http://nypost.com/2026/01/30/opinion/sacramento-scandal-scratches-the-surface/
Opinion By David Tangipa (with Joel Pollak)
New York Post
January 30, 2026
Sacramento is pervaded by a culture of corruption.
Fake non-profit organizations that win public grants. So-called “infrastructure” projects that never get built, but always get funded.
Public corruption charges tied to the governor’s inner circle. “Behested payments” to politicians’ pet causes and to charities run by their families.
A recent and troubling example involves lobbyist Greg Campbell, who pleaded guilty to federal charges last December, and, allegedly, Dana Williamson, Governor Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff.
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Both Campbell and Williamson were publicly celebrated for their political skills before their respective falls from grace.
This case did not emerge in a vacuum. It unfolded within an administration and a legislative culture that allows public corruption to fester unchecked.
Both Campbell and Williamson were publicly celebrated for their political skills before their respective falls from grace. Capitol insiders considered Ms. Williamson the very best Sacramento has to offer.
That alone should alarm every Californian about the state of our government.
I was recently asked whether my bill, AB 1560 — which would prohibit individuals convicted of public corruption from acting as lobbyists — was a reaction to the latest scandal.
The answer is no. The scandal is a symptom of a much deeper problem in Sacramento.
That problem is the legacy of a failed governor, an irresponsible legislature, and a complete absence of accountability.
Over the past decade, California has seen more than 500 convictions for public corruption within the state. That represents hundreds of instances in which government officials abused the trust of the people they were sworn to serve.
Reading some of the indictments, one disturbing pattern appears again and again: public funds used to bankroll lifestyles of excess.
Your tax dollars have paid for luxury cars, lavish travel, designer goods — indulgences far beyond the reach of the average Californian footing the bill.
The latest example comes out of Los Angeles, where the CEO of a homeless nonprofit allegedly spent more than $20 million in public funds on personal luxuries, including a six-figure Range Rover, a vacation home in Greece, and designer clothing.
At the same time, with the state facing a budget deficit of $18 billion, the legislature is being forced to consider cuts to dental services for children with disabilities — cuts that would save less than what that single executive allegedly spent enriching himself.
Corruption in Sacramento isn’t victimless. The victims are taxpayers, children, and the most vulnerable Californians.
Governor Newsom’s glaring lack of leadership, and with the legislature’s unwillingness to hold his administration accountable, have created an environment where corruption thrives.
The California State Auditor recently reported that the California Interagency Council on Homelessness failed to implement the most basic standards of planning, coordination, and oversight.
And CBS News recently reported that some three-fourths of all negative audits are ignored by the legislature.
No one is held responsible.
When the governor happens to be in the state — rather than traveling in pursuit of the next spotlight to fuel his personal ambitions — he still fails to use his executive authority to hold agency leaders accountable for ignoring reforms that the legislature has already enacted.
California now faces a different kind of budget crisis. It muct reckon not just with the next deficit, but also with the fact that, for the first time in modern history, the state has endured four consecutive budget deficits — with more expected ahead.
That raises the stakes dramatically.
If corruption continues unchecked, the options become grim and familiar: raising taxes that are already among the highest in the nation, or cutting essential services for those who need them most.
AB 1560 is only a first step, but it is a necessary one. If California is serious about restoring trust, we must stop allowing those who abuse the public trust to recycle themselves through the halls of power.
Removing corrupt actors from positions of influence is how we begin to protect the programs and services Californians actually care about — and how we start changing a culture that has been broken for far too long.
David Tangipa is a member of the California State Assembly for the 8th district.
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