Community

California Women Go to “WAR” in Support of Gov. Newsom

WAR volunteers say, in their upcoming messaging campaigns, they will explain to Californians what a recall election is, and why, in their opinion, there is a movement to recall Newsom two years after he was elected to the highest office in the state.

Published

5 years ago

August 13, 2021

Isabelle Price

Governor Gavin Newsom

A broad coalition of California women are banding together to support Gov. Gavin Newsom as he fights to fend off a recall effort that could mar his legacy and throw him out of office in a little over a month.

Members of the group, dubbing itself Women Against the Recall (WAR), say they are not going to allow Gov. Gavin Newsom to be overthrown in the special election scheduled for September 14. California U.S. Congresswomen Karen Bass (D-CA-13) and Barbara Lee (D-CA-37), who are both supporting WAR, joined a press conference August 9 to make the case for Newsom.

Aimee Allison, founder of She The People, an Oakland-based political advocacy group, hosted the briefing.

“We are all against the Republican-led recall because we know that the health of our children, neighbors, and communities depend on Gov. Newsom’s continued leadership,” Lee said at the onset of the virtual event hosted by WAR. “Congresswoman Bass and I decided that any successful, political event must have women on the front lines, especially women of color.”

The women of WAR come from diverse backgrounds and bring their support for Newsom from different regions of the state. But, organizers say, they remain united by a common goal: to mobilize a statewide grassroots movement that defeats the recall effort.

More than 1,000 women, representing themselves or different organizations across the state, signed a letter composed by WAR opposing the recall. Over the next few weeks, WAR’s leaders say, their group will focus on providing voter education and conducting get-out-the-vote campaigns.

Newsom, who participated in the WAR Event, said that he was “humbled” by the support from the 70 different groups that signed on to the letter. He told attendees that “our values and the things we hold dear” are at stake in the recall election.

“The one thing that sticks out in particular as a list of grievances who inspired this was our support (Democratic party) for diverse communities,” Newsom said. “Our support for immigrants, our support for doing more and being better. It’s about each and every one of us.”

Many Democrats are blaming Republicans for the attempt to recall Newsom, citing the state’s progressive politics and trailblazing steps it has taken to foster inclusion and address longstanding inequalities suffered by ethnic and racial minorities.

Republican candidates vying to unseat Newsom include former Olympian Caitlyn Jenner, former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, conservative talk radio host Larry Elder, Assemblymember Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin), former United States Congressman Doug Ose, and the 2018 GOP gubernatorial nominee John Cox.

“Lacking any crimes or accusations of impropriety, (the members of the Republican Party) are trying to punish the governor for following the advice of scientists to promote mask-wearing and social distancing,” WAR said in a written statement.

WAR continued, “(But) let’s be honest, though, this recall campaign is not about the governor’s handling of COVID. It’s about an anti-democratic, political attack launched by the Republican Party who is exploiting the fear and pain of the COVID pandemic to claw back power after being rejected by the American people in the 2020 election.”

The California election that will determine Newsom’s fate in less than 35 days and could potentially select a new governor on the same day from a list of 46 candidates.

“Those who think this thing is not close I’d hate to disabuse you…it is,” Newsom said during the virtual function that went on for about two hours.

During a news conference last week, California Secretary of State Shirley Weber said the ballot will ask two questions: Do the voters want to recall Newsom, and if so, who do they want to replace the governor.

If 50% or more of the ballots are no votes, Weber said, Newsom stays on as governor. If 50% or more say yes, then he is recalled.

WAR fears a lot is at stake. The group’s leaders say they dread what could happen if the next governor of the state is a Republican.

“Although we began as a nationwide ‘Secure the Seat’ effort to build partners and allies to support increased representation of Black women in the U.S. Senate, we quickly realized this would not be possible without ensuring we have a Democratic governor in California,” WAR pointed out in a statement to the media. “If we lose California, we could potentially lose our majority in the Senate if anything happened to either of our Senators.”

Isabelle Price

Posts by Isabelle Price

Up Next

Bay Area Mayors, Advocates Urge Congressional Delegation to Make Historic Investments in Housing

Don't Miss

Journalism and Justice: Jasmyne Cannick’s Work Led to Conviction in L.A. Deaths of Black Men

Isabelle Price

Click to comment

#NNPA BlackPress

Poll Shows Support for Policies That Help Families Afford Child Care

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

Published

2 days ago

March 2, 2026

Oakland Post

By First Five Years Fund

New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

The national survey was conducted by UpOne Insight on behalf of the First Five Years Fund from January 13–18, 2026.

Key findings include:

• Parents need help: 80% of voters say the ability of working parents to find and afford child care is either in a state of crisis or a major problem.

• This is an affordability issue: 82% believe federal child care funding will help lower costs for working families — including 69% of Republicans, 84% of Independents, and 94% of Democrats.

• And there continues to be strong support (62%) for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), a federal program that makes it possible for hundreds of thousands of families to afford safe, quality care for their children while parents work or go to school, including a majority of Republicans, 63% of Independents and 72% of Democrats.

• Support for funding child care programs remains strong: 75% believe child care funding should be increased or kept at current levels — including 75% of Republicans, 85% of Independents, and 97% of Democrats.

• 74% say funding for child care is an important and good use of tax dollars, including a majority of Republicans, three-quarters of Independents, and nine in ten Democrats.

FFYF Executive Director Sarah Rittling said, “Voters across the country are sending a clear message: federal child care and early learning programs work. These investments help parents stay in the workforce, strengthen families, and support healthy child development. They have also long had strong bipartisan support in Congress. At a time when affordability is top of mind for families, continued federal funding is essential to ensure child care remains accessible and within reach.”

First Five Years Fund works to protect, prioritize, and build bipartisan support for quality child care and early learning programs at the federal level. Reliable, affordable, and high-quality early learning and child care can be transformative, not only enhancing a child’s prospects for a brighter future but also bolstering working parents and fostering economic stability nationwide.

We work with Congress and the Administration to identify federal solutions that work for families with young children, as well as states and communities. We work with policymakers to identify ways to increase access to affordable, high-quality child care and early learning programs for children. And we collaborate with advocacy groups to help align best practices with the best possible policies. http://www.ffyf.org

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

Published

3 days ago

March 1, 2026

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

Posts by Oakland Post

#NNPA BlackPress

Trump’s MAGA Allies are Creating Executive Order Plan to Steal the 2026 Midterms

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

Published

5 days ago

February 27, 2026

Oakland Post

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Correspondent

A group of MAGA pro-Trump activists, who say they are working in coordination with the White House, are circulating a 17-page draft executive order that would claim without evidence that China interfered with the 2020 presidential election. Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential to President Joe Biden by over 7 million votes. Since Trump lost to Biden in 2020, he has repeatedly claimed that the election was “stolen” without evidence. The report of a group of “Trump allies” preparing an executive order to give Trump power over elections was first reported by The Washington Post.

The lies around the right-wing campaign that pushed falsehoods that the 2020 election was stolen was trafficked through right-wing media, particularly Fox News. Fox News was then sued for defamation for the claims by Dominion Voting Systems. Fox lost the case and had to settle for the largest defamation amount on record of $787.5 million in April 2023.

The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

The story in The Washington Post arrives as Trump increasingly signals that he may take actions that would alter the result of the 2026 midterms. The Republicans are widely expected to lose as their approval ratings plummet as a result of a failing economy under Trump. Over 50 members of Congress have announced they will retire this year and not return in 2027.

The Trump Department of Justice, which now has a large image of Trump on the side of it, “sued five new states Thursday [Feb. 26, 2026] demanding access to their unredacted voter rolls — escalating a campaign that has been rejected by multiple federal courts and faces resistance from Republican-led states as well,” according to Democracy Docket, a group that works to protect voting rights.

Trump claimed back in late 2020, the last year of his first term, that he had the authority to issue an executive order related to mail-in voting for the 2020 elections — which he would then lose. But the Constitution states that control of elections lies with the states. As the GOP works to place hurdles in front of voting, Democrats worked to make voting easier.

In March 2021, President Biden signed an executive order calling on federal agencies to expand voting access as part of the Biden Administration’s effort “to promote and defend the right to vote for all Americans who are legally entitled to participate in elections.”

Trump’s focus is clearly on altering the November 2026 midterm elections. Trump’s polling numbers and the elections and special elections that have taken place around the U.S. over the last year clearly indicate that Republicans are about to be hit by a blue wave of Democratic victories.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent investigative journalist and the founder of Black Virginia News. She is a political analyst who appears on #RolandMartinUnfiltered and hosts the show LAUREN LIVE on YouTube @LaurenVictoriaBurke. She can be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke