Gavin Newsom is off to NYC to promote his new children’s book. This comes after 3 days in Nevada, a week in Cabo, and a mysterious 13-day disappearance.
He’s chosen a bad time to go jet-setting. Just as courts have stopped all 3 of Biden’s mandate orders, the Orange County Board of Education, led by Mari Barke, has filed a lawsuit to terminate the State of Emergency.
The premise is simple: a Governor doesn’t get to end the emergency at his leisure. He’s required to do so “at the earliest possible date that conditions warrant.” The Court made this clear in my case against Newsom:
“The Emergency Services Act is not a statute of indefinite duration…The Emergency Services Act obligates the governor to declare the state of emergency terminated as soon as conditions warrant.”
In Gallagher and Kiley v. Newsom, the Court based its decision on the need for a Governor to respond quickly to emergency conditions. This suggests that if the Governor vacates his office to go on a book tour, it’s no longer legally an emergency.
The Court in our case also emphasized that the Legislature can end the emergency too – as I’m trying to do with ACR 46. But Newsom has denied the Legislature key information, refusing to respond to my letter asking what metrics he’s using.
This is the ultimate lawsuit, as ending the emergency causes all other orders to expire. Granted, the courts have failed us time and again. But with Newsom off hawking books in the Big Apple, they’ll have a harder time ignoring what a farce this has become.