Newsom's Donors

California's oligarchy

This chart shows the top five donors to Gavin Newsom’s campaigns and ballot measures and to committees that made independent expenditures in support of his campaigns and measures since his initial run for state office in 2010:

Those donors constitute the oligarchy that Newsom and other establishment politicians protect by maintaining a sclerotic state government from which they profit while residents, students and taxpayers languish. Public Sector Unions have been the biggest winners under Newsom, who stood aside while California's public schools were shut longer than any other state and boosted spending on state employees. Tribal governments got more gaming contracts approved, Healthcare Providers got more spending, and Private Sector Unions got more money for High Speed Rail and hindered efforts to unleash affordable housing construction. Democratic Party Organizations are largely funded by this same oligarchy alongside big business. This is why, despite nearly $2 trillion of new spending and more than 4000 new laws since Newsom took office as governor, the lives of ordinary Californians have not improved.

California’s next governor and legislature must throw off the oligarchy. They will need a lot of help to do so.