Tony Grist
California’s Governor Gavin Newsom joined members of the state’s Transportation Department Thursday to clean out several Los Angeles homeless encampments.
“I’m here on behalf of forty million Californians that are fed up,” Newsom told reporters. “I want to see results. I don’t want to read about them. I don’t want to see the data. I want to see it.”
Newsom’s show of force comes only weeks after he issued an executive order calling for state officials to begin removing homeless encampments. A June Supreme Court ruling allowed bans on sleeping in public places.
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Donning a ball cap and aviators, Newsom worked along a Los Angeles freeway to remove trash and leftover debris from an encampment in the area. Turning toward reporters, he threatened to withhold funding from counties that refuse to enforce the order.
“The state’s unprecedented billions and billions of dollars in support—I’m not interested in providing that support and not seeing the results,” warned Newsom. “I’m a taxpayer, not just a governor. It’s not complicated, we’ll send that money to counties that are producing results.”
California taxpayers have spent billions to address the homelessness crisis with little to show for it. Despite the big spend, more than 200,000 people experienced homelessness in the state in 2023.
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