Curb nonprofit donations? Republicans running in Newsom recall say it would reduce conflicts

About a dozen companies lobbying to influence state policy have given more than $800,000 to a nonprofit founded by First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a Sacramento Bee investigation found.

Now, two California Republicans running to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom are calling for new laws curbing such donations, arguing companies trying to influence state policy shouldn’t donate to nonprofits that employ elected officials’ family members.

Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer says he wants to bar corporations with business before the state from donating to organizations that employ elected officials’ family members. Former U.S. Rep. Doug Ose says he also wants a ban, and is calling on lawmakers to at least require public disclosure of such payments.

The candidates said they’re proposing the new policies in response to reporting by The Bee on donations to The Representation Project, a nonprofit founded by Siebel Newsom in 2011 that promotes feminist causes. Siebel Newsom has been paid more than $2.3 million by the nonprofit for her work leading the organization and creating documentary films.

“Public office should not be used for private gain and just because something is technically legal doesn’t mean it’s right,” Faulconer said. “As governor, I will close these types of loopholes.”

If elected, Faulconer said he would work with lawmakers to craft the legislation aimed at blocking what he sees as a way for corporations to curry favor with elected officials. To pass such legislation, Faulconer would need to support from Democrats who hold supermajorities in both houses of the state Legislature.

Newsom has defended his wife’s nonprofit, saying he sees no conflict of interest in the organization taking money from companies that lobby him.

In a statement, Newsom’s campaign manager Juan Rodriguez blasted Faulconer’s proposal as hypocritical, pointing to a deal the city of San Diego made while Faulconer was mayor to acquire a skyscraper that the city hasn’t been able to use because of asbestos problems. The building was formerly owned in part by San Diego developer Douglas Manchester, one of Faulconer’s top campaign donors, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

“This kind of stunt is rich coming from Faulconer – someone with a history of brazen corruption,” Rodriguez said. “As mayor, Faulconer convinced the city to pay $127 million in tax dollars for a worthless, asbestos-ridden skyscraper owned by his top donor – a deal the San Diego Union-Tribune called ‘one of the worst land deals in the history of San Diego’ and ‘an act of staggering stupidity.’”

In an interview with the Voice of San Diego last year, Faulconer said he directed city staff to move forward with the deal based on recommendations by city officials.

Ose released a statement earlier this month calling for lawmakers to crack down on donations like the ones to The Representation Project, but says he has not heard from lawmakers on either side of the aisle who support such legislation.

He said he doesn’t believe companies like AT&T would donate to Siebel Newsom’s nonprofit if not for the connection to the governor, and that he wants to see lawmakers require that such payments are disclosed. Currently, state law only requires politicians to disclose donations to nonprofits that they personally solicit, which are known as behested payments.

“If I had my druthers, I’d ban the payments because they are utterly corrosive to good public policy,” he told The Bee.

AT&T and other companies that donated to The Representation Project said their donations were not connected to their lobbying and that they gave money because they support nonprofit’s mission to uplift women and combat harmful gender stereotypes.

The nonprofit isn’t required to disclose its donors, but The Bee identified more than 70 of them through interviews, promotional material and public records.

In an email, The Representation Project’s executive director Caroline Heldman wrote that donations to the nonprofit fund “vital work to fight sexism through films, education, research, and activism.”

“With regards to donation transparency, The Rep Project goes above and beyond non-profit industry standards,” Heldman wrote. “We do not accept anonymous donations, and we publicly disclose all donations above $5,000 on our website.”

Other candidates running to replace Newsom in the upcoming recall election also criticized the donations to The Representation Project.

“It’s deeply troubling and an inherent conflict of interest to have your family make millions from a charity funded by those doing business with the state,” Republican businessman John Cox said in a statement responding to The Bee’s reporting. “It needs to stop immediately.”

Polling shows the candidates challenging Newsom face an uphill battle to election in a heavily Democratic state. The latest poll by the Public Policy Institute of California found nearly 6 in 10 voters oppose removing Newsom in an upcoming recall election.

A separate poll by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies found that just 36% of California voters want to recall the governor. Among the replacement candidates, the Berkeley poll found Faulconer tied in the lead at 22% with Cox, who lost to Newsom by double digits in 2018, with Ose trailing in third place at 14%.

This story was originally published June 18, 2021 at 5:00 AM.