Is it any wonder why the Lite Guv and cable show host likes to stay away from Sacramento? John Upton recounts at SF Weekly how Newsom showed up Monday for a meeting of the State Lands Commission (on which he sits, constitutionally) at a hotel there only to duck out ahead of a controversial environmental vote. And for what? Face-time with an LA Area Chamber of Commerce group meeting at the same hotel.
The Lands Commission item involved PG&E’s seeking permission to trawl sonic guns over protected wildlife areas in the Pacific Ocean near its Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.
From the Upton post:
After arriving late to the Sacramento hearing, sipping tea from a Starbucks cup, Newsom faced two options, both of which were unsavory, especially for a sensitive politician who has his sights set on a higher office.
- He could outrage environmentalists and fishermen by voting to approve the study.
- Or, he could appear complacent about the dangers of earthquakes and nuclear power in the wake of the Fukushima meltdown.
So how did your green-branded, PG&E-funded Lieutenant Governor step up to this long-awaited occasion of great monument?
He fled.
Image: Then-mayor Gavin Newsom, campaigning before the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce in 2009/ Los Angeles Downtown News
