California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has reportedly withheld his full schedule from the media and the public — despite receiving multiple California Public Records requests for his calendar and facing repeated questioning.
Newsom, whose national profile has risen sharply since leading an effort to implement a Democratic gerrymander of California’s House map, has not made his full schedule available this year, preventing the public from seeing many of the events and meetings has attended, according to CalMatters. His calendar, a public record, has been requested every month by CalMatters, but his office has “not provided anything new in five months,” the outlet reported.
Representatives for Newsom told CalMatters that the calendars “will be provided as soon as they are ready for release.”
“Governor Newsom has been among the most transparent governors in California’s history and we’ll continue to share his calendar, as always, with the transparency, diligence, and accuracy it deserves,” Newsom spokesperson Izzy Gardon told the outlet.
The California governor’s perceived lack of transparency surrounding his calendar has stood out among his fellow governors for over two years, according to California local outlets.
During a major trip to the White House in Feb. 2023, Newsom’s inability to release an updated schedule at the time left questions as to where he was throughout the high-profile trip, The Sacramento Bee reported that month. Reporters noticed his absence from multiple public events, including those with other governors, then-President Joe Biden, and formal weekend events and dinners, according to the Bee.
Sharing governors’ calendars publicly has been a practice in California since the Golden State expanded the Public Records Act in 2004. Due to the strengthened law, former Republican California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger began releasing his calendar, as did former Democratic California Gov. Jerry Brown during his second tenure leading the state, CalMatters reported.
While details vary in public calendars, those Newsom has provided in the past have only listed a few meetings, and hours filled with “work time,” according to the records received by CalMatters.
Other governors, such as Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, provide schedules on their websites, while some such as Nebraska Republican Gov. Jim Pillen provide information about their future trips and meetings in advance outside of an official schedule.
The outlet claims that despite submitting public records requests for Newsom’s schedule routinely, the last calendar his office provided was on April 1 and listed events for September through December of 2024.
Public records requests laws in California require government entities to establish within 10 days of receiving the request if they have the necessary documents to comply and provide an estimated delivery time. The law also requires the requested records are handed over exactly as they are at the time of the request.
“As we told CalMatters, the Governor’s calendars will be released — as they always are — with the diligence and accuracy the law requires,” Newsom Deputy Director for Rapid Response Brandon Richards said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “To suggest that Californians ‘can’t evaluate’ the Governor’s work is false on its face. His record is visible every single day in the policies advanced, disasters managed, budgets signed, and lawsuits filed.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect comment from Newsom’s office.
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