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Reuters
SACRAMENTO
Democrat Gavin Newsom will be sworn in as California’s 40th governor on Monday, cementing the dominance of his party’s progressive wing and ushering in a leftward shift that could give the most populous US state an even greater role as a counterweight to the policies of Republican President Donald Trump.
Newsom, who led efforts to legalize same-sex marriage and was the political force behind the state’s decision to legalize marijuana, sweeps into office with a three-fourths Democratic majority in the state legislature, dominance that could make the state a bellwether as the national party jockeys to find a candidate to run against Trump in 2020.
“Californians will be looking to Governor Newsom to provide leadership in areas where there are differences in policy between California and Washington, areas like immigration, environment and health,” said Mark Baldassare, president of the Public Policy Institute of California, a nonpartisan polling and analysis think tank.
A former mayor of San Francisco, Newsom, 51, is expected to seek universal healthcare coverage, push the state to offer free preschool and community college, and continue California’s opposition to Trump’s nationalist stance on immigration.
In 2004, he ordered the city-county clerk of San Francisco to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples, sparking legal battles.
SACRAMENTO
Democrat Gavin Newsom will be sworn in as California’s 40th governor on Monday, cementing the dominance of his party’s progressive wing and ushering in a leftward shift that could give the most populous US state an even greater role as a counterweight to the policies of Republican President Donald Trump.
Newsom, who led efforts to legalize same-sex marriage and was the political force behind the state’s decision to legalize marijuana, sweeps into office with a three-fourths Democratic majority in the state legislature, dominance that could make the state a bellwether as the national party jockeys to find a candidate to run against Trump in 2020.
“Californians will be looking to Governor Newsom to provide leadership in areas where there are differences in policy between California and Washington, areas like immigration, environment and health,” said Mark Baldassare, president of the Public Policy Institute of California, a nonpartisan polling and analysis think tank.
A former mayor of San Francisco, Newsom, 51, is expected to seek universal healthcare coverage, push the state to offer free preschool and community college, and continue California’s opposition to Trump’s nationalist stance on immigration.
In 2004, he ordered the city-county clerk of San Francisco to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples, sparking legal battles.
