California Governor Gavin Newsom, who took a large budget surplus and turned it into a gaping deficit, oversaw the first net outmigration from the state since 1850, and watched the homeless population swell to by far the highest in the nation, apparently thinks that style is more important than substance. Despite his lengthy record of failure, he hired a celebrity photographer six months ago—can we just say, interesting timing—to help him showcase his “many accomplishments.”
It certainly seems like he’s gearing up for some sort of national role, but nobody knows exactly what he has in mind since the Democratic presidential nominee and VP slots are both full right now.
But at least he’ll have some good pictures:
Gov. Gavin Newsom has quietly hired a famed photographer — who boasts Mark Zuckerberg, George W. Bush and Barack Obama as previous clients — to burnish his man-about-the-state image.
Charles Ommanney, a former photojournalist and war photographer who traveled with Newsom to China last fall as a freelancer, was on hand Thursday to capture Newsom in aviator sunglasses, jeans and work gloves, picking up detritus left over from a recently-cleared homeless encampment in Los Angeles County. Late last month, he photographed the governor surveying the damage of the Borel Fire in Kern County.
How’s my hair?
Gavin Newsom Shows up at Homeless Camp for Creepy Inauthentic Photo-Op, Pretends to Care About the Issue
Newsom Brought Former Presidential Photographer on China Trip, Stuck CA Taxpayers With the Bill
California physician Houman Hemmati, who’s a regular on Fox News at Night, blasted the celluloid governor:
🚨BREAKING NEWS🚨@GavinNewsom, the governor of the Golden State, has decided to take a page out of Hollywood’s book and hire a celebrity photographer for a whopping $200,000 a year. 📸💰
That’s right, folks! While California is drowning in a $73 billion deficit, Newsom is busy… pic.twitter.com/zLghwXPoXW
— Houman David Hemmati, MD, PhD (@houmanhemmati) August 10, 2024
Houman’s tweet is lengthy (but worth the read); here’s a sample:
That’s right, folks! While California is drowning in a $73 billion deficit, Newsom is busy splashing OUR cash on a personal paparazzo.
But wait, there’s more! This isn’t just any photographer. This is Charles Ommanney, the man behind the lens for Newsom’s China trip. Because when you’re trying to solve a massive budget crisis, the first thing you need is a photo album of your international adventures.
Newsom’s office claims that Ommanney is an “instrumental role” in showcasing the governor’s accomplishments. But let’s be real, the only thing he’s accomplished is making us all question his priorities.
Perhaps I should have majored in photography:
The governor’s office about six months ago named Ommanney its director of photography, a title that comes with a $200,000 per year salary. That makes him among the top earners in the Newsom administration, according to the state controller’s office. The governor, himself, drew a $234,101 salary last year.
Here’s Gov. Hair Gel fixing California… by going to China.
.@GavinNewsom tours the “epic” Great Wall of China 🇨🇳.
He told me his main message is to “tear down walls” when it comes to US/China relations & work to fix things like climate change.
Here’s our story via @FOXLA & @TheIssueIsShow pic.twitter.com/WSh40f6vPM
— Elex Michaelson (@Elex_Michaelson) October 26, 2023
Newsom is not the only governor with an official photographer—the executives of Ohio, Massachusetts, and New York have them as well, although I don’t know if they’re as highly paid. Nevertheless, between the fact that he terms out in two years and has presided over the destruction of the state, it seems an odd time to be in search of glowing celluloid portraits.
It does show, once again, however, that he is all style, no substance.
See also: The Fact That Gavin Newsom Is Even in the Conversation Reveals Shallowness of the Media and Dem Voters (VIP)
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