Gov. Gavin Newsom promised two years ago to appoint a black woman to replace Senator Dianne Feinstein if she resigned. If he appointed only a temporary caretaker, would it fulfill his promise?

I wouldn’t think so. It would not be in keeping with the spirit of his promise.

The governor seemed to swear that given the chance, he would fill a glaring void in the Senate and ensure that at least one black woman was a member of America’s most prestigious and powerful legislative body.

She would be a full-fledged senator, not a temp.

She would follow in the footsteps of California’s first black senator, Kamala Harris, who left to become vice president. Newsom upset many black women by not replacing Harris with another black woman. Instead, he appointed his old political ally, then Secretary of State Alex Padilla, as California’s first Latino senator.

Newsom should never have made the promise. He should have allowed himself some flexibility. But now he’s stuck with the promise.

And whoever the governor chose, he would risk making more enemies than friends.

That’s why no one probably wants Feinstein to get better and return to Washington to serve out her term.

Asked Tuesday if he still plans to fill a hypothetical Feinstein vacancy with a black woman, the governor replied: I hope I never have to make that decision.

I wish her only the best, he said. She is a friend and a mentor going back decades. I look forward to her returning to work.

Of course, all the janitor’s talk is just speculation. But it is rampant in political circles and in the news media.

Feinstein, 89, has not hinted at resigning despite pressure from some left-wing Democrats

including a Democratic colleague from the Bay Area

for the centrist senator to hang it.

It is clear that she can no longer fulfill her duties, Rep. tweeted. Fremont’s Ro Khanna recently, calling for Feinstein to resign.

Khanna is Oakland Rep.’s campaign co-chair. Barbara Lee to replace Feinstein, who announced in February that she will not run for a sixth term next year. However, Lee himself has shown 100% respect for California’s longest serving senator.

Speculation about whether Feinstein would serve out her term began more than two years ago with several reports of declining cognitive acuity, including memory loss. But the senator voted until two months ago when she was hospitalized with painful shingles.

She has not voted since she jeopardized President Biden’s agenda in a Senate where Democrats only have a two-vote majority. The nominations for presidential judges are hung up in the Senate Judiciary Committee because her absence causes a partisan deadlock.

So it is crucial for the Democrats that Feinstein returns to Washington and votes. She can’t do that by working from home in San Francisco. And there’s no telling when the doctors will allow her to travel.

Meanwhile, a fierce race is developing to succeed Feinstein when her term expires after next year. And it could affect who Newsom would choose to serve out the rest of Feinstein’s term, if she resigned before her term was up.

Lee, 76, is a black woman with 25 years of experience in Congress. She would be a natural choice for Newsom, albeit a little more liberal than him. She would be trained and ready.

But Newsom could see that as unfair to the two leading front-runners

Representative Adam Schiff, 62, of Burbank and Katie Porter, 49, of Irvine

because it would be an invaluable campaign boost for Lee.

So he might choose to appoint a caretaker who would promise to serve only temporarily and not run for a full term next year.

a

N

historical note: California has had one acting senator

Democrat Thomas Storke of Santa Barbara, who served for only two months in 1938 and never voted because Congress was not in session.

I called a few black women in politics and asked if they would accept Newsom’s appointment as a janitor as a kept promise if it were a black woman.

He would still keep his promise, but I would be disappointed, Councilman Lori said

D

Wilson

(D-Fairfield (D-Suisun City),

chair of the Legislative Black Caucus, which Lee has endorsed.

I hope that in a free democratic society we don’t put restrictions on people when we appoint them: you can’t run for elections. You can’t stay any longer. Qualified people must be able to run and be free to compete.

Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D-Los Angeles)

the only black woman in the senate

said that the janitor scenario does not meet the criteria of [California] be an example for the rest of the country.

But Councilwoman Tina McKinnor (D-

Los Angeles Hawthorne

) said an appointment as a janitor would be fair. Then let the voters decide on the next full senator.

However, Aimee Allison, founder and president of She the People, an advocacy group pushing for more women of color in electoral office, is adamantly opposed to the janitor idea.

I believe there’s too much at stake to prioritize political neutrality over the best person willing to step in and do the job right now, and that’s Barbara Lee, Allison said.

I thought [Newsoms] pledge was a game changer and a real commitment to have a black woman in the senate. And a placeholder doesn’t quite do that.

If Newsom has national political ambitions, Allison continued, he should be seen as someone who can be trusted by an incredibly energetic voting bloc.

.

.

Don’t help. Lean into it.

I suspect many black women would be offended if Newsom tapped one as just a temporary senator

like she was a second class citizen.

Newsom made the promise. He should honor it by choosing a full-timer. Probably Lee.

But hopefully hell be spared by a recovered one Feinstein will return to the office soon.