SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Our media partner, the San Francisco Standard, has investigated a “fishy” story involving Governor Gavin Newsom.
Last year, Newsom took part in a whale watching tour in Mexico, which his staff initially described as a “personal trip.”
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But as the Standard reports in a new article, the governor’s staff has since changed their version and we have learned that a nonprofit organization funded the excursion.
Gabe Greschler, the Standard’s political reporter who wrote the article, joined ABC7 News to provide more details.
Watch the full interview in the player above.
Izzy Gardon, Governor Newsom’s communications director, issued the following statement:
“We identified a typographical error on the Governor’s Form 700 related to the SF Standard request. It incorrectly listed ‘One Earth’ as the donating organization when it should have been ‘Re-Earth,’ the organization that sponsored the educational trip. We corrected this with an amended public filing with the FPPC listing Re-Earth as the donating organization.”
Gardon says that after Gabe’s request, the governor’s office noticed a typo on the governor’s Form 700 that suggested one of his staff members had confused the two organizations.
“The Governor participated in this educational trip on his own time and was accompanied by members of his administration who are involved in environmental protection and conservation. The focus of the trip was on conservation and understanding the challenges facing marine ecosystems – which are critical to California’s environment and economy. To avoid burdening taxpayers, the trip was funded by a nonprofit organization and fully disclosed to the public on the Governor’s Form 700 – in full compliance with all legal, ethical and reporting requirements.”
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