Gavin Newsom, California State Governor, got his hands dirty on Thursday cleaning up a homeless encampment in Los Angeles.
Speaking to the media after, he warned local governments of the consequences they will face should they fail to similarly deal with homeless encampments.
Physical Labor
Newsom was filmed wearing gloves and picking up pieces of debris with a trash grabber.
He was helping the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) as they cleared up the remains of a temporary settlement under the 5 Freeway.
Not Interested in Excuses
Newsom stressed the importance of visible improvements based on actions, rather than just intentions or data from local governments.
He said, to gathered media after his cleaning job: “I want to see results. I don’t want to read about them. I don’t want to see the data. I want to see it.”
Campaign to Clean Up Streets
This is the latest attempt from Newsom to deal with the prevalent and growing issue of homelessness in California.
Under Newsom’s leadership, the state has committed more than $27 billion to tackling the issue, of which $3.2 billion was for flexible grants to local governments.
Limits to Power
As the governor, Newsom has authority over the state of California as a whole, but he is unable to force local governments to act at a granular level.
This restricts his power over local government to the amount of funding he provides them with, a power he has used in the past in an attempt to force issues.
Newsom’s Threat
Newsom leveraged his powers to determine funding arrangements with local councils to suggest that the money may be withheld if results are not seen.
He said: “We need local government to step up. This is a crisis. The state’s unprecedented billions of dollars of support? I’m not interested in providing that support and not seeing the results.”
Executive Order
This comes following a state-level executive order on July 25 that took advantage of a Supreme Court ruling that, in effect, permitted the criminalization of outdoor camping.
The order pushes officials across the state to “address unsanitary and dangerous encampments within their communities and provide people experiencing homelessness in the encampments with the care and supportive services they need.”
Reaction in LA
LA Mayor Karen Bass has reacted negatively to recent actions by her state governor, and is dubious of effectiveness of criminalization methods.
She said: “Strategies that just move people along from one neighborhood to the next or give citations instead of housing do not work.”
Shortage of Housing
Some have criticized Newsom’s suite of measures as being incorrectly targeted, and have suggested that the deeper issue is that of affordable housing.
Academics and advocates for the rights of the homeless have suggested that the policies are politically reactionary, rather than being based on evidence.
Healing California’s Scar
Newsom spoke in simple terms about the complex topic, and said that cities and counties had “no more excuses”.
He continued: “You’ve got the money. You’ve got the flexibility. You’ve got the green light. You’ve got the support from the state and the public is demanding it of you, and if this is not the most important issue, you’re not paying attention. This is the biggest scar on the reputation of the state of California.”
