Governor Gavin Newsom is facing criticism for his recent decision to hold counties accountable for the lack of progress in his homelessness initiative, CARE Court. Critics argue that this move exemplifies a pattern of deflecting responsibility as he contemplates a potential run for the presidency.
On Monday, Newsom specifically called out San Francisco and Santa Clara counties, accusing them of falling behind in implementing his key policy. He placed these and eight other counties on an “Improvement list,” while commending counties like Alameda for their efforts. Newsom warned that he might withdraw funding from counties he deems insufficiently proactive.
“I’m ready to reallocate every single penny of these programs to counties that are making progress, no exceptions,” Newsom declared during a press conference. “It’s time to stop making excuses and start seeing results.”
However, not everyone is convinced by Newsom’s assertive stance.
“Governor Newsom has a tendency to shift blame. When his CARE Court initiative stumbles, homelessness intensifies, or gas prices increase, he points at counties or other external factors rather than stepping up with genuine leadership,” remarked State Senator Tony Strickland (R-Huntington Beach) in a statement.
“California faces significant challenges and deserves a leader who can bring forth tangible solutions, not excuses,” he added.
Newsom’s CARE Court has cost the state some $300 million but helped far fewer people than hoped, according to a Calmatters investigation.
Newsom initially estimated between 7,000 and 12,000 people statewide would qualify for CARE court, but California courts have received just 3,800 CARE petitions — with most tossed out in counties like San Francisco and Los Angeles.
State Sen. Roger Niello (R-Sacramento) said he supported the CARE Court idea as a way to compel mentally ill or substance-addicted people into treatment. But he pointed to Newsom’s refusal to fund similar goals through Prop. 36, which voters passed overwhelmingly in 2024, as “inconsistent and illogical.”
“Now he compounds that questionable logic by blaming the failure on local governments,” Niello told The Post.
“He has a repeated practice of blaming his own shortcomings on others.”
After the Trump administration launched strikes on Iran over the weekend, Newsom was roasted online for appearing to blame California’s gas prices, which are the highest in the nation, on the war rather than state policies that increase reliance on foreign oil.
“Everyone knows it’s Newsom’s insane climate policies that have given us the highest gas prices in the country, not ‘Trump’s war on Iran,’” Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton told The Post.
“Newsom’s ridiculous spin is a preemptive strike on the truth: that when gas prices spike even higher in the next few months in California it will be because of Newsom’s war on California oil production, hurting the working class the most. It’s just the latest example of Newsom not taking responsibility for anything,” he added.
Likewise, spending exploded under Newsom’s governorship, fueling chronic deficits — but he blamed budget woes on federal actions, according to critics.
“We’re running out of money and Newsom is running out of people to blame,” said Assemblymember David Tangipa (R-Fresno).
“Gavin Newsom is exclusively focused on running for president of the United States at this point,” said Jon Fleischman, a longtime Republican political strategist. “There are lots of problems taking place with state government that he is anxious to blame on someone else — because he doesn’t want to be blamed during his campaign for national office.”
Niello pointed again to homelessness, which surged from 129,972 in 2018 to more than 187,000 in 2024 despite spending some $20 billion on state programs.
When that approach failed — a state audit called out Newsom’s homeless agency for failing to closely track how money was spent — the governor changed course alongside a new message of “it’s local government’s fault,” according to Niello.
Some counties pushed back on Newsom’s criticisms on Monday.
Santa Clara County executive James R. Williams said its approach was grounded in ”what works” rather than ”defaulting to lengthy, costly, and often inadequate court-based processes.”
“Orange County is utilizing the CARE intervention fully,” an Orange County health agency told CalMatters.
