| Governor of California | |
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| Executive branch of the government of California | |
| Type | Chief executive |
| Status | Head of state Head of government |
| Member of | Cabinet Regents of the University of California |
| Residence | Governor's Mansion |
| Seat | California State Capitol (principal workplace) Stanford Mansion (workplace and reception center) |
| Nominator | Political parties |
| Appointer | Popular vote |
| Term length | 4 years, renewable once |
| Constituting instrument | Constitution of California |
| Precursor | |
| Inaugural holder | Peter Hardeman Burnett |
| Formation | December 20, 1849 |
| Succession | Line of succession |
| Deputy | Lieutenant Governor of California |
| Salary | US$224,020 (2022)[1] |
| Website | Official website |
Thegovernor of California is thehead of government of theU.S. state ofCalifornia. Thegovernor is thecommander-in-chief of theCalifornia National Guard and theCalifornia State Guard.
Established in theConstitution of California, the governor's responsibilities also include submitting the budget, ensuring that state laws are enforced, and making the annualState of the State address to theCalifornia State Legislature. The position was created in 1849, the year before California became a state.
The governor is now limited to two terms, regardless of whether they are consecutive. The current governor of California isDemocratGavin Newsom, who was inaugurated on January 7, 2019.Jerry Brown was the longest serving governor in California history, serving from 1975 until 1983, and again from 2011 until 2019.
According to Article 5 of the State Constitution it lists out the Powers & Responsibilities of Office of Governor of California
A candidate for governor must be aU.S. citizen and a registered voter within the state, must not have been convicted of a felony involving bribery, embezzlement, or extortion, and must not have served two terms since November 6, 1990.[2]
Governors are elected bypopularballot and serve terms of four years, with a limit of two terms, if served after November 6, 1990.[3] Governors take the following oath:
I (Governor) do solemnly swear that I will support and defend theConstitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California against all enemies foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California, that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter.
Governors take office on the first Monday after January 1 after their election.
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Two methods exist to remove a governor.
The governorcan be impeached for "misconduct in office" by a majority vote of theState Assembly and removed by a two-thirds supermajority vote of theState Senate.
Petitions signed by California state voters equal to 12% of the last vote for the office of governor (with signatures from each of five counties equal to 1% of the last vote for governor in the county) can launch a gubernatorialrecall election. The voters can then vote on whether or not to recall the incumbent governor, and on the same ballot can vote for a potential replacement. If a majority of the voters in the election vote to recall the governor, then the person who gains a plurality of the votes in the replacement race will become governor.
Only two governor recall attempts have ever gained enough signatures to make the ballot in California. The2003 recall election began with a petition drive that forced Democratic governorGray Davis into a recall election, which he lost. He was replaced by RepublicanArnold Schwarzenegger. It was the first time that a California governor was voted out of office by Recall.[4]
In addition to the successful 2003 recall, current governorGavin Newsom faced arecall election in 2021, which he defeated.[5]
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Thelieutenant governor of California is separately elected during the same election, not jointly as therunning mate of the gubernatorial candidate. As such, California had governors and lieutenant governors of different parties for nearly 27 of the 33 years between 1978 and 2011, whereas previously, this had only occurred in 1875, 1887, 1895 and 1916–1917 due to the resignation or death of an incumbent governor or lieutenant governor.
This occasionally becomes significant, since the California Constitution provides that all the powers of the governor fall to the lieutenant governor whenever the governor is not in the state of California, with the lieutenant governor sometimes signing or vetoing legislation or making political appointments whenever the governor leaves the state.
In practice, there is agentlemen's agreement for the lieutenant governor not to perform more than perfunctory duties while the governor is away from the state: thisagreement was violated whenMike Curb was in office, as he signed several executive orders at odds with theBrown administration when Brown was out of the state. Court rulings have upheld the lieutenant governor's right to perform the duties and assume all of the prerogatives of governor while the governor is out of the state.[6]
The lieutenant governor is also the president of the California State Senate.
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The official residence of the California governor is theCalifornia Governor's Mansion, in Sacramento. The mansion has served as the residence of 14 governors, while others have declined to reside in the mansion, preferring to arrange for private residential arrangements. It is also one of the official workplaces for the governor.
The governor's primary official workplace is located within theCalifornia State Capitol in Sacramento.
TheStanford Mansion, in Sacramento, serves as one of the official workplaces for the governor, as well as the official reception center for theCalifornia government.
| Timeline of California governors |
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| Under Spain (1769–1822) |  | |
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| Under Mexico (1822–1846) | ||
| Under U.S. military (1846–1850) | ||
| U.S. state (since 1850) | ||
 California statewide elected officials | |
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