SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Governor-elect Gavin Newsom reacted to the deadly mass shooting Thousand Oaks by calling attention to what he called “the plague” of gun violence in this country.
“We can’t allow this to continue,” Newsom said. “We can't allow this to be normalized. We can't allow this to be just another night in America. It's happening in our state. It's happening in states large and small across the country. There are multiple shootings on a daily basis, an hourly basis, and it doesn't exist anywhere else on planet earth.”
Newsom spoke to reporters Thursday at the St. Anthony’s Foundation in San Francisco before he handed out meals during the lunch hour at St. Anthony’s Dining Hall in the Tenderloin District. The organization feeds roughly 3,000 people a day.
At the media conference, Newsom spoke out against the NRA and gun culture and was critical of elected officials at the national level for not doing enough.
“In the absence of them doing their job, California will do its job,” he said.
The governor-elect plans to hit the ground running in January and tackle the housing crisis, transportation, and homelessness.
“Right now we have no homeless strategy in the state of California. It doesn't exist. So we start there. There are no plans, no timelines, no objectives,” Newsom said. He went on to say, “Cities can’t do it alone. I’m very empathetic to Mayor Garcetti down in LA and Mayor Breed here. There are many communities that are not carrying their weight.”
On Friday, he plans to announce a website and key point people for the transition. When asked if he will move into the Governor’s Mansion in Sacramento, Newsom said he and his wife have not had that conversation. He said they will ultimately do what is best for their four children.
Newsom’s first priority will be the state budget, following his swearing-in ceremony on January 7, 2019.