SACRAMENTO, California — Gov. Gavin Newsom has recited a consistent message to cities and counties over the years as he tries to leverage billions in state funds to combat homelessness: Get people off the street, or else.
He said it in 2022, when he briefly froze hundreds of millions of dollars in aid by rejecting every local plan to address homelessness. He said it in 2023, when he questioned the rationale to “provide them one dollar more” if they “can’t clean up the encampments.” He said it in April, warning they “sure as hell shouldn’t get another penny if they didn’t use the money wisely.”
This time, he says he means it.
But some local officials aren’t buying it and are pushing back, arguing the governor is unproductively threatening needed dollars and shifting blame for a problem he’s been unable to solve.
“If we don’t see demonstrable results, I’ll start to redirect money,” Newsom said in mid-August, wearing aviator sunglasses, a T-shirt and a cap as he cleaned up an encampment in Los Angeles with news cameras recording — a recurring feature.