Gavin Newsom’s blame-shifting on Chevron

Gavin Newsom’s call to boycott Chevron over Memorial Day is eye-rolling Sacramento political theater: classic misdirection from a governor hell-bent on making oil consumption as painful and expensive as possible for the little people.

Urging drivers to dodge branded Chevron outlets for unbranded alternatives, because, apparently, it’s all the same refinery juice aside from that “fancy” Techron additive, Newsom paints the company as the big bad profiteer cashing in on global conflicts like Iran tensions.

It’s a neat trick: Ignore the regulatory arsonist behind the curtain and blame the fuel pump instead. This boycott isn’t leadership; it’s entirely misguided scapegoating that dodges California’s self-made energy mess while advancing the state’s zealous anti-oil crusade.

And the hypocrisy hits different when the guy lecturing everyone about fossil fuels gets chauffeured around in SUVs.

Everyone’s noticing California’s gas prices hovering around $6.13 per gallon in late May 2026 while the rest of the country cruises near $4.55. Surprise, it’s not mainly “Big Oil greed” or fleeting global hiccups, but the predictable harvest of decades of Sacramento’s and Newsom’s genius interventions.

We’re talking sky-high excise taxes, environmental fees, and cap-and-trade levies that routinely top $1 a gallon.

California’s anti-oil agenda has been especially destructive when it comes to refining. Through relentless regulatory hostility, fuel standards, emissions rules, and compliance burdens in the billions, state policies have driven refinery closures like Phillips 66 in LA and Valero in Benicia, slashing capacity nearly 20%.

These weren’t random market decisions; they were the inevitable face-plant from deliberately making in-state operations uneconomic. With domestic refining gutted, California now imports over 70% of its crude and fuel; the state vulnerable to every international shock.

Prices spike through higher transportation costs, supply chain roulette, and the inability to quickly ramp up local output when needed. 

Analysts warn these capacity hits alone could tack on another 40 cents to over a buck per gallon, flirting with $8 gas nightmares if the trends keep rolling. 

In-state drilling continues to wilt under restrictions and permitting purgatory. What a brilliant setup for endless volatility.

Newsom hasn’t just inherited this anti-oil agenda — he’s supercharged it with gusto, with an ideology that worships combustion engine destruction. 

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His EV mandates march forward, his climate targets eye the not-so-gradual phase-out of gasoline and diesel, and his rules keep stacking to make in-state refining a sucker’s bet.

Chevron’s signs at gas stations nailing “Sacramento policies” for the hikes are a sober reality check amid the spin. 

Newsom’s demand that consumers boycott Chevon? Just another ego-protecting deflection, redirecting rage at one convenient target.

Other states without this regulatory fever dream prove the point: Balanced supply growth delivers cheaper, steadier fuel without California’s price panic attacks.

Newsom’s tenure has only accelerated the corporate oil exodus, with Chevron itself shifting headquarters to Texas 146 years after putting down roots here. 

Who needs reliable domestic energy when you can lecture about phasing it out –– preferably from the back of a chauffeured SUV?

Then there’s the sheer tone-deafness of boycotting Chevron, an outfit that actually delivers for California instead of just extracting from it. 

Globally, the company employs 45,000 folks, providing thousands of direct and indirect jobs in California. 

Taxes? Nearly $10 billion in income taxes, plus hefty local hauls. 

In Richmond, Calif., Chevron’s contributions in taxes and utility fees account for nearly 24% of the city’s general fund, bankrolling schools, police, fire departments, public works, and the rest of the basics. 

These taxes chip in for STEM education grants, CAL FIRE support, and community infrastructure. 

Yet here’s Newsom, trying to sic drivers on independent small business owners running most of Chevron’s branded stations, the very franchisees sweating the same regulatory avalanche as everyone else.

At gas stations, the branded versus unbranded difference boils down to minor additive tweaks and quality consistency, not some grand conspiracy explaining the whole statewide gas premium.

Timing the boycott for peak travel season just adds an insult while Newsom’s policy machine humming in the background stays blissfully unexamined.

It’s almost impressive how he neatly dodges the economic basics: Strangle domestic production and refining, and then act shocked at the resulting cost surges.

Newsom’s Chevron boycott perfectly captures the disconnect –– performative outrage that punishes major economic contributors and entrenches the very anti-oil agenda inflating prices in the first place.

Richie Greenberg is a political commentator based in San Francisco.