Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown weighs in on possible recall election of Gov. Gavin Newsom
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The California Secretary of State has made it official. There are enough verified signatures to proceed with a recall election of Governor Gavin Newsom.
"This is a historic day," says Randy Economy, who is the senior advisor on the Recall Gavin 2020 campaign.
To get a recall election of the governor, a little more than 1.4 million signatures are needed. That number has already been exceeded by 200,000, according to the state.
RELATED: Recall Newsom effort officially meets signature requirement, CA Secretary of State office says
"Big box corporate America was allowed to stay open but mom and pops were shut down, and when you shut down the backbone of the economy in California and let things like Costco and huge superstores to remain open, unscathed, that was a problem," says Economy.
But as California opens back up, the governor is touting the state's exceptional COVID-19 rates -- right now the best in the country with a positivity rate of 1.2%. Experts say other numbers are on a hopeful rise, too.
"Businesses doing well, the state government is doing well. It's running ahead of forecast in terms of tax receipts so it's not like we're in the midst of economic catastrophe beyond what the rest of the nation has. In fact, we're better off than the rest of the nation," says Henry Brady, who is the Dean of the Goldman School of Public Policy & Professor of Political Science at UC Berkeley.
WATCH: Total Recalled: The story of America's wildest, largest governor recall election
Former San Francisco Mayor and Democrat Willie Brown weighed in on Monday.
"At the moment, I do not believe anybody who said they are thinking about running would have a chance of defeating Gavin Newsom," said Brown.
Gray Davis was recalled in 2003 but Brown and Brady both say there were differences. Brady saying Newsom's 53% approval rate is more than double what Davis' was. Brown also referenced the opponent back then.
"You've got to be a household name, Schwarzenegger was a household name, not for politics, but he was just a household name. There are still people who have that kind of presence, but whether they would run I doubt it," says Brown.
There are still some procedural steps that have to be taken, so a recall election won't happen right away.
After the signature withdrawal period, there is then another 30-day period where the legislature will review a cost estimate. After that, Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis will set the date for some time within the next 60 to 80 days, meaning Californians most likely will be going to the polls late summer or fall.
RELATED: 2003 all over again? Mary Carey, the former porn star, officially running to replace Gov. Newsom
