News

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 marked the 25th anniversary of the California Legislature’s passage of SB 400, a retroactive pension increase for public employees that constituted the largest single issuance of public debt in California history.

Because a number of GFCers have asked how I’ll be voting on state ballot measures this year, I thought it would be easiest to create a post that you can disregard if not interested.

For years the University of California has been treated like a doormat by the state’s elected officials. That’s because UC supporters have not flexed their political muscles. That’s changing.

Inspired by the success of pragmatic political coalitions in San Francisco, two GFC chapters led by Alistair Thornton and Eli Bildner have identified political giving opportunities in the East Bay.

Earlier this month we wrote to you about $195 billion in annual spending by California governments on compensation and benefits for public employees but that figure did not include spending by counties, which the Mercury News reported yesterday to be $45 billion per year.

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.

Last week I wrote you about the $195 billion California governments spend every year on compensation and benefits for public sector employees. Part of that cost is annual service on $270 billion of debt issued to public employees by lawmakers, none of which was approved by voters.

If ever you had any doubt that governments in California are run primarily for the benefit of public employees, look no further than $195 billion of annual spending by those governments on compensation and benefits awarded by elected officials who receive support or avoid opposition by public sector unions.