The once unthinkable has now become reality—California’s Governor Newsome is less than 100,000 signatures away from a recall. The petition has until March 17 to collect the remaining signatures, nearly guaranteeing the recall effort will proceed.

The goal of the Recall Gavin 2020 movement is clearly noted at its website: “We are building a grassroots army to gather enough signed recall petitions to put on the state ballot a measure to recall Governor Newsom. Signature gathering started June 10th and will finish in March 2021, the recall election will be held in 2021. We are confident that by reaching out to millions of Californians who have been betrayed by this governor, and by using the latest online and social media technology, we are going to give California’s voters an opportunity to fire Gavin Newsom.”

If successful, the petition will lead to a recall election later this year to allow California’s citizens the opportunity to “fire” Newsom. And California’s faithful have plenty of reasons to kick their current leader out of office.

A few highlights from the 2020 pandemic include the infamous “Rules for Thee, but Not for He.” At this event, the governor attended a high-end French dining venue with no mask, along with 22 guests, during the state’s strict lockdown.

And speaking of lockdowns, Newsom’s massive executive orders have far exceeded the reach of his authority. The California legislature has had little say or involvement in the many moves used to shut down schools and businesses that have decimated the state, leading to high levels of unemployment.

Speaking of unemployment, California has sent $1 BILLION in unemployment to state prisoners and felons. Yes, that’s a billion with a B. That may not seem like much out of the state budget of more than $200 billion, but it’s far more than has been spent to return students to schools, now sitting at 300 days and counting of at-home learning.

It doesn’t help to have one of the nation’s highest property taxes, state sales tax, and the highest state income tax in the nation. It’s no surprise tens of thousands of people moved out of Los Angeles County alone in 2020. For the first time in the last fifty years more people have moved out of the county than into it. The state will soon need to build its own border wall around California to keep people from leaving.

Now that the recall effort is nearing reality, Governor Newsom seems to finally be relenting to some degree. The extreme stay-at-home order from the holidays has been rolled back, while some schools are now talking about a return to in-person learning. But many speculate this may be more connected to Biden’s move to the White House than California’s recall efforts.

If so, this is an even stronger reason to recall Newsom. If he is really part of a coordinated effort to keep schools and businesses closed to make Trump look bad and support Biden, he’s literally controlling millions of lives for political gain.

California—and America—have enough problems without governors out to deceive and shut down their people. We need brave, America-loving leaders who care about their people and are willing to work toward solutions instead of more lockdowns. Newsom may find out the hard way that California is still a democracy and that voters have the final say regarding who leads their state.