Newsom challenges recall ballot, Jenner record scrutinized

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The impeachment campaign targeting Governor Gavin Newsom intensified Friday in the California state capital, with a courtroom confrontation to determine whether the governor can identify himself as a Democrat on the ballot and Kaitlyn Jenner, the candidate for governor, asked specific questions at the first convention. A complete journalist.

In Sacramento Supreme Court, Newsom’s attorney argued that preventing the governor from including his party affiliation on the ballot, a possibility after he missed a legal deadline months ago to designate himself a Democrat, would deprive Californians of critical information when they vote on September 14. I remember the elections.

Lawyers for impeachment advocates, including Jenner’s legal counsel, criticized Newsom and said he was acting as if he was above the law, urging the judge to reject his motion. The question now rests with Supreme Court Justice James B. Arguelles who, after lawyers on both sides threw questions during the hour-long hearing on Friday morning, said he would deliver his verdict on Monday.

The case centers on a lawsuit that Newsom brought against California Secretary of State Shirley Webber, a fellow Democrat he nominated for the position in December, asking the court to require Webber to print his party’s preferences on ballots.

Webber denied Newsom’s request to do so, saying that the governor’s attorney failed to make the request, as required by state law, when presenting the governor’s formal response to the impeachment in early 2020. Webber did not object to Newsom’s addition of party affiliation if the judge had ordered it.

Kevin Callea, the secretary of state’s external advisor, told the judge that allowing Newsom to include his partisan designation would give Californians a “more informed choice” when voting in the election.

The former reality TV star Jenner used the lawsuit as a launching pad for her first press conference, delivering a brief opening statement and sending out 11 minutes of reporters’ questions to challenge her lack of political experience and spotty voting record.

Jenner said she joined the lawsuit as an intervention to ensure transparency in the process.

“I want people to see what’s happening here in Sacramento and the things that are happening,” Jenner said. “And I just wanted to be a part of this suit so that Shirley Webber wouldn’t bend– [so] It’s actually doing its job.”

The Olympic gold medalist made her remarks with sporting analogies and dismissed polls showing her late in the race to replace Newsom, noting that her family’s fame on the reality show gave her more name recognition than Newsom.

“I guarantee you I’m on top” when it comes to who should replace Newsom, Jenner said.

“I have a huge advantage because of the clear name recognition, and I think people are learning more about me as we go through this process, about my political beliefs and how I’m going to be judged,” she said.

Jenner said that at the beginning of mid-August she will campaign by bus across the state, rejecting speculation that her participation in the recall was more symptomatic than substantial.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned from athletics, it’s to work,” she said. You have to train. You have to prepare yourself. You have to improve with these issues. You have to understand the issues. Obviously, I am an outsider and I think that is a good thing.”

Jenner said she has no plans to reach out to former President Trump for endorsement, saying she should not be considered a model candidate for the Republican Party.

She described herself as having “conservative economic values” but noted that she was a “total republican” on social issues. However, the short duration of her press conference made it difficult to press for more details.

Jenner said she “doesn’t regret” her electoral record, which shows that she has failed to cast her votes in many elections.

“I voted when I needed to, depending on what the issues were,” she said.

Jenner’s first interaction with the Sacramento press service and a Newsom court hearing just a few blocks away offered a glimpse of what might lie ahead as California heads toward an impeachment vote in mid-September.

Until 2020, politicians facing impeachment were not allowed to put their party names on the ballot — this included Governor Gray Davis, a Democrat who in 2003 became the only California governor to be recalled from office.

But the new law, which Newsom signed in October 2019, says office holders must now request that their party preferences be put on the ballot during the first seven-day window to respond to a recall notice. If they fail to do so, no party affiliation will be listed.

Although Newsom responded to this initial filing on February 28, 2020, he did not mention his party’s preferences. Newsom’s attorney, Thomas Willis, blamed the error, saying that when he filed the papers he didn’t know the law had changed.

During Friday’s hearing, Willis said Newsom should be allowed to include his party affiliation under the legal doctrine of “substantive compliance.” Willis cited a California Supreme Court ruling that said strict adherence to election procedures is not required in cases where there is a simple procedural error that does not affect the integrity of the election process.

Attorney Eric Early, who represents subpoena advocates Oren Heatley, Mike Netter, and the California Patriot Coalition, argued that the deadline clause was crystal clear and that Newsom, having signed it into law, could not claim ignorance.

“The governor of California must follow the law,” he said early to the judge. “This might be a bitter pill for the ruler, but he must swallow it.”

The current recall effort is the sixth launched against Newsom since he took office in January 2019, and like the others, it’s off to a slow start.

However, in a separate case, Arguelles gave impeachment advocates an additional five months in November to collect and submit 1.49 million petition signatures from California voters, the number required by state law to qualify the impeachment vote. The judge did so after the subpoenas argued that government COVID-19 closures and restrictions had limited the ability to circulate petitions.

Neither the governor nor the secretary of state has decided to appeal that ruling, a decision that some Democrats believe was a mistake.

The impeachment attorney in this case was Bradley Bainbrook of Sacramento, a former partner of a Sacramento law firm with Arguelles. He also represented Benbrook Jenner in the Friday session.

Times staff writer Julia Wake contributed to this report.

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