Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Under Newsom’s Governorship, Homelessness Crisis Still Haunts California
dan_walters
By Dan Walters, CalMatters Commentary
Published 10 months ago on
June 28, 2024

Despite spending billions and making bold promises, Gov. Gavin Newsom's tenure is marred by California's persistent homelessness crisis. (CalMatters/Rahul Lal)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Homelessness is the political albatross hanging around Gavin Newsom’s neck, something that’s plagued him not only as governor but even earlier during his stint as mayor of San Francisco.

Dan Walters Profile Picture
Dan Walters

CalMatters

Opinion

He promised to end homelessness in the city in 10 years. Two decades later, its streets are still home to thousands of unhoused people.

While running for governor he pledged to appoint a homelessness czar who would cut through red tape and solve the crisis. Later, when pressed by reporters about the promise, Newsom snapped, “You want to know who’s the homeless czar? I’m the homeless czar in the state of California.”

Newsom’s Promises on Homelessness

As governor, he devoted almost an entire State of the State address to homelessness and under his administration the state has spent more than $24 billion on the crisis, but California continues to have the nation’s highest numbers and its highest rate vis-a-vis the overall population.

In recent months, Newsom has criticized local governments for using state homelessness grants ineffectively, implying that local officials are the chief impediments to success and threatening to withhold more money. They counter that without dedicated, multi-year streams of revenue they cannot create permanent programs.

However in April, State Auditor Grant Parks sharply criticized the California Interagency Council on Homelessness, composed of Newsom administration officials, for lack of diligence in monitoring homelessness programs. “Until Cal ICH takes these critical steps, the state will lack up‑to‑date information that it can use to make data‑driven policy decisions on how to effectively reduce homelessness.”

California’s Response to the Homelessness Crisis

Last weekend, Newsom forged a deal with legislative leaders on a 2024-25 budget, including another round of homelessness grants to local governments. It is accompanied by legislation that essentially strips the Cal ICH of much of its authority on the issue and shifts it to the state Department of Housing and Community Development with orders to closely evaluate how local officials spend the money.

“What’s happening on the streets has to be a top priority,” Newsom said earlier, declaring that local officials will be held accountable for what happens. “People have to see and feel the progress and the change and if they’re not … I am not interested in continuing the status quo.

“I’m not interested in funding failure any longer,” he added. “So I’m going to speak for myself, just one guy that’s got three more appropriation cycles in front of him. I want to see results. Everybody wants to see results.”

Newsom’s New Approach: Holding Local Officials Accountable

Newsom defended his record on homelessness and touted the new hands-on approach during his State of the State address video this week.

“When it comes to America’s homelessness problem, California’s detractors have similarly offered nothing but rhetoric, moaning and casting blame,” he said in the written version of his address sent to legislators. “No state has done as much as California in addressing the pernicious problem of homelessness that too many politicians have ignored for too long.”

He told legislators, “We’re requiring cities and counties to account for how they spend taxpayer dollars to get people off the streets and sidewalks, out of tents, and into housing. So long as there are people living outdoors, so long as people are suffering from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, or self-medicating with drugs and alcohol, our work is not done.”

Newsom’s recent words and actions imply a sense of urgency about making measurable progress on homelessness before his governorship ends in 2027 and he embarks on the next phase of his political career, whatever that may be. Otherwise, the images of California’s squalid encampments will inevitably haunt him, no matter how much he attempts to shift the blame to others.

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 bmcewen@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

Selma Mayor Responds to Criminal Charge

DON'T MISS

More Than 100 Immigrants Detained at an Illegal After-Hours Nightclub in Colorado

DON'T MISS

Visalia Police Captain Charged With Embezzlement, Theft

DON'T MISS

Autopsy Confirms Gene Hackman Died From Heart Disease

DON'T MISS

Iran Proposes Meeting With Europeans Before Next Talks With US, Diplomats Say

DON'T MISS

Trump to Sign Order Requiring List of Sanctuary Cities, States, Official Says

DON'T MISS

Saudi Arabia and Qatar to Pay Off Syria’s Debt to the World Bank

DON'T MISS

Pakistan Defense Minister Says Military Incursion by India Is Imminent

DON'T MISS

Trump Administration Allows Temporary Sales of Summertime Higher-Ethanol Fuel

DON'T MISS

US Judge to Hear Harvard’s Case Over Trump Funding Freeze in July

UP NEXT

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

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

California Proposes Allowing Testing of Self-Driving Heavy-Duty Trucks

UP NEXT

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

UP NEXT

California’s Economy Ranks Fourth Worldwide, Surpasses Japan

UP NEXT

Why Texas Is Ahead of California on Bilingual Education

UP NEXT

Abundance Meets Resistance: Are CA Dems Finally Ready to Go All In on Building Housing?

UP NEXT

Less Than Half of Californians Think K-12 Schools Are on the Right Track: Poll

UP NEXT

Lights, Camera, Board Vote: Fresno Unified’s Carefully Choreographed Production

Autopsy Confirms Gene Hackman Died From Heart Disease

2 hours ago

Iran Proposes Meeting With Europeans Before Next Talks With US, Diplomats Say

3 hours ago

Trump to Sign Order Requiring List of Sanctuary Cities, States, Official Says

3 hours ago

Saudi Arabia and Qatar to Pay Off Syria’s Debt to the World Bank

3 hours ago

Pakistan Defense Minister Says Military Incursion by India Is Imminent

3 hours ago

Trump Administration Allows Temporary Sales of Summertime Higher-Ethanol Fuel

3 hours ago

US Judge to Hear Harvard’s Case Over Trump Funding Freeze in July

3 hours ago

Madera Man Arrested After Armed Robbery, K-9 Assists in Capture

4 hours ago

Huge Power Outage Paralyzes Parts of Spain and Portugal

4 hours ago

US Sanctions Target Deliveries of Oil and Gas to Houthis

4 hours ago

Selma Mayor Responds to Criminal Charge

Selma Mayor Scott Robertson says he is innocent of an electioneering charge filed last week by Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcam...

11 minutes ago

11 minutes ago

Selma Mayor Responds to Criminal Charge

In this image taken from video released by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, officers stop a patron from a nightclub where a raid occurred Sunday, April 27, 2025, in Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration via AP)
56 minutes ago

More Than 100 Immigrants Detained at an Illegal After-Hours Nightclub in Colorado

Visalia Police Captain Luma Fahoum has been charged Friday, April 25, 2025, with embezzling nearly $50,000 from the department’s youth program and faces up to three years in local jail if convicted. (Tulare County DA)
2 hours ago

Visalia Police Captain Charged With Embezzlement, Theft

2 hours ago

Autopsy Confirms Gene Hackman Died From Heart Disease

A general view of Muscat, ahead of the awaited negotiations between U.S. and Iran, Muscat, Oman, April 25, 2025. (REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/File Photo)
3 hours ago

Iran Proposes Meeting With Europeans Before Next Talks With US, Diplomats Say

In his first hundred days in office, Trump has moved to strip legal immigration status from hundreds of thousands of people. On Sunday, the White House plastered across the lawnposters of people described as arrested illegal immigrants. (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)
3 hours ago

Trump to Sign Order Requiring List of Sanctuary Cities, States, Official Says

A market in Old Damascus, Feb. 26, 2025. The civil war has taken a huge toll on the country’s economy, with industries decimated and infrastructure destroyed. (Kiana Hayeri/The New York Times)
3 hours ago

Saudi Arabia and Qatar to Pay Off Syria’s Debt to the World Bank

A Pakistan flag is seen on Pakistan Rangers' Post near the Attari-Wagah border crossing near Amritsar, India, April 26, 2025. India has suspended visa services to Pakistani nationals "with immediate effect" following an attack on tourists near Pahalgam in south Kashmir. (REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis)
3 hours ago

Pakistan Defense Minister Says Military Incursion by India Is Imminent

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

Search

Send this to a friend