Name: The Man Rewriting California's Recall Law Used to Run in a Bear Suit.
Uploaded: 2026-09-18T02:00:38.000Z
Duration: 798
Description: osh Newman wrote the bill that would eliminate the replacement election in California recalls — and yes, that's the same Josh Newman who used to run for office...

osh Newman wrote the bill that would eliminate the replacement election in California recalls — and yes, that's the same Josh Newman who used to run for office in a full bear costume. It's a real photo, it's not AI, and it's exactly the kind of detail Will O'Neill wanted everyone watching to remember while explaining why Newman, of all people, is the one rewriting these rules: he's the most recent state legislator to actually get recalled, in 2018, in an effort largely organized out of Orange County.

Will steelmans the Democratic argument for Prop 5 before tearing it apart, walks through why any time the state legislature tries to change election rules through the ballot box you should be paying close attention, and gets into a structural wrinkle that doesn't get enough attention: under Prop 5, a recalled official can run again in the special election that eventually replaces them — which arguably defeats a big part of the point. Camille also comes clean about texting Phil that she initially liked the idea of Prop 5, before understanding what it actually does.

Plus: how Prop 5 compares to the 2003 Gray Davis recall that gave California Arnold Schwarzenegger, why nobody's raised any real money on this one, and the correct pronunciation of Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis's name (she's now running for state treasurer against Republican Jennifer Hawks in November).

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📌 Sources:

OC Register, Josh Newman bear suit photo: https://www.ocregister.com
Ballotpedia, Prop 5 / SCA 1: https://ballotpedia.org/California_Eliminate_State_Officer_Recall_Successor_Elections_Amendment_(2026)
CalMatters, 2026 California Treasurer race: https://calmatters.org/california-voter-guide-2026/treasurer/

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