VOTER GUIDE
GOVERNOR
What is the Governor of California?
The Governor is the chief executive officer of the entire state, with 40 million people under their watch
The Governor is responsible for implementing state laws, overseeing the operation of the state executive branch, and developing new and revised policies and programs with an arsenal of tools including: executive orders, executive budgets, and legislative proposals and vetoes
Governors are often empowered to appoint department and agency heads and state court judges, in most cases from a list of names submitted by a nominations committee
The Governor serves four-year terms and can serve two consecutive terms
The salary and benefits of this full-time position total $261,000 per year
Why You Should Care
The Governor controls the entire state and is ultimately responsible for our quality of life as residents of the state. They have enormous financial resources, as every company and politician in the state goes after their support. San Francisco is where many high-level politicians got their start—a well-connected San Franciscan politician always has a chance at winning the gubernatorial slot.
Our Vision for the Office
The Governor of California should be a bridge-building politician who has demonstrated mastery of both the mundane administrative and the more outspoken advocacy aspects of the office.
Gavin Newsom
Why vote for him: Newsom’s been dealt a tough hand as Governor, between two devastating wildfire seasons, a global pandemic, and the state’s primary utility teetering on bankruptcy. Despite all that, he has delivered on guiding us through the pandemic, reproductive health, and criminal justice reform. We would like to see Governor Newsom use his next term to make serious progress on housing, homelessness, and education—three of the state’s most pressing issues.
Newsom is doing a great job of pushing San Francisco to do our part when it comes to building housing. Under his leadership, the state housing department is now forcing the City to be accountable for producing housing, or else. This unprecedented review of our housing processes and practices will hopefully cut through decades of continued NIMBYism.
We would also like to see the state’s historic surplus of $97 billion doled out to meaningful causes like the purchase of sites to be used for housing.
Paid for by TogetherSF Action. Not authorized by any candidate or a committee controlled by a candidate. Financial disclosures are available at sfethics.org.
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