Multiple companies co-owned by Gov. Gavin Newsom received millions in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding, according to an ABC News report.
Small Business Administration data revealed that the PlumpJack Group received some $3 million worth of PPP loans.
“It just looks bad whether it's legal or illegal and even when the governor gets out of office, it's going to increase his net worth because he still has a stake in those companies,” Recall Gavin 2020 Co-Founder Mike Netter said. “So, you can't really say that the governor doesn't benefit from his company getting $3 million in loans.”
Wineries, bars, and restaurants are among the businesses owned by the PlumpJack Group.
“Our governor is arrogant and he's out of touch with the people,” Netter told the Southern California Record.
Netter is co-founder of RecallGavin2020, a grassroots movement that seeks to unseat Gov. Newsom.
“This is the greatest grassroots movement in the history of America, and The People will be heard in 2021,” Netter said. “We are taking back our state.”
As previously reported in the Southern California Record, a recall allows for an elected official to be removed from office before their term limit is up by a public vote but first a certain number of signatures must be collected and verified with the Secretary of State much like a ballot initiative.
“Newson is very aware of this and his staff is very worried about it because they know momentum is growing rapidly,” Netter said.
Last week, the recall reached a significant marker when it attained 800,000 of the 1.5 million signatures, which are required to permit a special election to recall Newsom. Netter added that the signatures were gathered exclusively with volunteers.
“Our recall effort is now officially recognized by the Secretary of State,” Netter added. “We've hit the verification stage. Most recall campaigns don’t get this far and that’s why you don't hear about them because they never hit verification.”
The Office of the Secretary of State Alex Padilla reportedly sent an email to Netter and co-founder Orrin Heatlie stating that the recall effort had reached the verification stage.
“I thought you would like to know that the 10% threshold has been met by you and your team, so counties are now required to verify the signatures,” Robbie Anderson with the Secretary of State’s office in Sacramento wrote in the email.