The way Gavin Newsom sees it, California’s real problem is bad PR.
The Democratic governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development is looking to spend up to $19 million on an ad campaign that would fight “negative narratives amplified online and in partisan media.”
Spending millions while the state faces a $17.7 billion budget shortfall is questionable enough. That the ads are being pitched as Newsom hawks his memoir and teases a 2028 presidential run makes the effort look baldly partisan.
Democrats are rightly scandalized by ousted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wasting $220 million of taxpayer money on an ad campaign starring herself. Why pull the same stunt? Like with Noem, Newsom’s problem is that he does not have a great story to tell about his tenure as the state’s chief executive.
Even accounting for immigration, California’s total population declined by more than 200,000 residents from 2020 to 2025, according to the latest Census data. The state came in last again this year in the U-Haul index, for the sixth time in a row, with more moving trucks leaving than coming.
Businesses are leaving too. Just this week, Yamaha announced that – with “enhancing profitability” in mind – the firm will move to Georgia after half a century in the Golden State. No wonder: California ranks 48th on the Tax Foundation’s State Tax Competitiveness Index.
Newsom loves to tout the state’s top spot when it comes to large companies and innovation, and there’s no question that Silicon Valley and Hollywood still matter. But California’s leading spot isn’t guaranteed, especially with the rise of remote work and new business hubs in more affordable states like Texas and Florida.
Newsom should understand from experience that throwing money at problems doesn’t lead to better outcomes. The governor claimed last year that the state’s fraught high-speed rail project was back on track. Voters approved a $10 billion bond in 2008, with a completion date forecast for 2020. The estimated cost has since ballooned to $135 billion, and the first tracks weren’t even laid until 2025.
Education is another quagmire. Newsom’s proposed budget would result in spending $27,418 per pupil, including local property taxes and federal aid, up from $17,014 from when he took office in 2019. Even with 29 percent inflation during that periods, it’s a staggering 61 percent increase. Yet they have meaningfully worse outcomes to show for it. The Nation’s Report Card shows proficiency rates in reading and math have fallen among fourth, eighth and 12th graders.
Newsom is everywhere these days, and another $19 million in ads won’t be decisive. The reality is that good governance doesn’t need advertising.
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