California Gov. Gavin Newsom has made it known he wants to clean up homeless encampments — and will attempt to do so when it involves one of his celebrity friends.
Text messages recently obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle show the Democratic governor’s office stepped in to help football player Marshawn Lynch, who co-hosted a podcast with Newsom and whose agent is a friend of the governor.
More than 311 requests were sent to Oakland city officials from neighbors to clear up the Dover Street encampment, where an RV, camper, and SUV arrived in 2024 and backed up into the freeway. Lynch’s request, however, seemed to have gotten particular attention.
“I got a call from the Governor’s office regarding a number of RVs that are parked out in front of Marshawn Lynch’s family home,” texted the chief of staff of then-Mayor Sheng Thao, who last year was indicted on federal bribery charges. “The Governor’s office is requesting our support to help resolve the issues in a timely manner.”
Four days later, the chief of staff bugged Oakland city administrators again, saying Newsom’s office had checked back on the situation. Leigh Hanson, the chief of staff, noted pit bulls had taken over the street around the property.
City administrators responded by offering to send in animal control and to taking steps toward declaring an emergency encampment enclosure that would avoid a 72-hour notice. Discussion about the encampment ended after that.
The pressure from Newsom, however, didn’t seem to speed things up. A spokesperson for the city of Oakland told the Chronicle that a few months later, the encampment had moved on by itself to nearby lots controlled by the state transportation department.
Lynch declined to comment. Newsom’s office said in a statement to the Chronicle that it routinely raised concerns with Thao on encampment issues “because the former mayor wasn’t moving with any urgency.”
Newsom has personally helped Lynch in the past before. In 2012, then-Lt. Gov. Newsom called National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell to vouch for Lynch after the star was facing discipline for a DUI arrest.
The governor’s anti-encampment position has made it one of the few issues Newsom has found common ground on with conservative politicians.
However, The Post previously reported that river encampments in Newsom’s own backyard were not cleaned up.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
