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“It is ordered that Defendant’s motion for Judgment on the Pleadings is DENIED.”

–Order of the Honorable Sarah Heckman, Superior Court Judge

For months, Gavin Newsom has executed a legal strategy with one goal: to wiggle out of our case on a technicality. The Court just put a definite kibosh on that.

With the Judge rejecting Newsom’s motion, the trial in Gallagher and Kiley vs. Newsom will proceed on October 21 at the Sutter County Courthouse.

To seal our win on this issue, I give great credit to my co-plaintiff and co-counsel James Gallagher, who found a smoking gun on Secretary of State Alex Padilla’s website (which was mysteriously hidden after he discovered it) that proved beyond any doubt that what the Governor was arguing was factually untrue.

This is the same Secretary of State, by the way, who bizarrely attacked us for “throwing our democracy into chaos” when we won a preliminary injunction against Newsom in June.

As for our own motion, it wasn’t granted – but that’s not too surprising. It’s very rare to win a case through a dispositive motion; as the plaintiff, you usually just want to avoid losing. Our main goal was to fend off Newsom’s dismissal ploy while keeping the focus on his unlawful conduct.

So Wednesday’s hearing worked out quite well. The Governor played (and surrendered) his one and only card, while we set the stage for trial by previewing our case against his one-man rule.

We have a pre-trial conference on Monday with the Governor’s lawyers, and then we’ll be working nonstop for the next week and a half to prepare our exhibits, witnesses, and trial presentations.

Will we win on Oct. 21? I am hopeful. I resolutely believe that the law, the facts, and the people of California are on our side. Still, it’s impossible say what the Judge will decide.

One thing we can say for sure: if the courts don’t rein him in, Gavin Newsom will keep ruling California by decree. Our state will slide further into autocracy. Our civic institutions will be grievously, perhaps permanently, damaged. And millions of Californians will continue to pay the price.

That’s the battle we are in. I cannot tell you how grateful I am for your overwhelming support, words of encouragement, and prayers. It’s uplifting and emboldening beyond measure. With so many forces arrayed against us, it reminds me every day what we’re fighting for.

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