Newsom’s French Laundry dinner shows how lobbyists get access to power in Sacramento

When he dined at the French Laundry in Yountville this month, Gov. Gavin Newsom enjoyed not only fine cuisine at a three-star Michelin restaurant, but also the company of several influential figures with regular business before his administration.

The event, since it was first reported by The Chronicle, has highlighted the close ties and revolving door of government that make Sacramento turn, frustrating those who can’t be in the room where it happens.

Jason Kinney, a longtime friend and political adviser to Newsom whose birthday he was celebrating at the dinner, is a partner at the lobbying and consulting firm Axiom Advisors. Formed following Newsom’s election in 2018, the company has pulled in nearly $11 million from dozens of powerful clients, ranging from the construction industry to Facebook and Netflix.

Photos of the dinner published last Tuesday by the Fox television station in Los Angeles also show Dustin Corcoran and Janus Norman, the chief executive officer and the top lobbyist, respectively, for the California Medical Association, which represents doctors at the state Capitol.

The blurred lines between personal relationships and professional influence are not illegal nor unique to Newsom. For decades, California politicos have cycled through campaigns, administration posts and lobbying gigs where they cash in on those connections. During Gov. Gray Davis’ tenure, his fundraiser Darius Anderson opened the hottest new lobbying shop in town, and when Davis was replaced by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a firm founded by his campaign manager, Bob White, gained enormous influence.

But the dinner provided the public with a stark look at what is often an amorphous sense of the role of money and influence in politics, said Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School and former president of the Los Angeles Ethics Commission. It’s the kind of moment that can leave people disillusioned with government and feeling as though they lack true access to their representatives.

“Connections are currency and currency is power,” Levinson said. “It’s the equivalent of a big sign to the public that says, ‘You’re not welcome at this table.’” Read more >>>