Contributor: California Democrats Aren't Just Resisting; They're Governing - Beritaja

Gov. Gavin Newsom answering the Republican redistricting power-grab successful Texas pinch a scheme of his ain is simply a powerful illustration of really Golden State Democrats are opinionated up to President Trump and firing up their base. But while the partisan fireworks tie attention, California Democrats are besides softly offering a different benignant of exemplary for the nationalist statement that whitethorn beryllium much meaningful successful the agelong run. They’re not conscionable resisting Trump; they’re really governing.

Forget what you deliberation you cognize about California and its lefty Democrats. They’re inching to the center, gathering voters wherever they are, and it’s improving people’s lives.

Just look astatine San Francisco, agelong seen arsenic a dysfunctional emblem of grounded progressive governance.

The city’s caller mayor, Daniel Lurie, a nonprofit leader and philanthropist, has shaken disconnected left-wing taboos and focused connected delivering results. Instead of defunding the police, he’s hiring much officers and cracking down connected shoplifting and supplier crimes. Instead of demonizing the business community, he’s partnering pinch them. He’s besides reforming zoning laws to make it easier to build much housing, which should easiness the city’s affordability crunch and the homelessness crisis. Lurie has been successful agency little than a year, but already crime is plummeting and his support complaint has reached 73%.

National Democrats could find a instruction here: Voters attraction about results, not conscionable empathy and ideology.

In Sacramento, Newsom and legislative Democrats are taking a akin tack, pinch a stubborn attraction connected affordability and the courageousness to look down opposition, moreover successful their ain coalition. For example, the Legislature precocious reformed the California Environmental Quality Act, a well-intentioned 50-year-old rule that had been twisted to obstruct building projects, cleanable power improvement and nationalist transportation. This angered immoderate powerful biology activists, but it will yet thief bring down costs for lodging and energy.

CEQA betterment is emblematic of California’s new, much balanced attack connected immoderate thorny issues, for illustration power and climate. The authorities precocious announced that two-thirds of its powerfulness now comes from cleanable power sources — a awesome achievement. At the aforesaid time, Newsom and the Legislature agreed to a package of bills that will summation lipid drilling while extending the state’s cap-and-trade program. Together, the package could trim power costs for Californians and fortify our state’s chances of reaching c neutrality by 2045. Some biology justness advocates and ambiance purists reason the deal, but it’s an illustration of really to make advancement successful the agelong word while addressing affordability successful the short term.

Immigration is different example: Newsom and different starring California Democrats proceed to guidelines up to the Trump administration’s inhumane migration policies, including suing to extremity the deployment of troops to Los Angeles. But they besides precocious passed a fund that pulls back connected costly plans to supply wellness security to each low-income undocumented immigrants.

This reflects the caller California model: opinionated guidance and pragmatic governance. The results speak for themselves. The Golden State precocious surpassed Japan to go the fourth-largest system successful the world.

Democratic leaders are making these moves because they are listening to voters who consistently opportunity that the precocious costs of surviving is their top concern.

In 2024, these concerns contributed to a astonishing number of Californians abandoning Democrats, moreover pinch Kamala Harris, the state’s erstwhile U.S. legislator and lawyer general, connected the ticket. Trump flipped 10 counties and boosted his support successful 45. Since 2016, 72% of California counties person gotten redder, including galore pinch dense Latino populations.

Democrats are paying attraction and are wisely changing course. Being responsive to elector concerns doesn’t person to mean sacrificing halfway values, but it does require caller approaches erstwhile the aged ways aren’t working.

Karen Skelton (whose begetter is simply a governmental columnist for the Los Angeles Times) is simply a governmental strategist, having worked successful the White House nether Presidents Clinton and Biden and astatine the United States Departments of Energy, Transportation and Justice.