Updates

As you know, we are desperately in search of candidates for governor in 2026 who will challenge powerful interests even when doing so could jeopardize their political prospects.

When we wrote to you last month about our priorities we described the 2026 race for governor as “wide open,” but since then we’ve heard that Kamala Harris may run and that if she does, some candidates would make way for her. We hope the rumors aren’t true.

When GFC launched in 2011, our principal goal was to liberate state legislators from public employee union influence. As we have previously reported, so far we have failed in that endeavor. While we have had some success against less powerful special interest groups, public employee union influence is on another level…

Governor Gavin Newsom has called a special session of the Legislature for early December. The announced reason is to prepare California for the consequences of a Trump Administration but the real reason is to raise Newsom’s national profile.

As previous writings have disclosed, our current focus falls into three categories…

Presidents have little influence over the quality of most services provided by California’s governments. For example, public school kids in California have long been poorly served regardless of who has sat in the Oval Office and it’s not presidents who drain funds from UC and CSU to overcompensate prison staff.

We’re always evaluating elected officials and in California no one impresses us more than San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, who leads the Yes on 36 campaign to reform Proposition 47.

When GFC launched in 2011, Republicans held enough seats in the California Legislature that occasionally they could exercise some leverage by joining with pragmatic Democrats to bridge some gaps.

Last month we wrote you about Friends of the University, a muscular addition to California’s political philanthropy ecosystem that advocates for the University of California, which for far too long has been treated like a doormat by elected state officials.

A number of GFC’ers have asked what traits we seek in the next governor. In short, if the next governor is a Democrat, we would like someone like Gina Raimondo when she served as governor of Rhode Island. If a Republican, we’d like someone like Mitt Romney when he served as governor of Massachusetts.

Yesterday, GFC’s Statewide Committee donated to Antonio Villaraigosa’s campaign for governor. This doesn’t mean he is our one and only pick for 2026. We also admire some others who could join the race.

Earlier this week, Elon Musk announced he was relocating the headquarters of two California companies to another state after Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law that Musk characterized as infringing on parental rights. Newsom responded by accusing Musk of being a vassal to Donald Trump in a tweet that said: “You bent the knee” to which Musk replied: “You never get off your knees.”

As we’ve reported to you before, GFC is already focused on the 2026 governor’s race because California’s next governor is likely to inherit a precarious situation from Governor Newsom, the candidates who have announced so far are from the usual depressing cast of characters who specialize in loudly signaling virtue to the common person while quietly doing the bidding of special interests, and we are hoping the prospect of early backing by GFC could help elicit a bolder alternative.

As recent election results demonstrate, San Francisco has become ground zero for the effective political philanthropy movement. Next up is the November General Election, which will offer an all-important opportunity to elect a majority of pragmatists to the Board of Supervisors, protect a public-safety-oriented District Attorney, and enact important changes to the city’s charter.

Why have corporations, unions and associations put up more than $10 million that Gov. Gavin Newsom is using for state and national advertisements featuring him? The answer is that Newsom has delivered billions of state dollars to them.

While there wasn’t much on the statewide ballot yesterday, there was plenty on the San Francisco ballot and the results look to be a resounding endorsement of that city’s vibrant ecosystem of political philanthropies.

Last week I reported that Governor Newsom falsely told an interviewer that the state was unable to reopen schools during COVID because the state constitution requires local control of schools, which isn’t true. After my email, some local school officials contacted me to report that Mr. Newsom’s statement actually contained two fictions.

A grave threat to democracy in California is sitting on Governor Newsom’s desk. If signed by him, Assembly Bill 1 would allow legislative staff to form a government employee union. That means that the state employees who write and edit thousands of pieces of legislation every year and provide advice to elected legislators about those bills would become a special interest with business before the state.

A new California law that took effect this year may be the most important political reform the state has enacted in a half century. No wonder special interests and the politicians they help elect are trying to kill it.

We are pleased to present the second GFC Courage Award of 2023 to Senator Anna Caballero.

Special interest groups have filed suit against SB 1439, a bill supported by Govern For California and signed into law last year by Governor Newsom that restricts “pay-to-play” (“P2P”) practices.

We are pleased to present the first GFC Courage Award of 2023 to Senator Ben Allen.