Member-only story
POLITICS
Newsom’s Appointment of Laphonza Butler Is Brilliant
Yes, I’m fangirling over Gavin Newsom again
In case you are still wondering why I fangirl so hard for California Gov. Gavin Newsom, his appointment of Laphonza Butler to replace the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein is a great illustration of why he makes my heart go all pitter patter.
First, a little history. But not too much. I’m eager to get back to talking about my crush.
Back in 2020, when Kamala Harris was elected as Joe Biden’s vice president, my boy Gav appointed Alex Padilla to take her place in the Senate. This made sense because Hispanics make up 40% of California’s population.
But the Black community was not happy. Harris had been the only Black woman in the Senate and the Black community felt that Gav should have appointed another Black woman to replace her. He promised to do just that in the event that he had to make another Senate appointment.
All was well until Sen. Feinstein’s untimely death last week. There were already three people running for her seat in the 2024 election, including a Black woman, Rep. Barbara Lee. If he appointed her for the remaining term, that might give her an unfair leg up in the race for a full term.
