Facing the possibility of a recall election, California Gov. Gavin Newsom raised hundreds of millions of dollars from corporations and CEOs with interests before his administration last year to expand his administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Newsom solicited more than $226 million worth of donations from companies, nonprofit foundations, and wealthy individuals in 2020, a drastic increase in the amount he had raised in his previous years as governor. The donations were disclosed by Newsom as behested payments, according to data from the California Fair Political Practices Commission. The previous year’s behested payments totaled $12.1 million.
Among the donors are several major lobbying forces in California. For example, Google agreed to donate $10 million to Newsom’s pandemic response as it lobbied the governor’s office on Licensing Issues, Privacy Regulations and COVID 19 related Issues.
Full post at The Brick House Cooperative
