SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom apologized Monday for attending a birthday dinner party this month at the French Laundry in Napa County, an attempt to win back public trust for his coronavirus response strategy as California enters a dangerous new stage of the pandemic. Newsom said he was acknowledging his mistake so he could move forward with the work he was “sent here to do,” leading the state through what has rapidly become the worst surge of the virus yet. The governor admitted he should have left the dinner party when he saw there were more people in attendance than he has advised Californians to mix with during the pandemic.“I made a bad mistake. Instead of sitting down, I should have stood up and walked back out to my car,” Newsom said at a news conference in Sacramento County. “You can quibble about the guidelines, but the spirit of what I’m preaching all the time was contradicted. I’ve got to own that. So I want to apologize to you.”The mea culpa came as Newsom navigates a sensitive moment for the state: The average number of daily coronavirus cases has doubled in the past 10 days, “the fastest increase California has seen since the beginning of the pandemic,” the governor said as he imposed new restrictions on more than two dozen counties. Thanksgiving is also less than two weeks away, and public health experts are urging people to skip gatherings with family members and friends from outside their households to avoid spreading the virus. Newsom has amplified that call, asking the public to rethink plans because private gatherings are a primary factor in the state’s increasing case rate. After getting caught flouting his own rules, Newsom runs the risk that people will become defiant or tune him out, said Rob Stutzman, who served as communications director for former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.“The optics of this are just devastating to his credibility,” Stutzman said. Newsom recognized that Monday, insisting that he has done his best “to preach and practice, not just preach and not practice.” He said he had dined out only twice before during the pandemic, each time outdoors with just his wife.“You should expect nothing less from me, and I expect more from myself. And you have that commitment and my resolve in that respect as well,” he said. “COVID fatigue is exhausting and I’m empathetic beyond words. I’m not here to browbeat anybody. I’m here to find our higher angels.”The Chronicle reported last week that Newsom attended a birthday party in early November at the French Laundry in Yountville for his longtime friend and political adviser Jason Kinney, who is also a registered lobbyist, with a dozen people from more than three different households. Newsom’s administration issued guidelines last month limiting private gatherings to three or fewer households.
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