CA Recall: Doug Ose Aims To Fix Sacramento Without The 'Gimmicks'

SACRAMENTO, CA — Doug Ose has been growing acres of rice since 1985 with his sisters in Sacramento — where he was born and raised and where he said the gubernatorial helm is "broken."

This week, Ose, 66, officially became one of 41 California candidates vying for Gov. Gavin Newsom's seat this summer heading into the September recall election.

The multimillionaire served as a Republican congressman representing a slice of Sacramento from 1999 to 2005, which made him one of three recall candidates with any kind of political background.

But what really elevates him as a contender for governor are his decades of experience as a business owner in California's agricultural industry, Ose said in an interview with Patch.

"My sisters and I grow 1,000 acres of rice," he said. "So I understand water. I understand ag markets, and I understand the value of the dollar and currency exchange and who's using the rice that comes off my fields. ... If I'm going to be involved, I'm going to know it soup to nuts — that's what I do.

"I've always been a hands-on business owner," he added. "In other words, I'm involved from beginning to end. The buck stops at my desk. I'm the person responsible for the good stuff, and I'm the one responsible for fixing the bad stuff. That's been my approach in business from day one."

Ose plans to extend efforts across party lines to mend fissures he sees in state government, as well as pandemic-weathered businesses, homelessness, water storage, climbing gas taxes, increasing crime rates and the economy, he said. But most of all, he is concerned about public education in the Golden State, he added.

"Unfortunately, we're veering off into a curriculum that's more focused on Che Guevara and gender studies," Ose said. "It's OK to learn that later on in life. But these kids need the tools of math and reading of history and civics."

This particular jab at California's K-12 curriculum likely stems from the state's integration of curriculum materials that are inclusive of LGBTQ+ children over the last several years.

In 2016, Califonia adopted the Health Youth Act, which requires school districts to provide "unbiased" sexual health and HIV prevention education. In grades 7-12, all such curriculum must offer teachings about gender expression, identity and must be inclusive of same-sex relationships, according to the state's Department of Education.

In March, the state also approved guidance for schools to develop their own ethnic studies curricula, though its use was not mandated.

Schools in the Golden State are set to reopen this fall, but Ose argued that K-12 schools were shut down far too long while pandemic restrictions remained in place for nearly a year and a half as the coronavirus circulated.

"We have to figure out how to get and keep the schools open," he said. "We can't revert to this schedule that's been imposed on us for the past year. It's just isn't working. We have to let businesses open."

When asked to name which Golden State governor he liked the least, he immediately crowned Newsom as the worst to ever hold the post.

"I think he is an elitist by nature, and that leads him into all sorts of policy failures and social failures in terms of dealing with people," Ose said, in a nod to Newsom's French Laundry fiasco. "I think that's his biggest problem. He does not respect the intellect or the contributions of others."

Newsom has pushed back against the effort to oust him from office, painting the campaign as one backed by extremists and supporters of former President Donald Trump.

"I won't be distracted by this partisan, Republican recall — but I will fight it," Newsom said in mid-March. "There is too much at stake."

Ose said he is especially perturbed by Newsom's use of a California law that gave him sweeping authority during the pandemic — the California Emergency Services Act, enacted in 1970.

"Right now, the governor holds all the cards, and the Legislature is just along for the ride," he said. "That's not that's not the way it's supposed to be."

In terms of which leaders he liked the most, he hardly drew a breath before sounding off the names of several Republican governors and one Democratic governor of California's past in chronological order.

"Different governors had different strengths," he said.

He praised Pat Brown, a Democrat who served from 1959 to 1967, for his work in building up California's infrastructure. Ronald Reagan, the Republican governor from 1967 to 1975, got Californians "to focus on what was important," he said. George Deukmejian, a Republican who served from 1983 to 1991, "did a great job making it clear that law and order and public safety had to be a priority."

He commended Pete Wilson — the GOP governor from 1991 to 1999 — for his handling of multiple disasters, such as the Northridge earthquake in 1994. After the devastating temblor, Wilson camped out in Los Angeles to oversee rescue and recovery efforts, according to Stanford Unversity's Hoover Institution.

"It just depends on the set of circumstances," he said. "Every governor has strengths and weaknesses. We find ourselves now and under the direction of a governor who has too many weaknesses, and he needs to be recalled."

Of the 41 candidates officiated by the secretary of state's office this week, there are a handful of prominent Republican hopefuls — businessman John Cox, former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, Republican Assemblyman Kevin Kiley and reality television star Caitlyn Jenner.

Ose admitted he studies his opponents, but he said won't waste time in criticizing them.

"My biggest competitor is time. I mean, my days are just jammed," he said. "I don't talk about the others. I think this is a referendum from beginning to end on Gavin Newsom's performance and what the alternative approach would be with me in the governor's office."

Ose recently called upon his fellow competitors to join him in a series of regional debates on the campaign trail, challenging them to "resist the urge to hide behind slick ads and gimmicky stunts."

"California voters deserve better than bob and weave," he said in a June 29 release. "We need an honest exchange of ideas. We have an obligation as candidates to connect with voters in every corner of the state."

Ose declined the opportunity to lambaste his opponents in a Patch interview. But his "gimmicks" remark is likely a nod to candidates such as Cox, who recently branded himself "the beast" and appeared alongside a live Kodiak bear named Tag on the campaign trail.

Jenner, on the other hand, called herself the "compassionate disrupter." She may need to livestream any appearance at a proposed debate, as she reportedly flew to Austrialia this week, where she plans to stay for an extended amount of time to film a reality TV show, despite the nearing September election date.

Ose was quick to affirm that this election is not his first political rodeo and said he is determined to reshape the state and what he sees as the flaws of state government.

"If I get elected, something's going to happen. ... If it's water we need, we're going to build storage facilities. If we need to clear the forest, then we're going to change the rules that will allow that. If we need extra power for our grid system, we're going to figure out how to do that at an economical price. If our problem is the cost of housing, we're going to figure out how to increase lumber supplies and concrete supplies," he said.

"We're not going to kick the can down the road. ... We're going to get stuff done."

California's recall election to replace Newsom will take place Sept. 14.

What's A Recall?

California has had recall elections as part of its political system since 1911. The process allows the public to attempt to remove an elected public official from office before the end of his term. Before a recall election can be initiated, a certain number of voters must sign a recall petition within a specified amount of time.

The state has had 54 previous attempts to recall California governors. Only one governor has been recalled in California's history: Gray Davis in 2003.

READ MORE:

• Newsom Recall Election Date Set
• CA Recall: Who's Officially Running To Unseat Newsom?
• Newsom Recall Election Officially Happening: What To Know
• A Serious Man: Can Kevin Faulconer Run For Governor Without The Gimmicks?
• CA Democrats Propose $215M To Expedite Newsom Recall Election
• Follow The Money: Gavin Newsom Recall Edition
• Total Recall: An Illustrated Guide To The Newsom Recall
• 36% Support Newsom Recall: UC Berkeley Poll