Statewide leaders urge Californians to vote “No” on the recall to protect state’s progress.
Los Angeles — In response to the certification of signatures to qualify the gubernatorial recall for the 2021 ballot, Courage California and 31 partner organizations and community leaders announced their unified opposition to the recall of the governor as a right-wing attempt to roll back decades of community-driven progress.
The 32 organizations and leaders released the following joint statement:
“The recall is not about Governor Gavin Newsom — it’s an attack on our communities and what Californians have long fought for, from immigrant and refugee rights, to criminal justice reforms, to universal healthcare. Supporters of the recall and Republican leaders claim that the recall is about the Governor’s COVID-19 response, but we see through that thin veil and want to expose their anti-justice and anti-immigrant agenda that threatens to set us back 30 years. We stand together against the recall today to defend the values that the majority of Californians believe in — equity, justice, and accountability for all of us.
“We call on all Californians who share the belief that no human is illegal, every person deserves clean air and water, no one should go hungry, every worker should earn at least a living wage, and everyone should be able to access affordable and holistic healthcare to unite with us against the recall. In the face of the pandemic, we mobilized for a historic year of racial justice uprisings and voter turnout and demanded changes that were long overdue. We are seeing movement on our demands now, and we can’t afford to — not just stop — but go backward. We need to turn out to vote against the recall for ourselves, our families, and our communities.”
As trusted messengers of diverse communities and causes, this coalition provides a unified forward-looking and values-driven voice that is independent of the parties and campaigns. The coalition will continue to work against the recall, countering right-wing misinformation and turning out voters for this special election. Voter engagement and accountability are important to a healthy democracy in California, and Courage California and our 31 partners strive for a government that works for everyone.
ENDORSED BY:
- ACCE Action
- Bay Rising Action
- Black Women for Wellness Action Project
- Black Women’s Democratic Club
- California Donor Table
- California Environmental Justice Alliance (CEJA) Action
- California League of Conservation Voters
- CHIRLA Action Fund
- Chispa
- Climate Hawks Vote
- Communities for a New California Action Fund
- Equality California
- Fund Her
- Heart of LA Democratic Club
- Inland Empire United
- NARAL Pro-Choice California
- NRDC Action Fund
- PowerCA Action
- Project Super Bloom
- SameSide
- Smart Justice California
- UDW AFSCME Local 3930
- Voices for Progress
Individuals:
- Honorable Shay Franco-Clausen, Vice Chair, Open Space Authority
- Surina Khan, CEO, Women’s Foundation California
- Ted Mermin, Director, California Low-Income Consumer Coalition
- RL Miller, DNC member and chair emeritus, CDP environmental caucus
- Manuel Pastor, Director, USC Equity Research Institute
- Nona Randois, public interest attorney, nonprofit director
- Angel Rice
- Pete Woiwode
(Individuals listed with organizations for identification purposes only.)
*Updated with additional endorsers since release.