This is Newsom’s first in-person address since 2020. He called California a “beacon” for the nation.
Of the current political climate, he said, "We face an assault on our values, unlike anything I've seen in my lifetime. The federal government, respectfully, it's unrecognizable, protecting the powerful at the expense of the vulnerable. Their credo seems to be about fear."
California hired a thousand new cops last year. Newsom says that’s one of the reasons unsheltered homelessness and crime rates have decreased.
He listed some plans for his final year as Governor, including laying the tracks for a statewide high-speed rail system, countering China in the electric vehicle industry, and decreasing the cost of living in the state.
“I think it’s shameful that we allow private equity firms in Manhattan to become some of the biggest landlords here in our cities in California," he quipped.
But Newsom has been criticized for contributing to the state’s affordability issues. In 2024, Newsom, alongside the California Apartments Association PAC, successfully lobbied against Prop 33. That was a state ballot measure that would have given local governments more power to enact rent control.
He also brought up tomorrow’s nearly 250 billion dollar budget proposal. He says it “has the most significant investments in California's education history,” in part to make up for federal funding cuts to childcare.
In closing, he used the fires in LA last year to deal a final blow to Trump, who refused to deliver California’s disaster recovery.
Newsom did not mention his plans to run for President in the 2028 election.
