California Gov. Gavin Newsom undoubtedly recognizes that the headlines coming out of his state can harm his eventual 2028 presidential campaign. So, he is trying to distance himself from the bloated bureaucracy he has helped create and every authoritarian decision those bureaucrats make.
The California Coastal Commission has set out to end Long Beach’s “Big Bang on the Bay,” the city’s Fourth of July fireworks show that has run for 15 years. The commission is blocking it on the grounds of environmentalism because California will destroy every community event (or community) in the name of environmental activists, and fireworks are supposedly killing the planet. This would be an outrageous overreach by the government in any year, but it is particularly jarring given this year marks 250 years since the founding of the United States.
DEMOCRATS GOVERNED CALIFORNIA INTO THE GROUND. NOW THEY CAN’T FIELD A CANDIDATE
Newsom’s press office took to X to explain that “This is NOT a decision the Governor made. Our office is looking into this matter on behalf of the people of Long Beach!” It’s great to know that even Newsom can be publicly pressured into having to make such a statement, but the fact remains that Newsom is responsible for this (alongside the rest of his party), even if the decision wasn’t made by him personally.
The California Coastal Commission is a part of the executive branch of California’s government, which, of course, answers to Newsom. As governor, he appoints four members of the commission, with the other eight appointed by his fellow Democrats in the state legislature.
“Ah, but the commission is an independent agency,” you may hear Newsom and his defenders claim. Therefore, the thinking goes that the commission does not answer to him. And that would be correct: the commission’s website even explains that it is “an independent, quasi-judicial state agency.” The commission can craft legally binding rules and regulations.
CALIFORNIA’S ENVIRONMENTAL REGIME IS UNTENABLE
In other words, Newsom allows a collection of unelected bureaucrats to make political decisions designed for politicians, with no real way of holding them accountable, as they are part of an “independent” agency. The California Coastal Commission is a “quasi-judicial” agency that makes legislative decisions while operating as an untouchable part of the executive branch. Is that description supposed to reflect kindly on Newsom and the California Democratic Party?
Newsom and his fellow Democrats have created a bloated, power-hungry bureaucracy that has the ability to operate without any real oversight from voters. The fact that the commission can ban a fireworks show, for example, and have Newsom and legislative Democrats both turn around and say it wasn’t their decision is the problem. Unelected bureaucrats should not be allowed to make such decisions, as voters cannot ever hold them accountable, and yet that is the system Newsom has allowed to control Californians’ lives.