SACRAMENTO — Prominent social media, broadcasting and other major interests have poured nearly $26 million into Covid-19 efforts at Gov. Gavin Newsom’s request, a record amount that came as some of the companies lobbied the governor's office on data privacy and other thorny regulatory matters, state disclosures show.in late March, applauding the California-based companies who stepped up to “join the fight against COVID-19.
"We’ve never seen such large amounts of money before — it’s way beyond what we’ve seen," said Bob Stern, the principal co-author of the 1974 Political Reform Act that underpins California campaign finance rules. "Even though it’s for good purposes, it could be coming from people who want something from you."
And, unlike campaign contributions, the experts note, these so called "behested payments" — coordinated or requested by elected officials for certain charitable or governmental causes — have no limit. The $26 million is easily a record amount raised by a California governor in a year. More than two dozen companies have helped Newsom and public health officials exhort Californians to stay home during the crisis, including Fox , TikTok , Snapchat , Twitter and Pandora , the state disclosures show.
Peanuts in the big picture....wasted his one opportunity.
Newsom is the best! Love my Governor.