Newsom recalls Target worker blaming him for retail theft: ‘Where’s your manager?’
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Wednesday recounted the moment a Target worker unknowingly blamed him for retail theft after he tried to talk to them about a customer walking out of the store.
Newsom, during a press conference Wednesday about a mental health proposition, revealed he was recently at a Target store about to check out when he saw a man walk out of the store without paying.
As he checked out, a Target worker informed the governor the man was “just walking out” and did not pay for his items, according to Newsom.
“I said, ‘Well why didn’t you stop him?’ She goes, ‘Oh the governor,'” Newsom recounted. “Swear to god, true story…”
“The governor lowered the threshold, there’s no accountability,” the worker said, per Newsom.
“That’s just not true. I said, ‘We have the 10th toughest — $950 — it’s the 10th toughest in America.’ She doesn’t even know what I’m talking about,” Newsom responded, in reference to California’s $950 threshold for grand theft established by Proposition 47.
The law made nonviolent property crimes misdemeanors in the case the value does not exceed $950.
Newsom said the worker then told him, “We don’t stop them because of the governor,” before looking twice at him and realizing who he is.
“She calls everyone over, wants to take a photo,” he recalled. “I’m like, ‘I’m not taking a photo. We’re going to have a conversation … where’s your manager? How are you blaming the governor?'”
“Why am I spending $380 and everyone can walk the hell right out?” Newsom said Wednesday.
The governor’s office confirmed his remarks to The Hill.
California has grappled with retail and property crimes in recent months, with Los Angeles, Oakland and San Fransisco ranking as the worst U.S. cities for retail theft, according to an October report by the National Retail Federation.
Newsom announced last month a new plan to crack down on such incidents, including proposals to increase enforcement tools, aggregate theft amounts, and increase penalties for large-scale stolen goods resellers.
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