California Gov. Gavin Newsom seen cleaning up homeless encampment after issuing executive order to tear them down
California Gov. Gavin Newsom traded his suit and tie for a pair of jeans and a t-shirt to help clear out two homeless encampments that have plagued the state in recent years.
The 56-year-old Democrat, donning a pair of work gloves, tossed mounds of trash and other debris into orange plastic garbage bags underneath an overpass in Los Angeles on Thursday, video from the governor’s press office captured.
The midday clean-up occurred under a section of the 5 Freeway in Mission Hills alongside Caltrans crews, according to KTLA.
It comes two weeks after Newsom issued an executive order directing state agencies to remove the thousands of tents and makeshift shelters across the state that line freeways, clutter shopping center parking lots and fill city parks.
Newsom wanted municipalities 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.”
The executive order, signed on July 25, was issued after the US Supreme Court allowed cities to enforce bans on sleeping outside in public spaces.
“No more excuses. We’ve provided the time. We’ve provided the funds. Now it’s time for locals to do their job,” Newsom said on X.
Newsom’s order urges agencies to prioritize clearing encampments after ample warnings but can’t force local authorities to act.
His administration can, however, apply pressure by withholding money for counties and cities.
Newsom has made homelessness a signature issue as California governor. He pushed and campaigned for a ballot measure earlier this year to allow the state to borrow nearly $6.4 billion to build 4,350 housing units.
California has an estimated 180,000 homeless people, which is roughly one-third of the nation’s total homeless population.
Newsom, who was seen as a potential replacement for President Joe Biden on the Democrat ticket before his name was thrown around as Kamala Harris’ running mate, was reelected as governor in 2022, and will finish his second term in Jan. 2027.
Newsom’s office boasted about the effectiveness of the clean-up program claiming to have removed over 2.6 million cubic yards of litter, resolving 11,000 encampments and creating more than 18,000 jobs.
Some social media users weren’t thrilled to see Newsom getting his hands dirty, calling it a political stunt.
“Stop enforcing the law, turn cities into dumpsters, then brag about jobs created to clean the dumps. Smh, this is not the flex you think it is,” one comment on X read.
“It’s like when my kids clean up their own mess and expect praise,” another person added.
“Create the problems and then attempt to take credit for cleaning it up!” a third critic responded.
