California recall election candidate John Cox took his campaign to the Central Coast on Thursday.
A petition to recall Governor Gavin Newsom was introduced in February 2020.
Organizers of the petition said they disapprove of his handling of immigration issues, homelessness, property taxes, and now the pandemic.
More than 1.6 million Californians signed the petition, which is well over the minimum number needed to trigger a recall election.
At least a dozen people have filed their "statement of intention" to run in the recall election. One of them is John Cox, who brought his "Meet the Beast" bus tour to Santa Barbara Thursday.
This was his 11th stop of the tour. He spoke about the recall and what he calls the "big beastly changes" he would make as Governor of California.
Some of the topics he talked about Thursday include crime, taxes, homelessness, water and electricity issues, plus the California wildfires.
"I'm gonna be a beast when it comes to solving these problems and staying up to the special interest. We have seen what 'the beauty' has done with California and it's not pretty. We need to now unleash the beast and that's why I am running for governor," said Cox.
Cox continued by answering questions on his specific plans to fix the problems mentioned.
"This state needs to get functional again, this state needs to be fixed. We need to get this state so that it is affordable and livable for the average hard-working Californians and that starts with the recall of Gavin Newsom," said Cox.
Efforts to recall Governor Newsom were announced prior to the pandemic, however, his handling of certain issues during the pandemic has also made some people upset.
When the recall efforts started last year, Governor Newsom responded saying in part, "This unwarranted recall effort will cost California taxpayers $81 million! It is being pushed by political extremists supporting President Trump's hateful attacks on California...Do not be fooled - California's police officers, firefighters, first responders, public school teachers, health providers, and business leaders all strongly oppose this costly recall."
The recall election is still not official. Signatures are still being counted by the counties. That will be followed by a period where people can withdraw their signatures from the petition. The deadline to withdraw signatures is June 8. County elections officials have to report the withdrawn signatures to the state by June 22. After that, if the signatures still hold, election officials have 30 days to come up with a budget. Then there's another 30-day period for the legislature to review that cost estimate. Only after that will a date for the election be set.
Governor Newsom is only the second governor in California history to face a recall election.
The first was in 2003 with Governor Gray Davis, who was successfully recalled and replaced by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
