California Gov. Newsom blasts PG&E for 'greed' after taking utility campaign contributions
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom hasn't held back in criticizing Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) after the embattled utility initiated another round of power shutoffs this week in hopes of cutting down on wildfires.
But Newsom's 2018 campaign took $58,400 from PG&E, and the political spending group "Citizens Supporting Gavin Newsom for Governor 2018" took $150,000, ABC10 reported in July.
That's a total of $208,400.
"I have a message for PG&E: Your years and years of greed. Years and years of mismanagement. Years and years of putting shareholders over people. Are OVER," the governor wrote on Twitter on Friday.
Meanwhile, PG&E gave both the Republican and Democratic parties of California more than $500,000 each, according to ABC10.
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle in California's state legislature took money from PG&E too. Ninety-eight sitting members received donations of $1,000 or more, although some have returned or donated the money.
MILLIONS LOSE POWER AS FIRES RIP THROUGH CALIFORNIA
Republican state Sen. Ling Ling Chang donated $4,000 she received from PG&E to charity.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCG | PG&E CORP. | 20.55 | -1.09 | -5.04% |
"If you have been following PG&E, you know that they have admitted responsibility for sparking wildfires in Northern California. As such, I have donated the $4,000 I received from them in 2017 to a nonprofit related to fire disaster relief and several local charities," Chang told ABC10 in an email this summer.
ABC10 asked Newsom about accepting PG&E money following the corporation's 2016 conviction for six federal felonies.
"It's a strange question,” Newsom told ABC10 this summer. "I don't know what more I can say."
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Flames from a backfire, lit by firefighters to slow the spread of the Kincade Fire, burn a hillside in unincorporated Sonoma County, Calif., near Geyservillle on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019. Authorities are fighting a Northern California blaze that forced evacuation orders and warnings for nearly all of Sonoma County stretching to the coast, with forecasts of strong winds prompting officials to start cutting electricity for millions of people in an effort to prevent more fires. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Thousands of Californians have been ordered to evacuate their homes in the latest round of dangerous blazes.
The Kincade fire in Sonoma County had burned 26,000 acres and was around 11% contained as of Sunday morning. About 180,000 residents were ordered to evacuate near the Kincade blaze.
Meanwhile, the Tick fire in northern Los Angeles County had burned 4,600 acres and was 55% contained as of Sunday. Nearly all the 50,000 residents ordered to evacuate last week were allowed back home.
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Conditions caused Pacific Gas & Electric Company to begin shutting off electricity Saturday at 5 p.m. local time for 940,000 homes and businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area, wine country to the north and the Sierra foothills.
Newsom's office did not respond to a request for comment.
FOX Business' Paul Conner contributed to this report.