Recall Gavin 2020 organizers have filed an intervenor application asking to join the lawsuit Gov. Gavin Newsom filed against the state’s chief election officer over the absence of his Democratic party affiliation on the Sept. 14 recall ballot.
When Gov. Newsom’s legal representative missed the deadline to include his political party affiliation on the recall ballot, newly appointed Secretary of State Shirley Weber declined to correct the oversight without a court order, according to media reports. Weber, a Democrat, was appointed Secretary of State by Gov. Newsom after Alex Padillia was appointed State Senator.
“It indicates to me that Shirley Weber is following the law and somebody probably advised her that if you do this, you could put yourself in a lot of hot water,” said Eric Early, an attorney and founder of Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae law firm in Los Angeles. “So, she's following the law, which is good, but at the same time I don't expect her lawyers to do everything to prevent Gov. Newsom from getting what he wants.”
As previously reported, Early is campaigning for Attorney General in the 2022 election while also representing Recall Gavin 2020 organizers in their attempt to unseat Gov. Newsom in September.
Recall Gavin 2020 organizers include Orrin E. Heatlie, Mike Netter, and the California Patriot Coalition.
“We moved and are asking the court to let us in the case because we have an interest in seeing Gov. Newsom recalled and in him following the law and so we need somebody else in this case to fight Newsom’s lawsuit,” said Early who filed the intervenor application on July 5. “Soon after we did that, Caitlyn Jenner did the same thing. She filed a motion to intervene as well.”
Jenner, formerly married to Kris Kardashian, is among several Republican challengers, including Assemblyman Kevin Kiley (R-Roseville), who are vying for Gov. Newsom’s perch, which could be up for grabs now that enough signatures were verified by the Secretary of State's office to warrant an election that could recall and replace Gov. Newsom.
“Gavin Newsom blew the deadline and now he's seeking to send his party affiliation to the Secretary of State but he's 16 months late,” Early told the Southern California Record. “The law he signed says he's 16 months late. So, he filed a lawsuit to ask the court to allow him to get around his own law and we're saying ‘Sorry, you, like every other citizen in the state of California have to follow the law and perhaps even more so than any other citizen because you're the one who signed the law.’”
A remote hearing with Judge James P. Arguelles presiding is set for Friday, July 9 in Sacramento Superior Court. Judge Arguelles was appointed by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican.
“Judge Arguelles is a very good judge," Early said in an interview. "He is the judge that granted the Recall Gavin 2020 organizers the extra time to collect signatures because of the pandemic."