Governor Newsom is about to flex his campaign muscles and use some of his considerable political capital to help defeat a controversial California ballot measure.
KCBS Radio has learned that Governor Newsom will star in TV commercials urging Californians to vote NO on Proposition 30.
KCBS Radio has learned that this will be the only ballot measure for which the governor will appear in campaign spots, for or against. He has come out strongly against Proposition 30, which voters favor heavily in early polling, but that may change once they see and hear this ad.
Governor Newsom making a direct appeal to reject the initiative. Prop 30 would raise income taxes on anyone making over two million dollars a year, with the money going to subsidize more electric vehicles and infrastructure, such as charging stations, and wildfire prevention and response. But in this ad, the governor calls it a Trojan horse, funded almost entirely by Lyft, for its own benefit.
For more on this, KCBS Radio's Patti Reising, Bret Burkhart and Doug Sovern are joined by Matt Rodriguez, a veteran Democratic campaign strategist who’s helping to lead the campaign against Proposition 30.