said those issues will be addressed.

“I like to say to those that continue to challenge this issue of fairness and so forth, I always say, ‘where’s the evidence?’” Weber said. “We are willing to accept the evidence as it is not just to simply (claim) open-ended allegations of fraud and deceptions. Those things are easy to say. But we have yet to get evidence of fraud and deception.”

Isabelle Price

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Activism

Teachers’ Union Thanks Supt. Johnson-Trammell for Service to Schools and Community

“I speak for our Oakland community and the families OEA serves in thanking Supt. Johnson-Trammell for her service. With public schools and immigrant families under attack nationally from Trump and with budget challenges affecting many California school districts, these are tough times demanding the best of what we all have to offer,” said OEA President Kampala Taiz-Rancifer in a statement released Thursday.

Published

3 hours ago

April 27, 2025

Oakland Post

OEA President Kampala Taiz-Rancifer. Courtesy photo.

The union calls for a community-involvement in search for new superintendent

By Post Staff

While pointing out that Supt. Kayla Johnson-Trammell has been planning to resign for a while, the Oakland Education Association (OEA) thanked her for years of service to the schools and called for community involvement in the search for a new superintendent.

“While we disagreed strongly on a number of issues,” said Taiz-Rancifer, “Dr. Johnson-Trammell is a daughter of Oakland and a product of our public schools. We thank her for her service and wish her the best moving forward.”

She said the schools’ community was aware that the superintendent had been planning to leave well before this week’s announcement.

“The superintendent has spoken publicly throughout the year about her planned departure. In August 2024, the previous school board approved a renewed contract raising her compensation to over $600,000 per year and allowing her to step back from daily responsibilities beginning in the 2025-2026 school year,” said Taiz-Rancifer.

She said the teachers’ union has been raising concerns about the need for stability and financial transparency in the district. “For three of the last four years, the district projected major deficits, only to end with millions in reserve.” This year, she said, the district added $90 million to central office overhead expenses.

“Just last month, a majority of school board directors took action to cap expensive consultant costs and develop alternative budget proposals that align spending with community priorities to keep funding in classrooms,” she said.

Taiz-Rancifer said the union stands behind the leadership of Board President Jennifer Brouhard and Boardmembers Valarie Bachelor, Rachel Latta, and VanCedric Williams.

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

OUSD Supt. Chief Kyla Johnson-Trammell to Step Down on July 1

The district’s progress under Johnson-Trammell’s leadership “provides a strong foundation for the transition and work ahead,” according to the joint statement. “The plan has always prioritized a smooth and thoughtful transition. A formal search for a permanent superintendent was (originally) scheduled to begin in fall 2025,” but now the board is “initiating this process focusing on transparency and deep community involvement.”

Published

3 hours ago

April 27, 2025

Oakland Post

Kyla Johnson-Trammell. File photo.

By Post Staff

The Oakland Unified School District announced this week that Supt. Kyla Johnson-Trammell will leave her position on July 1 after serving for eight years.

In closed session on Wednesday evening, the school board approved a voluntary separation agreement by a 4-3 vote, said Board President Jennifer Brouhard.

The board will begin searching immediately for an interim superintendent who will start on July 1. Johnson-Trammell will continue as superintendent emeritus from July 1 to Jan. 15, 2026, to help with the transition, according to a joint statement released by Johnson-Trammell and the Board.

In a personal statement to the community, Johnson-Trammell said:

“As I prepare to step away from my role as your superintendent on June 30, I do so with immense pride in what we’ve accomplished together. The last eight years have brought some of the most challenging — and most defining — moments in our district’s history. Through it all, Oakland has shown what’s possible when we stay grounded in our mission and vision and work in partnership for our students.”

The joint statement from Johnson-Trammell and the Board modifies her existing contract. According to the joint statement: “in August 2024, the OUSD Board of Education approved a three-year transitional contract for Superintendent Johnson-Trammell, with the next school year (2025-2026) allowing for a shift in responsibilities to support the transition to a permanent superintendent at the start of the 2026-2027 school year.”

Praising Johnson-Trammell’s accomplishments, the joint statement said, “(She) has done an extraordinary job over the past eight years, a historic tenure marked by stability, strong fiscal oversight, and improvements in student achievement.”

According to the statement, her achievements include:

increased graduation rates
improved literacy
increased student attendance rates,
“exemplary” COVID pandemic leadership,
“historic” pay raises to educators,
Improvement in OUSD’s facilities bond program,
ensuring strong fiscal systems and budgeting

As Johnson-Trammell’s years of service are coming to an end, there remain significant unresolved challenges facing the district, including a $95 million budget deficit and the threat of school closings and employee layoffs, as well as contract negotiations with the Oakland Education Association (OEA), the teachers’ union.

Another ongoing controversy has been the superintendent’s extremely high salary, which was negotiated less than a year ago under the leadership of Boardmember Mike Hutchinson and former Boardmember Sam Davis.

Johnson-Trammell is one of the highest-paid superintendents in California and the country, earning a total compensation package of $637,036.42 a year.

The contract had granted her a pay raise and a final three-year contract extension through the 2027 school year.

Under that contract, she would only continue as superintendent during the current school year, and then for two additional years she would work on research projects and prepare the district for a new superintendent, at the same rate of pay she now earns, plus raises.

During those two years, a temporary superintendent would be hired to handle the responsibilities of running the school district.