Taxpayer-funded campaign

"I heart my $500k public relations hacks."

BeyondChron – It’s been a joke for years that Gavin Newsom governs by press release.

Now that Newsom is running for Governor, his City-funded media operation has become obscene.

The Gavin Newsom PR machine costs San Francisco taxpayers $500,000 a year.

Director of Communications Nathan Ballard makes $141,700 a year, while his deputy Brian Purchia gets $105,742. The Mayor has three additional press people who each get paid $80,626.

San Francisco Budget Analyst Harvey Rose has recommended that the last three PR positions be cut – as well as two unfilled press positions. Newsom has opposed this suggestion.

Five press secretaries? Their only job is to spin Gavin’s record and make him look like a good candidate for Governor. Even the City of San Francisco’s budget analyst recommended that Gavin reduce his press office staff.

San Francisco taxpayers are also paying for Gavin Newsom’s security for campaign events and personal travel.

The Chronicle reports that all of it is under a budget cloud of mystery since Gavin and his police chief refuse to release details on how much taxpayer dollars are used to provide security, even when Gavin attends out of town campaign events.

The cost of guarding the mayor first piqued our curiosity when we reported last summer that a police escort had driven Newsom’s high-security Chevy Tahoe all the way to Montana for his wedding.

If Gavin wasn’t running for Governor, supposedly he’d spend more time in San Francisco acting like a Mayor. And that means his security detail wouldn’t have to travel all over the state and the country on his fundraising trips - all on the taxpayer dime.

Gavin Newsom should reimburse the city for the costs associated with his security detail traveling with him to campaign events, and he should cut his press operation as the budget analyst recommends.  This would save more important front-line jobs that directly serve constituents - instead of serving his own ego.