California Gavin Newsom has passed an extensive lobbying ban on his political consultants at the behest of state regulators, months after criticizing for eating with lobbyists in the luxury French water restaurant in violation of his own pandemic restrictions.
Newsom, which is seeking an recall over the handling of the pandemic, has banned paid and unpaid political consultants from campaigning for it or members of its administration, according to a memo obtained by the Sacramento Bee. According to previous guidelines approved last December, only paid consultants were banned from lobbying.
According to the report, Newsom’s top assistants announced the policy change in a memorandum to staff members last week. The decision follows recommendations from the Fair Political Practices Commission in California.
“No consultant, whether paid or not, may be permitted to exploit their relationship with the Governor to unduly favor a client in legislative or administrative action,” the Fair Political Practices Commission said in its recommendations to the administration written.
Newsom has been scrutinized over his ties to lobbyists after it was reported that he attended a birthday dinner for lobbyist Jason Kinney, a longtime unpaid adviser to the governor, at the French Water Restaurant last November. Janus Norman, a leading lobbyist for the California Medical Association, was also present.
Photos showed that Newsom and other meals violated several guidelines in California during the meal, including bans on large gatherings and mask requirements. The governor later apologized and described the outing as a ‘bad mistake’.
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Newsom’s administration has adopted other measures recommended by the ethics committee, including a ban on receiving gifts from lobbyists and ethical training for staff.
The organizers of the recall attempt against Newsom say they have already collected more than two million signatures, enough to bring about a vote that could drive the governor out of office. Newsom would be just the second governor in state history to face a re-election.