California has a lengthy — very lengthy — list of critical economic, social and policy issues that are very likely to remain unresolved when Gavin Newsom vacates the governorship 26 months hence.
The nation’s highest levels of poverty and homelessness , shortages and rising costs of housing , exploding energy bills , an uncertain water supply , street crime , chronic educational shortcomings , a bullet train project that seems to be going nowhere, and multibillion-dollar budget deficits are merely the most obvious flashpoints.
Most were evident when Newsom was elected governor in 2018, promising vigorous efforts to neutralize them, such as his ridiculous pledge to build 3.5 million units of housing , but most have become even more intractable during his reign.
Given that unfortunate history, why would any sane person volunteer to step into Newsom’s shoes? The fact that quite a few Californians are weighing 2026 bids for the governorship testifies to the essentially irrational nature of political ambition.