As a growing number of candidates seek to add their name to the 2021 governor recall ballot, state law also requires them to disclose their income tax returns.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the tax return initiative into law in 2019, proclaiming that gubernatorial and presidential candidates wouldn’t appear on a ballot unless they submit their files.
“I think [the law] was done as something that was actually intended for the presidential race last year,” Assemblyman Kevin Kiley told The Epoch Times. “But in order for the state to not look too hypocritical, it was also applied to candidates for governor here.
“Ironically, the part applying to the president was struck down by the courts,” Kiley said. “It’s just this part that applies to the governor that remains in law.”
Kiley recently announced his run in the special election on July 6, stating on Twitter, “The Newsom Recall is the greatest citizens movement in California history.”
While some might hesitate to release personal information, Kiley said he has no problem submitting his personal records.
As outlined in Senate Bill 27, tax returns must be submitted to the Secretary of State at least 98 days before the election.
The stated purpose of the bill was to “provide voters with essential information regarding the candidate’s potential conflicts of interest, business dealings, financial status, and charitable donations.”
Kiley said the main goal of the recall election—set for Sept. 14—is to combat the state’s special interest agenda.
“The foremost issue is just ending the corruption in California, where you have a state capital that is totally run by special interest groups and lobbyists who install politicians like Gavin Newson who don’t serve the public interest at all,” he said. “The recall is really a movement on the part of the people of California to reclaim their government.
“It’s all rooted in just the fundamental failures of our state government to actually govern in the public interest. So I think that if we change the paradigm, we have a government that actually serves the people, and we will see big improvements across all of those policy areas.”
According to California’s Secretary of State, candidates in the special election must be U.S. citizens who are registered to vote in the state with no history of felonies.
Potential candidates must also gather at least 65 signatures and pay a filing fee of $4,194.94.
