SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA — California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a furious denial Saturday after allegations surfaced that he may have been using taxpayer money responsibly, calling the accusation “deeply offensive” and demanding an immediate investigation into how such a damaging rumor was allowed to spread.
Newsom held an emergency press conference in response to a damaging smear campaign by political rivals, who recently circulated a rumor that the governor had quietly balanced the state budget and implemented cost-saving measures in the public sector.
“I want to be absolutely clear that I have never knowingly used taxpayer money in a responsible manner,” Gavin Newsom said at the press conference, pointing his finger angrily. “California taxpayers can rest assured that their money has been spent in accordance with the state’s long-standing tradition of making enormous amounts of it disappear into programs, initiatives, studies, contracts, and task forces. If anyone here thinks I am secretly running a lean, functional government behind your backs, I invite you to look at my record.”
To counter the mounting scandal, Newsom’s team distributed a 400-page dossier to the press corps outlining the billions of dollars the state has spent on homelessness initiatives over the past five years with zero measurable improvement or tracking data.
“I am not a responsible man. And I will not let anyone drag my good name through the mud by claiming otherwise.”
At press time, Newsom was reportedly preparing to announce a new $4.7 billion initiative to investigate why California had failed to spend an additional $4.7 billion on the initiative.
