Northeast Fresno rally targets Newsom for recall, boosts Trump
A small but boisterous group of Republican activists waved flags and signs in northeast Fresno on Saturday, supporting President Donald Trump and rallying to gather signatures for a recall of California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom.
The group, members of the Fresno County branch of the California Republican Assembly, gathered on the sidewalk on the northeast corner of Cedar and Shepherd avenues as passing motorists honked their support. In addition to collecting petition signatures, the organization was doing a brisk business selling Trump 2020 T-shirts, flags and other paraphernalia.
The rally began about 9:30 a.m. and continued into the afternoon.
One woman identified as the organization’s communications director declined to provide her name to The Bee. But another member, Paul Beckley, took time out from ringing up sales merchandise to provide his perspective on the event.
“We’re out here mainly for the recall of Gavin Newsom, and then it’s just a patriotic, flag-waving event to energize the silent majority,” Beckley said. “The main thing is, we need to get back to freedom in California, away from the overregulation and the overburdening of citizens of the state.”
Beckley, who wore a giant red foam “Make America Great Again” cowboy hat, likened Newsom’s governing style to the killing of George Floyd, the Black man who was pinned by a white police officer’s knee on his neck until he died in Minneapolis. Floyd’s death in May sparked waves of outrage and a nationwide anti-racism movement.
“It’s almost like (Newsom)‘s got his knee on our necks,” Beckley said. “We need to remove his knee from our necks and get back to freedom and an open way of living.”
“I don’t want to say he’s a dictator, but it’s a level where he gets a little power and he won’t relinquish it. That’s my feeling, anyway,” he said.
While many conservatives chafe at Newsom’s statewide mandates related to preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus, Beckley said that’s only one aspect of his concern.
“We have never really been pro-mask or anti-mask,” said Beckley, who like many of the others attending was not wearing a face covering. “We just want everyone to have the freedom to choose. If they want to wear a mask, more power to them. If they choose not to, more power to them.”
“In a free society you can make up your own mind based on your personal experience. We don’t need someone telling us what to do,” he added. “I understand keeping the elderly and the compromised as protected as possible, but also, the rest of us need to be free to live our lives. We take the chance. I fault no one.”
Recall organizers were authorized by the California secretary of state to begin circulating petitions and collecting signatures on June 10. Backers must gather almost 1.5 million signatures of registered voters by Nov. 17, 2020, to qualify the recall for an election.
As of July 3, recall organizers reported to the secretary of state that they had collected 36,394 signatures statewide, including 888 in Fresno County.
This story was originally published July 18, 2020 at 3:58 PM.
