Newsom’s former chief of staff is being investigated for a conflict of interest

From CalMatters policy and campaign reporter Yue Stella Yu:

The California Office of Campaign Ethics has launched two investigations into Dana Williamson, former chief of staff to Gov. Gavin Newsom indicted last November on bank and wire fraud chargesand her accomplices in the criminal investigation.

To catch you up: Last year, federal prosecutors charged Williamson with falsifying tax records, interfering with a state case against a former client, lying to federal investigators and working with four others — including Sacramento lobbyist Greg Campbell, former deputy attorney general Sean McCluskey and his wife and Democratic consultant Alexis Podesta — to steal money from a dormant campaign account belonging to Xavier Becerra, former US Secretary of Health and Human Services, who is running for governor.

Now the California Fair Political Practices Commission, which enforces the state’s campaign laws, is investigating Williamson for a conflict of interest.

The lawsuit, filed Feb. 10, follows an anonymous complaint filed days after the indictment that said Williamson used his position as Chief of Staff to help settle a lawsuit between the state and video game company Activision Blizzard, a former client of hers.

Federal prosecutors said Williamson received income from the company in the year before she joined Newsom’s office, which should have disqualified her from being involved in making any decisions about the company, the complaint said.

The commission also opened another case — also on Feb. 10 — against Williamson and her co-conspirators over “potential violations of the campaign finance and aiding and abetting provisions of the Political Reform Act,” according to a letter from the agency.

Williamson, whose court appearance was delayed due to a liver transplant, is awaiting a court date next month.

From CalMatters higher education reporter Mikhail Zinstein:

Almost half of college students were food insecure — a range that means not eating a balanced diet to skipping meals altogether — as were more than a third of college graduates in 2024. That’s according to new system report announced this month that leaders of the University of California discussed publicly last week.

In 2020, the UC Board of Regents set a goal of reducing food and housing insecurity for UC students by 50% by 2025. Instead, both indicators have climbed up, not down. Many students then returned home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, where access to food and shelter was easier. The latest data shows a return to pre-pandemic levels.

Student housing insecurity – which can mean anxiety about rent, couch surfing or homelessness – has ranged from 3% to 8% over the past half-decade. They signaled students with children higher levels of food and housing insecurity.

Campuses receive $19.5 million a year in state support to pay for interventions for basic student needs, such as housing vouchers and free meals.

The report warned that more money may be needed as federal food stamp dollars are expected to plummet under a law backed by Republicans in Congress last year.

A utility company serving tens of thousands of Lake Tahoe residents has alerted state regulators that its longtime electricity supplier plans to terminate its agreement next yearwrites CalMatters’ Malena Carollo.

In a letter to the California Public Utilities Commission, Liberty Utilities said Nevada-based NV Energy, which supplies Liberty with roughly 75 percent of its power, will not continue its agreement beyond May 2027 due to its “proprietary resource needs.” After the deadline, Liberty must find a new source of power for its 49,000 Lake Tahoe customers.

During a September regional business eventNV Energy’s director of business development said the data centers have prompted requests to triple the company’s peak capacity.

A commission spokesperson told CalMatters that Liberty’s next steps include bidding out its contract with other energy providers, selecting a new supplier and seeking commission approval for the final contract.

Read more.

Since being elected to the state Senate nearly a decade ago, Sen. Scott Wiener helped the California legislature embrace the idea that the state should be more active in promoting housing. But how will that idea get to Washington if the San Francisco Democrat is elected to Congress? Read more by Ben Christopher of CalMatters.