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#  Gavin Newsom’s Legacy: A High-Speed Rail to GOP Return to Sacramento

April 16 2026

Written by Ken Alpern.

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ALPERN AT LARGE - I think it’s a mistake to be too limited to one party or another, because either party left to its own devices will inevitably fall into the trap of corruption and/or complacence. In the case of California, THESE Democrats (including and especially Governor Gavin Newsom) have led California politics and its electorate towards:

1\. A surge of No Party Preference voters

2\. A surge of Democratic Socialist of America (DSA) voters

3\. A surge of California taxpayers—including the wealthier who contribute an inordinate amount of their taxes, which are much more hard-earned than many voters will acknowledge—leaving the state

4\. A surge of momentum towards a Republican candidate (most likely Steve Hilton) succeeding Gavin Newsom

Whether she wins or not, Gloria Romero is running for Lieutenant Governor as a Republican after years of being a major figure in the Democratic Party of California.

While many might dismiss Ms. Romero’s party change as opportunistic or disingenuous, her evolution matches many Latino/Latina voters who are bewildered about where the “liberal” Democrats have taken this state.

Ditto for black and Asian voters (particularly male black and Asian voters).

And the recent California polls ALL keep favoring Steve Hilton or Chad Bianco—both Republicans—at the top of the potential gubernatorial race.

Certainly the Democratic Party and the electorate will soon coalesce behind one candidate who has a “D” behind his/her name, but the question of how on earth Eric Swalwell got as high as he did begs the question of how low THIS Democratic Party in THIS state sunk to get us here.

Katie Porter? Tom Steyer? Maybe, but they’ve yet to get traction in this race, and the “top two” system still has a potential to have a Hilton/Bianco runoff after the upcoming elections.

The unions, the environmentalist bullyboys/girls, the social issues lobbyists demanding the majority favor the “20” position in the 80/20 issues we are forced to contend with, the contractors favoring so much urban infill it’s completely unsustainable…

…have brought us to ruin compared to a half-century ago, when red and purple and mild-blue regions of this state gave us opportunities aplenty for individuals and families to thrive in this beautiful and weather-blessed state.

The high-speed rail is just the tip of the iceberg of state malfeasance, inefficiency, lousy vision, and mismanagement—yours truly was a fan of high-speed rail (and still is, with respect to Metrolink, Caltrain, and the like), but was one of the many who recoiled in horror when we learned that the CAHSR initiative was a big fat lie.

High-speed rail was and is a lie.

A terrible, godawful-expensive LIE.

High-speed rail can NEVER blast through its urban portions at 200 mph, and at its highest speeds gobble up so much energy (like AI data centers) that the question of benefits vs. downside problems makes the more attractive Metrolink/Caltrain models more cost-effective AND environmentally-friendly.

Yet both Governor Newsom and the Sacramento Legislature are still doubling down on a CAHSR project which, if abandoned, can redirect tens of billions over the next decade towards:

1\. Rail lines in major urban regions that we want and will use—close to home, it’s the Wilshire and Sepulveda subways and other initiatives/projects that might likely EXPLODE in attractiveness once the LAX/Metro Rail link is completed.

2\. Funding of the upcoming and in-your-face 2028 Olympics.

3\. Long-overdue water infrastructure to collect and store vital water to create and expand our cities and industries (agricultural, technology, whatever).

4\. An energy grid that includes both a restoration of fossil fuels and nuclear energy for the 21st century that our nonpartisan, math-only engineers will acknowledge as a necessary cornerstone to abundant and cheap power if we are to survive and thrive in the future (and which are 20 years overdue).

5\. New cities and urban parks to favor an expansion of the habitable portion of the state into its empty open spaces.

Either way, the CAHSR is just emblematic of the “this dog won’t hunt anymore” series of policies and waste/fraud/abuse that Governor Newsom and THIS Democratic Party continue to pursue.

Along the same lines of thinking includes the question of why our gas and associated food/energy prices are so high—blame Trump and Iran or not, the voters and taxpayers of California know that state gas taxes will still explode our gas prices after the Iran conflict calms down.

That’s on Newsom and the California Legislature…who can blame the President and Chevon all they want but an eloquent speaker like Steve Hilton who will promote a temporary or long-term lowering or suspension of our state gas taxes to help the consumer survive might go very, very far to cash-strapped commuters.

Complain all we want about the fraud and wasted money that journalist Nick Shirley and Vice-President JD Vance are discovering, even if the larger media outlets keep minimizing the shock after shock after shock of these exposures, but the issue of this fraud and taxpayer fleecing will get only louder as November approaches.

Ditto with fire, forestry, and water mismanagement that led to the devastation of the Malibu and Altadena regions much more than these disasters were fated to do.

So to summarize, as this bizarre era of ours spins and lurches day to day, week to week, month to month, we see a post-COVID California Democratic Party trying to stay relevant even to an electorate that’s staying here, despite the chasing away of gobs of Republican and independent and moderate/conservative Democratic voters.

Because not all Californians are mega-partisan Democratic voters, and even those who hate the boorish and often-vile President Trump will ask Governor Newsom and the Sacramento Legislature the following question:

We know you declare you’re going to protect us from President Trump, but who is going to protect us against YOU?

*(**Kenneth S. Alpern, M.D,** is a dermatologist who has served in clinics in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties, and is a proud husband and father. He was active for 20 years on the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC) as a Board Member focused on Planning and Transportation, and helped lead the grassroots efforts of the Expo Line as well as connecting LAX to MetroRail. His latest project is his fictional online book entitled The Unforgotten Tales of Middle-Earth, and can be reached at <Ken.Alpern@MarVista.org>. The views expressed in this article are solely those of Dr. Alpern.)*

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