Andrew McDowell, who owns a cafe in downtown Los Angeles, says the recall election of Gov. Gavin Newsom is a waste of time and money.
It鈥檚 not that he鈥檚 a big fan of Newsom. It鈥檚 that Newsom is up for reelection next year, so why spend the time and money now?
McDowell says the $276 million to should be spent instead on grants for small businesses that are struggling. 鈥淚f we were running California as a business, we would not be wasting these kinds of funds on these things that truly are not going to impact the bottom line long term.鈥�
Even though his business suffered during the COVID-19 shutdowns, McDowell also cuts Newsom some slack on dealing with an unprecedented crisis.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 bring on a governor to bring us through a pandemic, but to run our normal day-to-day. Then they鈥檙e put into this furnace and we say, 鈥楬ey, you really didn鈥檛 do a good job,鈥欌�� McDowell said.
鈥淚 think really our view on our governor鈥檚 performance should be, what has he tried, what has he learned? Is he getting better? And not hold people 100% to mistakes 鈥� even stupid publicity mistakes.鈥�
Recall proponents and the Republicans who want to become the next governor aren鈥檛 nearly as forgiving.
Some criticize Newsom鈥檚 pandemic safety measures as overly restrictive and devastating to small businesses. Others call him a hypocrite by citing the infamous French Laundry dinner that he attended mask-less during a statewide indoor dining ban and by repeating that the winery he founded stayed open.
For some business owners, the pain during the pandemic adds to longstanding frustrations over the cost of living in California, which could motivate them to vote to recall Newsom. The main advocacy group for small businesses, however, is not taking a position on the recall given its members differing views.
For his part, Newsom 鈥� who styles himself an entrepreneur 鈥� has taken some action to help small business owners, including who received federal relief loans. and a gusher of federal aid, the governor also pushed the largest economic stimulus ever, which included to 180,939 small businesses and nonprofits, according to California鈥檚 . An additional three rounds of funding were announced at the end of July, bringing the total to $4 billion.
The state also tried to help small businesses sell online, while providing .
But not everyone received grants 鈥� or it wasn鈥檛 enough to keep them in business. In California, nearly had closed by September 2020, according to Yelp data analyzed by the New York Times.
The businesses hit hardest by state and county stay-at-home orders lacked an online presence and had small cash reserves 鈥� typical of small businesses, according to the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp. The was particularly pronounced, where, according to 2019 Census data, 88% of businesses had 鈥� places such as restaurants, bars and hair salons.
Blaming Newsom, offering ideas
For proponents of the , the shutdowns and Newsom鈥檚 support of a law that forced employers to offer benefits to gig workers were among reasons to remove him from office.
The Republican candidates are courting small business owners, primarily by bashing the governor鈥檚 approach to managing the coronavirus, but also by offering some proposals of their own.
, a former mayor of San Diego, says he would lift COVID-related business capacity limits and proposed a small restaurant relief fund.
, a radio host and former small business owner, has emphasized the impact of crime on small businesses and has been outspoken about his opposition to a minimum wage.
, also a former small business owner, has pledged tax cuts to make California more business-friendly, while , an Assemblymember from Rocklin, says he would use executive powers to roll back burdensome regulations like those on gig workers. Kiley and have spoken out against a state law that allows employees to sue and recover civil penalties for labor code violations.
Meanwhile, Democrat , a real estate agent and host of a YouTube show on finance, has a platform of streamlined permitting for businesses.
The policy positions held by Elder and Kiley, in particular, appeal to some small business owners. They include Baret Lepejian, whose was fenced up by the city for a violation of public health orders 鈥� an allegation he denies.
Lepejian bought Tinhorn Flats, a longtime Burbank fixture, in 2004, but he鈥檚 unlikely to reopen it, at least not in the city. Its closure has fueled his motivation to vote Newsom out.
鈥淭he one thing that I say over and over again to everyone I meet in person is that none, and I mean none of this, is about public safety,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 100% about power and control, that鈥檚 what鈥檚 going on.鈥�
Staying afloat during COVID
Brianna Knight, a 31-year-old Fresno resident with clients across the state, was one of the fortunate ones. Her holistic skincare business has done well during the pandemic.
The state grants helped, but so did her 鈥渙verplanning鈥� 鈥� six months ahead at some points. Before the pandemic, Knight also launched a clinical skincare line, enabling her to package at-home facial kits for her clients once COVID-19 hit.
Despite staying afloat, Knight said she is undecided how she will vote on the recall. She said she needs to research the candidates more, and wants to see how the next phase of the pandemic goes.
鈥淚 definitely think that we need new leadership, but I don鈥檛 know if right now is the time,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd I only say that because right now California is in the purple (COVID tier) and we do foresee a possible shutdown again. So transitioning leadership right now 鈥� sometimes it gets worse.鈥�
Knight said she wants new leadership because of the way the pandemic was handled, including shutting down businesses that state leaders deemed non-essential.
鈥淚 do corrective skincare, so acne, so even in a pandemic, those clients are still dealing with an issue,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think that what they considered wasn鈥檛 as important 鈥� was important to a lot of people, and we weren鈥檛 recognized.鈥�
鈥淚 definitely think that we need new leadership, but I don鈥檛 know if right now is the time.鈥�BRIANNA KNIGHT, BUSINESS OWNER FROM FRESNO
Knight said the back-and-forth on closures 鈥� California started back-tracking just weeks after the 鈥� didn鈥檛 help.
鈥淭here has to be consistency in business, to some extent,鈥� she said. 鈥淐hange is inevitable, but when it comes to things like this, I felt it wasn鈥檛 handled as well as it could have been handled.鈥�
Federal assistance was a big help last year, added McDowell, the L.A. cafe owner, but this year, there has been less aid available. That means small business owners like him are still struggling.
鈥淓veryone has the sense that everything was fine again and back to normal,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd that just was never the case.鈥�
Cecilia Vazquez, 54, who had to close her jewelry store in the University Heights area of San Diego County for four months. But like McDowell, she doesn鈥檛 place the blame squarely on Newsom.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think anybody was ready. Nobody really knew what to do,鈥� said Vazquez, whose shop was recently visited by Jenner. 鈥淲e were all trying to do our best.鈥�
Crisis on top of crisis
Thousands of small business owners across California are still trying to survive a pandemic now in its fourth surge. Even with the reopening, some restaurants and other service establishments are having trouble hiring workers 鈥� or are .
Then, there are businesses that also have to deal with wildfires and drought.
Data from showed that the deadly 2018 Camp Fire resulted in 13% of local businesses near the fire shutting down permanently, while in 2019, 6.6% of businesses closed after the Kincade Fire in Sonoma County.
In 2020, California experienced its , with 4.2 million acres burned. In 2021 so far, it isn鈥檛 much better. The still-burning Dixie Fire is already , having blackened more than 600,000 acres in Butte, Plumas, Lassen and Tehama counties.
Meanwhile, California is in the grip of its . This week, of mandatory water conservation statewide.
John Kabateck, California director of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, said opinions on the recall vary among its members, but many are too busy dealing with bigger concerns. Among them: finding qualified employees, meeting payroll and readying for a 鈥渉uge spike鈥� in their unemployment insurance taxes.
鈥淭he one thing that we have a duty to provide small business owners during difficult times 鈥� during any time 鈥� is predictability and certainty,鈥� Kabateck said in an interview Wednesday. 鈥淐ertainly the pandemic, the wildfire, the drought 鈥� all of these things, whether they are natural or man-made 鈥� are creating fear and uncertainty in your average small employer. We鈥檙e choosing to concentrate our time and resources on helping these mom-and-pops through these difficult times.鈥�
James Long, who lives in McKinleyville in Humboldt County and owns a security services company, said he doesn鈥檛 think any governor 鈥� Democrat or Republican 鈥� would have been able to successfully navigate the many crises that hit the state.
So he鈥檚 willing to give Newsom the benefit of the doubt.
鈥淗e鈥檇 just become governor, and then this pandemic hit. Then all hell broke loose,鈥� Long said. 鈥淭hen we鈥檝e got all these other problems, we鈥檝e got the wildfire. Let鈥檚 not dump on the man.鈥�
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