California’s political picture is heating up, with Governor Gavin Newsom facing a recall election late this year.
Some high profile Republicans are in the race to replace him, including former San Diego Mayor Kevin Falconer, multi-millionaire businessman John Cox, and reality TV star Kaitlyn Jenner. But, there are also some Democrats seeking the state’s top post, including one from the South Coast.
Kevin Paffrath is a real estate broker and investor from Ventura. He and his wife Lauren started a business which buys, renovates, and rents houses. He also started a YouTube Channel with about a million followers.
He says he decided to run because things like high taxes and costs are prompting many people to leave the state. He feels he can make a difference.
Paffrath describes himself as a moderate Democrat. He has a 20 point campaign platform which deals with everything from taxes to immigration.
The Ventura Democrat is proposing the elimination of state income tax for everyone making less than $250,000 dollars a year, and a flat rate for those who make more than a quarter of a million.
He says if elected, the most pressing issue he'd tackle first is homelessness. He says it needs to be treated as a statewide emergency. Second on the list is creating more affordable housing. Paffrath says that means cutting through red tape which holds up housing construction
Other priorities include improving transportation, and modernizing schools.
Paffrath says he’s officially kicking off his campaign with events in San Francisco this weekend, and Los Angeles this week. How will he compete with higher profile, and better funded candidates like John Cox and Kevin Falconer? He says he'll do more efficient campaign spending.
And, he believes people won't want to elect a Republican because they would have a hard time getting anything done with a Democrat-controlled state assembly.
What about not having prior political experience like serving in a county, or state office? He says people are tired of politicians who had to make deals, and are in the pockets of lobbyists to get elected.
While there’s nothing unexpected about Republican wanting to challenge Newsom, a Democrat challenging a sitting Democrat is more unusual.
The date of the recall election hasn’t been set yet. It could be as soon as August, but, possibly could be in November. If Newsom is unseated, whoever get the post would have to move quickly to make an impression with the state’s voters, because they would have to run for a full four year term in 2022.
