{"id":59283,"date":"2021-04-06T16:18:25","date_gmt":"2021-04-06T20:18:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=59283"},"modified":"2021-04-06T16:18:25","modified_gmt":"2021-04-06T20:18:25","slug":"gov-newsoms-covid-corruption-knows-no-bounds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=59283","title":{"rendered":"Gov. Newsom’s Covid Corruption Knows No Bounds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Investigation: Big Newsom Donors \u2014 Including Blue Shield \u2014 Received No-Bid Contracts During COVID-19 Response<\/h1>\n

Scott Rodd
\nCapital Public Radio<\/p>\n

\"Beth<\/span><\/p>\n

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FILE – In this March 28, 2020, file photo, Bloom Energy CEO KR Sridhar, right, watches as California Gov. Gavin Newsom writes down a note during a tour with Sridhar of the Bloom Energy Sunnyvale, Calif., campus.<\/p>\n

Beth LaBerge \/ Pool Photo via AP, File<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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UnitedHealth has been good to Gov. Gavin Newsom.<\/p>\n

In 2018, the health care giant made two contributions to Newsom for over $58,000. In December 2019, it dropped another $31,000 into his reelection campaign.<\/p>\n

During the pandemic, Newsom turned to UnitedHealth to solve some of California\u2019s most vexing challenges: COVID-19 testing and data tracking. The state awarded a no-bid contract worth up to $177 million to a UnitedHealth subsidiary to expand testing. In the months following, the state would award another $315 million in contracts to the company\u2019s subsidiaries through an expedited bidding process.<\/p>\n

In December, UnitedHealth contributed $31,000 to Newsom\u2019s reelection campaign, and another $100,000 to his ballot measure committee.<\/p>\n

UnitedHealth and Newsom deny any wrongdoing. And while there\u2019s no evidence to suggest either broke the law, government ethics experts say even the appearance of wrongdoing raises serious red flags and threatens to erode public trust \u2014 especially if there\u2019s a pattern.<\/p>\n

A CapRadio investigation found an overlap of at least a half-dozen companies that made substantial contributions to Newsom and received no-bid contracts from the state, influential appointments, or other opportunities related to the state\u2019s pandemic response. The contributions range from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars. The contracts range from $2 million to over $1 billion \u2014 including the one awarded to Blue Shield for vaccine distribution made public Monday, worth up to $15 million.<\/p>\n

To improve transparency, the state created a\u00a0website<\/a>\u00a0that lists COVID-19 contracts worth $250,000 or more. Of the 100-plus contracts listed \u2014 many awarded with limited or no competitive bidding \u2014 CapRadio found the vast majority of those companies did not make major contributions to Newsom before or after.<\/p>\n

But government ethics experts who reviewed CapRadio\u2019s findings say that doesn\u2019t ameliorate the concerns raised by the handful of companies that dumped money into Newsom\u2019s campaign coffers and then received no-bid contracts.<\/p>\n

The traditional bidding process allows a range of companies to respond to contract opportunities, in an effort to secure the most cost-effective proposal and avoid favoritism. During states of emergency, such as the pandemic, the government can skip this process. But experts say Newsom, who\u2019s facing a recall effort, still needs to be vigilant about appearances of favoritism or conflicts of interest with donors.<\/p>\n

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I really think that the governor has a tin ear in terms of receiving huge campaign contributions and providing sole-source contracts for corporations that were giving him these contributions.<\/p>\n