State legislators on Thursday began discussions on how to reform the recall process in the wake of the failed Sept.14 recall election targeting Gov. Gavin Newsom. Republicans were quick to oppose proposals that could make it more difficult to mount recall campaigns and to suggest these efforts were primarily about insulating Democratic officeholders from accountability for bad governance.
The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board sees it differently. The direct democracy constitutional amendment approved in 1911 remains a valuable tool for voters to overrule decisions made in a state Capitol where special interests have so much clout. But the initiative process is more straightforward than the recall process. It is absurd to have a system in which a sitting governor can have 49 percent of voters wish to retain him but be replaced by a candidate who got a fraction of that total in the tandem vote on who should replace the governor if recalled.
Having the lieutenant governor take over is more democratic. And mandating a recall if 12 percent of the number of voters in the previous gubernatorial election sign petitions is too easy to accomplish; 25 percent seems more reasonable. We are open to other ideas, but the present recall system has got to change. The Newsom recall was a farce.
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The editorial board operates independently from the U-T newsroom but holds itself to similar ethical standards. We base our editorials and endorsements on reporting, interviews and rigorous debate, and strive for accuracy, fairness and civility in our section.
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