Written by Natalia Toliver<\/p>\n
Despite the dismissal from Governor Newsom\u2019s administration, many people believe he owes the public an explanation as to why certain companies, such as Blue Shield, UnitedHealth, Bloom Energy, and BYD, were picked to handle the COVID-19 pandemic in California. <\/span><\/p>\n The public, as well as CapRadio’s Investigation, have found more than half a dozen companies were given the opportunity to help the COVID-19 crisis with a no-bid contract. These same companies have made substantial contributions to Newsom over the years. Although State law allows there to be no-bid contracts in a state of emergency, there are suspicions over conflict of interest, with the no-bid contracts ranging from $2 million to over $1 billion. <\/span><\/p>\n Government ethics experts reviewed CapRadio\u2019s findings and found that not all companies who poured money into Newsom received no-bid contracts, but still cautioned Newsom, who is facing a recall, to remain aware about appearances of favoritism. <\/span><\/p>\n Erin Mellon, spokesperson for the governor said, <\/span>\u201c<\/span>The Governor\u2019s Administration made the decision to enter into all contracts related to the COVID-19 response based on the best interests of the state and protecting health and welfare of all our residents.\u201d In response, Dan Schunr, political communications professor at UC Berkeley and former GOP consultant, said, \u201cThe governor and his team needed to make more of an effort to explain to the people of California why these decisions didn’t violate the public trust, and why his donors were given these opportunities.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Here is a breakdown of the companies who received no-bid contracts and why they have raised some concerns.<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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