So, now we know why Gavin Newsom has been going gonzo on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The green-eyed monster was definitely in play, but we did not know the “what” behind the why.
Thanks to this tidbit from Fox News, we know it involves another form of green–the kind Hair Gel most covets.
Not only did the in-laws of Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom give money to one of his biggest political foes; they fled from his state during the pandemic.
Kenneth F. Siebel Jr. and Judith A. Siebel, parents of Newsom’s wife Jennifer Siebel and longtime California residents, became Florida residents in 2020 after purchasing a $3.3 million Naples home in March of that year, records show. The Siebels appear to still have ownership of their California home in northern San Francisco suburb of Ross.
This gives new insight into those bills that the California legislature has been trying to pass to tax individuals up to 10 years after they have left the state.
Talk about backhanded spite.
Newsom’s in-laws, however, officially became registered voters in the Sunshine State as of June 2020. Kenneth Siebel is a registered Republican while Judith Siebel has no party affiliation.
The voter registration shift occurred as their son-in-law enacted some of the country’s strictest COVID lockdowns, which have widely been juxtaposed to the lack of restrictions in red states like Florida.
Conversations around the holiday table must be awkward these days. The Siebels pour their financial support, votes, and most of their tax dollars toward a very successful governor whom their son-in-law despises. According to Fox News, the Siebel Family Revocable Trust made a $5,000 contribution on April 6, 2022, to the Friends of Ron DeSantis.
What an embarrassment.
Is there any PAC called “the Friends of Gavin Newsom”? Inquiring minds want to know.
It’s Newsom’s own fault, of course. Hair Gel is a piss-poor governor overseeing the failure of a once-great state. If the Siebels still own property in the San Francisco area, they have seen this first hand.
When you’ve lost your own in-laws…
The yawning hole of insecurity Newsom exhibits towards DeSantis has been ever widening of late, as Newsom has been doing his utmost to smear, malign, and tear his nemesis down. In July, Newsom paid over $100,000 to buy cable ads in Florida, touting California “Freedom.” The ad companies laughed all the way to the bank, as did the people of Florida.
Last week, Newsom contributed that same amount to the campaign of DeSantis’ opponent Charlie Crist, claiming that DeSantis is a bully, and that he “doesn’t like bullies.”
Apparently, he’s stopped looking in mirrors, but that’s a story for another day.
Not that Hair Gel is making a dent in DeSantis’ armor. The Florida Gov is kicking ass and taking names, while Newsom is trying to get his foot out of his mouth.
After his crowing declaration that California has now banned the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035, Newsom then had to beg people not to charge their electric vehicles because of the strain on the power grid.
Initially championing the closure of Diablo Canyon, the last nuclear facility in California, Newsom then petitioned the California legislature to save it from closure because brownouts and blackouts just aren’t a good look.
This doesn’t exactly have the optics of someone who is in charge and winning. Exactly the opposite. Nor does it have the optics of someone who can run for President in 2024, which is Newsom’s greatest concern.
To add insult to injury,
Kenneth Siebel, an investment manager, is a longtime GOP donor, according to Federal Election Commission filings. His most recent donations include contributions to the campaigns of Republicans Sens. Ron Johnson, Tom Cotton and Josh Hawley.
Say it ain’t so! Mr. Siebel is contributing to the worst MAGA Republicans. He might want to hire a food taster when his son-in-law comes to visit. Which he does often, even though both Montana, where the Siebel Family Ranch is housed, and Florida, are on the California government’s banned travel list.
As I said, awkward.
The fact that Newsom’s own in-laws don’t support him financially–at least politically–is an interesting bit of drama. Further, that the Siebels give their financial allegiance and political capital to the Republican Party and one of the party’s biggest standard bearers, speaks volumes.
This just became popcorn-worthy.