From the New York Post: Gov. Gavin Newsom has helped to funnel more than $4.4 million in donations from organizations and powerful figures to a political nonprofit created by his spouse, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, an analysis by The Post found.
The California Partners Project, a nonprofit launched by Siebel Newsom in 2020 to promote gender equality, has raked in a significant amount of cash from donors at the request of her hubby — thanks to a murky loophole, according to a review of nonprofit filings and state records.
The findings come as it was also revealed that Newsom helped push woke documentaries produced by another one of his wife’s pet projects, The Representation Project, into California classrooms.
Donors to the California Partners Project include Silicon Valley Bank ($100,000), the wealthy Pritzker family (almost $572,000), the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria and San Manuel Band of Mission Indians ($1.9 million combined), Blue Shield of California Foundation ($50,000) and New Venture Fund ($100,000) — the last of which is a progressive “dark money” group.
The report notes that many of the same donors have benefited from Newsom’s seven years in the governor’s office, as he has stepped in on their behalf. Some examples:
- Newsom lobbied for the bailout of Silicon Valley Bank in 2023
- He blocked Koi Nation from building a competing tribal casino north of San Francisco in 2024
- Newsom gave Blue Shield a no-bid contract for COVID vaccinations early in the pandemic, while soliciting Blue Shield entities for $20.8 million in behested donations, according to state records.
A spokesperson from Newsom’s office, Izzy Gardon, claimed in an email that Newsom’s “decisions are based solely on serving the best interests of all Californians.”
“Charitable contributions play no role in his decision-making. Any claim to the contrary is categorically false,” Gardon added.
Reacting to the report, Steve Hilton, a Republican candidate for California governor, said, “The whole concept of behested payments is disgusting. It’s literally corruption in plain sight. You can be certain that as governor, I will not be engaging in this corrupt practice and I will do everything in my power to ban it.”
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