California is 12 days away from lifting most COVID19 pandemic restrictions and returning to a greater sense of normal life around the state

The state’s top priority was homelessness and the affordable housing crisis, so as the pandemic fades, people are wondering if this issue will take center stage again.

The governor, the legislature and local mayors are all proposing billions more in spending to tackle homelessness, which has been an intractable problem in California for decades and only seems to be getting worse. 

For some perspective, KCBS Radio Political Reporter Doug Sovern and KCBS Radio news anchors Margie Shafer and Jeff Bell spoke with Steve Smith, with the California Labor Federation and Jason Elliot, Senior Counselor to Governor Newsom and his top advisor on homelessness and housing. He served for many years in San Francisco city government, including as Chief of Staff to Mayors Ed Lee and London Breed.

California’s recall election is still months away, but now a coalition of the state’s most powerful labor unions is launching a campaign to defeat it, and keep Governor Newsom in office.

The California Labor Federation says it will mobilize thousands of union members to go door-to-door in an old-fashioned “ground game” campaign to make sure the governor is not recalled.

We haven’t seen that kind of campaigning since before the pandemic, and it was noticeably absent during the 2020 presidential race because of COVID-19. But things are changing. For more, KCBS Radio Political Reporter Doug Sovern spoke with Steve Smith, with the California Labor Federation.

More than two dozen people have filed papers to run for Governor of California in the recall election, but so far no prominent Democrat has taken that step.

But there are a few Democratic political novices running, just in case Gavin Newsom is removed by the recall.

The latest to join the fray is a 29-year-old YouTuber from Ventura, who is a real estate broker and landlord who makes millions of dollars a year from his YouTube videos. For more, KCBS Radio Political Reporter Doug Sovern spoke with Kevin Paffrath; he’s better known by his YouTube handle, “Meet Kevin."

Californians don't look to be in the mood to remove Governor Newsom from office. A new PPIC survey finds just 40 percent of California likely voters say they would note yes to recall the Governor. That number remains unchanged since March. It comes as the Governor continues to criss-cross the state promoting his lottery-style vaccine prize giveaway. 

To discuss further,  KCBS Radio news anchor Dan Mitchinson spoke to Bob Mulholland, Political Strategist and Former Senior Advisor to the California Democratic Party.

Governor Newsom is already hitting the road to promote his ‘VAX For the Win’ campaign, handing out $50 gift cards at a vaccination site in Chinatown Los Angeles. As we’ve been reporting on KCBS Radio, it’s party of an ambitious plan to put millions of dollars up for grabs in a lottery-style drawing  to encourage more Californians to get vaccinated.

For more, KCBS Radio news anchors Patti Reising and Jeff Bell and KCBS Radio reporter Mike DeWald spoke with Lynn Vavreck, Professor of American Politics and Public Policy at UCLA.