Gavin Newsom's recall petition fails, Karen Bass gains momentum

Two of California's top politicians are in the crosshairs of recall petitions… but while one is gaining considerable momentum, the other is fighting out of the starting blocks.

In the wake of the devastating wildfires that devastated much of California, two petitions have been launched calling for the mayor of Los Angeles to be removed Karen Bass and Governor of California Gavin Newsom.

The petition to recall Governor Newsom is newer than the petition to oust Bass… and frankly, it's struggling to gain serious traction. It was launched yesterday – and so far it has only collected around 27,000 signatures.

That seems like a lot… but to trigger a recall vote, a population equal to 12% of the voters who cast ballots in the last gubernatorial election would have to sign – so the petition would have to reach more than 1 million votes to get one to start a callback.

Given that Newsom has already survived a recall election in 2021, that seems unlikely… even as many criticize his leadership as the fires take their toll.

Bass, on the other hand, could be in trouble… because to force a recall from office, 10% of registered voters in the city of LA must sign – or about 200,000 people. So far 108,000 have signed.

So it appears the petitions are halfway to the recall benchmark — although we can't verify that each signatory actually lives within city limits… but that's not surprising, considering how much blame the public has placed on Bass pushes

The Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley has accused the Bass government of not adequately funding the fire department. bass glossed over Crowley's comments during a press conference… that they would speak in private later.