California Gov. Gavin Newsom traded in his suit and tie for jeans and a T-shirt to help remove two homeless encampments that have plagued the state in recent years.
The 56-year-old Democrat was captured on video from the governor’s press office on Thursday wearing work gloves and tossing tons of trash and other debris into orange plastic bags under a Los Angeles overpass.
The midday cleanup took place under the Interstate 5 Freeway in Mission Hills with California Department of Transportation crews. According to KTLA.
This comes two weeks after Governor Newsom issued an executive order directing state agencies to remove the thousands of tents and temporary shelters that have filled the state’s highways, shopping center parking lots and city parks.
Governor Newsom called on local governments to “address unsanitary and unsafe encampments in their communities and provide needed care and support services to people experiencing homelessness in encampments.”
The executive order, signed on July 25, came after the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of cities banning people from camping in public spaces.
“There are no more excuses. We’ve provided the time. We’ve provided the funding. Now it’s time for local people to do the work,” Newsom said. I said it in X.
Newsom’s order encourages government agencies to prioritize removing encampments after ample warning, but cannot force local officials to act.
But his administration can pressure counties and cities by withholding funds.
Newsom has made homelessness a key issue as California governor, and earlier this year he promoted and campaigned on a ballot measure that would have allowed the state to borrow about $6.4 billion to build 4,350 housing units.
There are an estimated 180,000 homeless people in California, roughly one-third of the homeless population in the United States.
Newsom, who was seen as a possible Democratic candidate to succeed President Joe Biden before his name was floated as Kamala Harris’ running mate, is set to run for re-election as governor in 2022 and complete his second term in January 2027.
Newsom’s office touted the effectiveness of the cleanup program, claiming it has removed more than 2.6 million cubic yards of trash, resolved 11,000 encampments and created more than 18,000 jobs.
Some social media users were not happy with Newsom getting his hands dirty, calling it a political ploy.
“You stop enforcing the law, turn cities into garbage dumps, then brag about the jobs you create cleaning up the dumps. Sorry, this isn’t the brag you think it is,” X’s comment read.
“It’s like they expect their child to clean up their own mess and be praised for it,” another person added.
A third critic responded: “You’re creating a problem and then trying to take credit for solving it!”
