Walters: Homelessness crisis remains one of Newsom's biggest political liabilities

"First, a bit of history. Just months after being elected mayor of San Francisco in 2004, Newsom unveiled a plan he said would clear city streets of homeless people in 10 years. Fourteen years later, while running for governor, Newsom declared that homelessness in San Francisco had never been worse. He said eradicating homelessness would be a high priority and promised to appoint a homeless czar who could cut through red tape and intergovernmental friction to get the job done."

"Later, when pressed by reporters over the czar pledge, he snapped, You want to know who's the homeless czar? I'm the homeless czar in the state of California. Despite that self-appointment and devoting almost all of his 2020 State of the State address to homelessness, the number of unhoused Californians continued to rise to record levels. As it did, Newsom began blaming local governments for not spending state homelessness grants effectively and threatened to withhold annual funding."

"However, in 2024 State Auditor Grant Parks excoriated Newsom's own California Interagency Council on Homelessness for failing to effectively monitor and coordinate homelessness programs even though the state had spent more than $20 billion during Newsom's governorship. He later reorganized the council and last year it issued a glossy Action Plan for Preventing and Ending Homelessness. Newsom hailed it as not just a report of our investments, but a directive for continued accountability and action towards specific quantifiable goals."

Newsom launched a 2004 plan to clear San Francisco streets of homeless people within ten years but homelessness worsened. He later promised eradication, appointed himself as a homeless czar, and emphasized the issue in major addresses while unhoused numbers rose. Newsom blamed local governments for misusing state grants and threatened to withhold funding. A 2024 State Auditor report criticized the California Interagency Council on Homelessness for poor monitoring despite more than $20 billion spent during his governorship. The council was reorganized and produced an Action Plan that set quantifiable goals but lacked implementation details and funding solutions.

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