Gavin Newsom sworn in as California governor, lays out hard line on Trump administration

Jan. 07--SACRAMENTO -- Gavin Newsom laid out a hard line against the Trump administration and vowed to push forward progressive policies as he was sworn in as California's 40th governor on Monday, marking a generational shift in state politics.

"People's lives, freedom, security, the water we drink, the air we breathe -- they all hang in the balance," declared Newsom, 51, the former lieutenant governor and mayor of San Francisco, who succeeds Jerry Brown, the Golden State's longest-serving governor.

In a 25-minute inaugural address punctuated by unscripted appearances by his 2-year-old son, Dutch, Newsom painted California as the alternative to the Trump administration on issues from environmental protection to immigrant rights to health care.

"The country is watching us," Newsom said. "The world is waiting on us. And the future depends on us. And we will seize the moment."

Newsom's ascendance marks California's first transition of power from one Democratic governor to another since 1887.

He comes into office in an enviable position. Brown has left him with a massive budget surplus. He has Democratic supermajorities in both houses of the legislature. And he can claim a strong mandate after his easy win over Republican businessman John Cox in November's election.

Still, the new governor faces the potential of an economic downturn in a state that has enjoyed an extended upswing. And he will have to balance fiscal prudence with fulfilling items on liberal wish lists that have been stifled during Brown's most recent eight years at the helm.

Under a massive tent on on the west lawn of the state Capitol building, Newsom took the oath of office in a ceremony that included energetic performances by a church group from Compton and a Mexican-American band from San Pablo. Newsom's wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, recited a poem in English and Spanish, but spent much of her husband's speech trying to corral Dutch.

Foreshadowing a conflict that could define his next four years, Newsom took several clear shots at Trump, vowing to "offer an alternative to the corruption and incompetence in the White House." He blasted policies that lead to kids being "ripped away from their parents at the border" or spend billions on "a wall that should never be built."

And he framed his governorship as an opportunity to help fight the yawning gaps of inequality in California society.

"You shouldn't have to find gold or make it in the movies or create a billion-dollar start-up to live the California Dream," Newsom said. "It is for everyone."

Newsom has outlined several far-reaching policy proposals in recent weeks that are expected to be included in his first budget, which is due to be delivered to the Legislature by Thursday.

He's said he will push for a $1.8 billion expansion of early childhood education, including expanded pre-kindergarten and more subsidized child care, as well as a second year of free community college for all Californians. His nascent administration is also working on a plan to expand paid leave for new parents from six weeks to six months, which would be the most generous policy in the country.

And he announced on Monday a plan to seek a waiver from the federal government to explore a single-payer health care system, pool California's resources to bring down prescription drug costs and expand Medi-Cal coverage to all undocumented immigrants younger than 26.

He also suggested a stronger focus on addressing California's sky-high cost of housing, saying his administration would "launch a Marshall Plan for affordable housing and lift up the fight against homelessness from a local matter to a state-wide mission."

But it isn't clear how Newsom would pay for some of those proposals -- especially as he said he'd aim to follow Brown's lead on fiscal discipline.

"We will be prudent stewards of taxpayer dollars, pay down debt, and meet our future obligations," he said. "And we will build and safeguard the largest fiscal reserve of any state in American history."

Maintaining that balancing act between new investments and restraint will be one of Newsom's biggest challenges over the next few months, predicted former Gov. Gray Davis, who attended the inauguration.

"He's bold and he wants to make big changes, but he wants to do it in a way that holds onto this surplus," Davis told reporters. "I don't think he wants to be the person to squander it."

The inauguration event, which was attended by Democratic stars like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, and Attorney General Xavier Becerra, showcased the party's dominance over California politics.

Newsom is expected to win support for much of his liberal agenda from newly expanded Democratic supermajorities in both houses of the state Legislature. But thanks in part to their numbers, lawmakers will likely hold more sway in their relationship with Newsom than they did with Brown.

Republican state leaders held back on criticism and instead sent Newsom their congratulations, pledging to work with Newsom "to protect essential state services, expand employment and job creating opportunities to all Californians, and ensure that our state is able to pay its financial obligations through a balanced budget," said Senate Minority Leader Patricia Bates.

Newsom represents a new generation of California leadership taking over from Brown, 80, who has cast a long shadow over state politics. The son of a judge -- William Newsom, who passed away last month -- Newsom grew up in Marin County and San Francisco. He saw both sides of California's economic divide, living much of the time with his mother, who waited tables, while also enjoying fancy vacations around the globe with the oil magnate Getty family, for whom his father worked.

He launched a wine business as a young man, and got his start in politics after being appointed to a city post by former Mayor Willie Brown. Soon after being elected mayor in 2004, he launched himself from obscurity to national stardom by allowing same-sex couples in the city to wed, in violation of state law, although their marriage licenses were ultimately disqualified by the courts.

Newsom gained a reputation for balancing the demands of progressives and the business community in San Francisco, and remained popular even as he suffered a scandal over admitting to an affair with a secretary in his office who was married to his former campaign manager. He briefly ran for governor ahead of the 2010 election, but bowed out to Brown and took the lieutenant governor's post as a consolation prize.

Eight years later, Newsom won a competitive primary for governor in June before coasting to victory in the general election.

Newsom and Siebel Newsom, a filmmaker and activist who will take the title "first partner," are moving from Kentfield in Marin County to the governor's mansion in Sacramento with their four young children, including Dutch, who wandered around the stage with a pacifier and blanket during the speech and resisted his parents' attempts to get him to sit down.

"You didn't have any little kids running around up there when Jerry was there," noted East Bay Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, arguing that Brown and Newsom had similar priorities but widely different governing styles.

Newsom's schedule of inauguration events has been noticeably flashier than the lineup that welcomed Brown back to office eight years ago. On Sunday, Newsom attended a packed family event at the California State Railroad Museum, a closed-door brunch with supporters, and a star-studded benefit concert featuring performers like Pitbull and Common that aides said raised $5 million for victims of this year's deadly wildfires.

He vowed Monday to be ambitious in pushing for his vision of a more equitable California.

"Let me be clear: We will be bold," Newsom said. "We will aim high, and we will work like hell to get there."

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