CAGOP Files FPPC Complaint Against Gov: Chair Jessica Patterson

CAGOP Files FPPC Complaint Against

Gavin Newsom over Multi-Million Dollar Home

Newsom failed to file required disclosures involving his $3.7 million residence

SACRAMENTO – Today, the California Republican Party filed a complaint with the Fair Political Practices Commission over $3.7 million in interests that Governor Gavin Newsom failed to report. This is the latest example of Newsom’s lack of adherence to the law. His primary residence in Fair Oaks, California was transferred into his possession from an LLC* in 2019 that claimed he had an ownership interest in the LLC, and therefore he was not required to pay a transfer tax. However, the LLC is not listed on Newsom’s Form 700 – a form that serves to provide the public with an elected official’s personal financial interests and ownerships.

Voters deserve transparency from elected officials, as is required by law, and the California Republican Party has requested that the FPPC open an investigation into this matter.

There are several possible explanations for the conflict in question, all of which conclude a violation was committed by Newsom and warrant investigating:  

1. Governor Newsom has an ownership interest in the LLC, and therefore did not need to pay the transfer tax.If this is the case, Governor Newsom failed to list the LLC on his Form 700, as is required by law.
2. Governor Newsom does not have an ownership interest in the LLC, and therefore did not need to list the LLC on his Form 700.If this is the case, Governor Newsom accepted a $3.7 million gift from a business entity which far exceeds the annual gift limit ($500 at the time) and was not reported.
3. The LLC was held in one of Governor Newsom’s blind trusts, and therefore he did not know of its existence to include it on the Form 700.If this is the case, Newsom would have learned of the trust’s ownership interest in the LLC when it transferred the residence to him in 2019, and he would have needed to file a Form 700 amendment (but hasn’t). He has filed amendments previously under similar circumstances involving his blind trusts.

“Gavin Newsom knowingly and willfully violated reporting requirements, hiding relevant information from the public, which reveals both his incompetence and arrogance,” said California Republican Party Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson. “He has been filing Form 700s for decades, so the only logical conclusion is that he didn’t want the public to know about his $3.7 million Sacramento mansion. Once again, Gavin Newsom is governing California with a mantra of ‘rules for thee, but not for me,’ but this time it’s much worse than his dinner at the French Laundry; it’s a violation of campaign finance laws. Californians deserve transparency from the state’s highest office holder, and we look forward to the FPPC opening an investigation to get to the bottom of this serious matter.”

Read the CAGOP’s full FPPC Complaint against Gavin Newsomhere.

*The LLC has the same name as the home’s address, so the CAGOP is not including it here for the family’s privacy.