California Gov. Gavin Newsom forcefully denied that he granted any favoritism to a political campaign donor who had opposed the new $20 per hour minimum wage for fast food workers to kick in next month.
“It’s absurd… on the merits it is factually incorrect” the Governor said on NBC 4 Los Angeles’ “NewsConference” program.
Bloomberg News last week indicated restaurants that bake bread and sell it as a “stand alone” item was exempted from the wage law. It appeared that “carve out” would have benefited billionaire Greg Flynn, who owns 24 Panera restaurants in California. Flynn has made multiple large contributions to Newsom’s political campaigns and the two have engaged in private business deals in the past.
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Newsom denied any impropriety and indicated a further review of the law indicated Panera would be covered by the law.
“The Restaurant Association just came out with a statement saying it does impact… they are not exempt so I don’t know what the issue is.”
The governor downplayed announcements by various fast food chains that menu prices were going to rise as a result of the dramatic hike in labor costs saying that chains such as McDonald's were already raising prices
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“McDonald's is doing fine. Take a look at their profits. Take a look at how well these folks are doing now. I just think we need to take care of our workers and working families” he said on the program.
The governor also dismissed concerns from franchise owners, saying, "They are doing well, not all of them, but many of them.”
Newsom remains a leading surrogate for President Joe Biden in his 2024 re-election campaign. A recent New York Times/ Sienna College poll indicates support is falling for President Biden who the survey indicates now trails Republican Donald Trump by 5 percentage points nationally. In addition a majority of Mr. Biden's 2020 voters say that at 81, he is too old to be an effective president.
“I’ve never met a poll that voted. People vote…. (Biden) has been a master class at delivering results… I’m interested in this notion that somehow governing is not as important as performance.”
The governor also appeared to also dispute numbers from the Legislative Analyst’s Office regarding a potential $73 Billion dollar state budget saying he has a plan to balance the budget regardless of the deficit figure.
He did reiterate his pledge not to raise taxes.
