SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday said a meeting with local leaders on efforts to reduce homelessness exceeded his expectations. Yet the status of the $1 billion in state funding he halted two weeks ago remained unclear.
“It was nice to hear their progress,” Newsom told reporters. “And it was nice to hear their recognition that we have to get to another level.”
Newsom called for the meeting Nov. 3, the same day he said the state would not pay out grant money that cities and counties asked for to reduce homelessness. Those communities weren’t ambitious enough in their plans to get unsheltered people off the streets, he said.
On Friday, the governor was optimistic that would change.
Some localities had already agreed to submit more aggressive plans later this month. That, he said, would “pave the way” for them to receive the money held up by the state.
“I have all the expectations the others will follow suit very, very shortly,” Newsom said.
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg attended the meeting and promised a more aggressive approach.
Originally, the city and Sacramento County told the state in their proposal that the homeless population would increase by 71% from 2020 to 2024.
Steinberg, on Friday, called the number inaccurate. Instead, he said the governments would reduce the total number of unhoused people by at least 15% over the next two years.
“He wants to see more aggressive numbers and we’re going to provide that,” Steinberg said of Newsom’s mandate. “Of course we are.”
As for the governor’s decision to halt the funding, Steinberg called it provocative. But he said it sparked a needed conversation and he was confident the Sacramento area would receive money soon.
“Sometimes you have to provoke,” Steinberg said.
Newsom said he agreed with many Californians who are frustrated that so many people still live on streets despite record spending.
“What I want to see is what everybody wants to see,” he said. “The streets of California cleaned up. We want to see encampments cleaned up. We want to see people housed. We want to turn the conditions that we’re experiencing around.”
He praised Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer as a “perfect example of a working partner” in that effort.
Dyer called the meeting “a really good start to a much broader conversation.” Adding, “it’s unfortunate that we don’t do these more often.”
Newsom got the message.
He flashed a list of recommendations and changes he took away from attendees before staff whisked him away from reporters.
