Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
California Homelessness Crisis Will Haunt Newsom in Debate With DeSantis
By admin
Published 2 years ago on
August 8, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

After exchanging long-distance insults for months, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will supposedly have a face-to-face debate some place and some time in the fall.

Dan Walters with a serious expression

Dan Walters

CalMatters

Opinion

DeSantis is trying to gain traction as a Republican candidate for president in 2024 while Newsom is trying to establish himself as a national Democratic Party leader with potential White House ambitions circa 2028. Each portrays his state as a model of governance for the nation to emulate.

If it happens – and it’s not certain, given squabbling over details – a Newsom-DeSantis debate would be the political equivalent of another clash of overstimulated egos, the cage match between two tech tycoons Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg.

While Newsom seems to be the glibber of the two, and thus is favored by media handicappers to out-talk his rival, the California governor has one enormous albatross sitting on his shoulder: his state’s ever-worsening homelessness crisis – and he knows it.

When Newsom was interviewed by Fox News talk show host Sean Hannity in June – an appearance where debating DeSantis was first suggested – he was forced to acknowledge the seeming intractability of his state’s homelessness disaster.

“The state has not made progress in the last two decades as it relates to homelessness,” the California governor said flatly.

“Because housing costs are too high,” Newsom replied as Hannity pressed him for reasons. “Our regulatory thickets are too problematic. Localism has been too impactful, meaning people locally are pushing back against new housing starts and construction.”

Hannity contrasted California’s more than 171,000 homeless people with Florida’s 26,000 and Newsom replied, “Of course, not even comparable.”

“The dynamics are very different,” Newsom continued, without explaining them. “That said, we own this, Sean. I’m not here defending this.”

$20 Billion Spent on Homelessness Since Newsom Became Governor

A few weeks later, California got another indication that homelessness is continuing to expand even though state and local governments have spent and are spending billions of dollars on efforts to reduce it – nearly $20 billion by the state alone since Newsom became governor.

The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, which was created to find solutions to the crisis, released its latest count of people living on the streets.

“This year, we estimate that 75,518 people experience homelessness on any given night in Los Angeles County, and 46,260 people do so in the city of Los Angeles,” the authority said. The number of homeless people rose 9% in Los Angeles County, as a whole, over the 2022 count, and 10% within the city.

“Last year, it appeared that the curve of homelessness growth started to flatten, but we’re back to seeing a trajectory that mirrored previous years,” the authority’s report acknowledged.

Since the 2015 count, homelessness has increased by 70% in the county and 80% in the city, and the crisis has an inescapable racial aspect. While Black people make up just 9% of Los Angeles County’s population, they represent 32% of the county’s homeless population with Latinos another 43%.

Obviously, homelessness is an immense human tragedy, but it also is a political liability not only for Newsom but other figures, such as Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who won her position last year on a promise to solve it. It bears an uncanny resemblance to Newsom’s promise two decades ago, when he was the mayor of San Francisco, that he would end homelessness in 10 years.

DeSantis wants his debate with Newsom to begin with videos of each governor making his case. If that happens, we can expect DeSantis’ video to feature the ever-spreading squalor of California’s homeless encampments.

About the Author

Dan Walters has been a journalist for nearly 60 years, spending all but a few of those years working for California newspapers. He began his professional career in 1960, at age 16, at the Humboldt Times. CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters. For more columns by Dan Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary.

Make Your Voice Heard

GV Wire encourages vigorous debate from people and organizations on local, state, and national issues. Submit your op-ed to rreed@gvwire.com for consideration. 

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Norway Establishes Diplomatic Relations With State of Palestine

DON'T MISS

Kim Kardashian Jewel Heist Trial Starts in Paris

DON'T MISS

NBA Playoff Guide: Who Plays When, How to Watch, What the Odds Are

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Ejected, Killed in High-Speed Wreck Following Pursuit

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Naomi Kaylynn Acker

DON'T MISS

Conclave to Elect a New Pope Will Start on May 7 as Cardinals Get to Know One Another

DON'T MISS

California Faces Automaker Backlash Over 2035 Gas Car Ban

DON'T MISS

Wall Street Mixed in Start to Busy Week for Earnings, Data

DON'T MISS

Will California Meet Newsom’s 2035 EV Deadline? It Won’t Even Hit the 2026 Target 

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Putin May Not Want Peace and May Need to Be ‘Dealt With Differently’

UP NEXT

Trump Says Putin May Not Want Peace and May Need to Be ‘Dealt With Differently’

UP NEXT

Dollar Doubts Dominate Gathering of Global Economic Leaders

UP NEXT

US Judge Temporarily Stops West Texas Immigrant Deportations Under Alien Enemies Act

UP NEXT

Only About Half of Republicans Say Trump Has Focused on the Right Priorities

UP NEXT

Trump Is a Revolutionary. Will He Succeed or Fail?

UP NEXT

We Need Proof of Life for the Makeup Artist Trump Sent to El Salvador

UP NEXT

Higher Taxes on Millionaires? Trump Says He’s Open, but Many in His Party Are Not

UP NEXT

Ex-US Rep. George Santos Sentenced to Over 7 Years in Prison for Fraud and Identity Theft

UP NEXT

As Harris Ponders Run for CA Governor, Is She Prepared for the Daunting Job?

UP NEXT

China Exempts Some Goods From US Tariffs

Fresno Man Ejected, Killed in High-Speed Wreck Following Pursuit

28 minutes ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Naomi Kaylynn Acker

43 minutes ago

Conclave to Elect a New Pope Will Start on May 7 as Cardinals Get to Know One Another

51 minutes ago

California Faces Automaker Backlash Over 2035 Gas Car Ban

57 minutes ago

Wall Street Mixed in Start to Busy Week for Earnings, Data

1 hour ago

Will California Meet Newsom’s 2035 EV Deadline? It Won’t Even Hit the 2026 Target 

1 day ago

Trump Says Putin May Not Want Peace and May Need to Be ‘Dealt With Differently’

2 days ago

Is It Bad to Chew Gum All Day?

2 days ago

Dollar Doubts Dominate Gathering of Global Economic Leaders

2 days ago

US Judge Temporarily Stops West Texas Immigrant Deportations Under Alien Enemies Act

2 days ago

Norway Establishes Diplomatic Relations With State of Palestine

Norway announced Thursday that it has officially established diplomatic relations with the State of Palestine on X, marking a significant mo...

6 minutes ago

Norway officially established diplomatic relations with the State of Palestine on Thursday, April 24, 2025, strengthening its support for Palestinian independence amid Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza. (Shutterstock)
6 minutes ago

Norway Establishes Diplomatic Relations With State of Palestine

Kim Kardashian arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscars party after the 97th Academy Awards, in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., March 2, 2025. (REUTERS/Danny Moloshok/File Photo)
15 minutes ago

Kim Kardashian Jewel Heist Trial Starts in Paris

Indiana Pacers' Myles Turner (33) reacts after dunking over Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo during the second half of Game 4 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series Sunday, April 27, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP/Jeffrey Phelps)
20 minutes ago

NBA Playoff Guide: Who Plays When, How to Watch, What the Odds Are

fresno
28 minutes ago

Fresno Man Ejected, Killed in High-Speed Wreck Following Pursuit

Naomi Kaylynn Acker is Valley Crime Stoppers' Most Wanted Person of the Day for April 28, 2025. (Valley Crimes Stoppers)
43 minutes ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Naomi Kaylynn Acker

St Peter's Basilica is seen in the background as a cardinal arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
51 minutes ago

Conclave to Elect a New Pope Will Start on May 7 as Cardinals Get to Know One Another

People charge their electric cars at a Tesla super charging station next to an EVgo electric charging location in Carlsbad, California, U.S., March 7, 2022. (REUTERS/Mike Blake)
57 minutes ago

California Faces Automaker Backlash Over 2035 Gas Car Ban

A woman walks down Wall Street in New York City, U.S., April 8, 2025. (REUTERS/Kylie Cooper)
1 hour ago

Wall Street Mixed in Start to Busy Week for Earnings, Data

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend