Thread by @tobeequal

RECALL POSTMORTEM:
The CA Recall Process, which concluded on Sept 14, is very complicated, awkward & confusing. It is reflective of California itself. We are a dynamic society that is ever-changing, with several forces working concurrently and in contradiction to each other.

2/ While we bask on the beaches enjoying our beautiful weather, we are forced to fear the consequences of a never-ending drought. As the tent encampments proliferate all across the state, we can see the evidence of drugs, poverty and human misery symbolized by the tents. We seem

3/ almost helpless to do anything about them. We have a burgeoning group of billionaires while a vast number of our fellow citizens are just barely existing. While we devote considerable resources to improving and managing the quality of our air, we are seemingly incapable of

4/ managing our forests to prevent annual wildfires that result in poor air quality. In an effort to make it easier to vote, some believe we are making it easier to cheat, thereby contributing to an erosion of confidence in our elections. All of these circumstances are there

5/ for an anxious and confused electorate. My perspective about the Recall: Governor Newsom won the election about question #1 on our Recall Ballot. Charges of fraud and "rigging" are unworthy of serious discussion, but Governor Newsom has lost some credibility and respect due to

6/ the way that he won. His refusal to answer legitimate questions about his "leadership" and the issues contributing to our anxieties, and to dismiss our concerns as only a "Republican Recall" will make it more difficult to govern effectively.
The Recall process is essential

7/ to a vibrant democracy, and it should not be weakened or made more difficult, but the threshold to be a candidate to replace the governor if the answer is "yes" to question 1 should be higher. Those who presented the Recall to the people deserve our thanks and Larry Elder

8/ dominated the field of prospective candidates to replace Newsom, from start to finish, but this was not, nor should it have been viewed as, a contest between the Governor and the candidates vying to replace him. To be fair to all, the time between qualification of a Recall

9/and the election should be of sufficient length to allow the proponents and the replacement candidates to raise the funds necessary and to make their case to the electorat Impeachment and recall processes are unsettling to any society. We must, therefore, guard against them

10/ becoming regularized or abused. This pandemic has had a painful, understated and lasting effect on our society. It came close to being the wrecking ball to the career of Governor Newsom and, ironically, became his political lifeline. Now that it is done, he has slightly over

11/ a year to validate the wisdom or to disclose the error of the decision of the California electorate.