Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration has launched a new initiative – accountability.ca.gov – which it characterizes as “bring(ing) together thousands of locally reported data points to provide a clear picture of local communities’ work on California’s most pressing issues, including homelessness.”
In case your stomach is full after eating that word salad, it’s a website with data about homelessness.
Leave it to Newsom to say that Californians “expect fast results, not excuses,” but do the exact opposite at the state level. This is “the California way” after all – issuing press releases and creating self-promoting websites instead of delivering results.
Perusing the website, you’ll see information about how many housing units have been built in Alameda County. On the main page, you’ll read about California’s “unprecedented investments” in “build(ing) more homes (and) provid(ing) a place to live and assistance for those experiencing homelessness.”
But what you won’t find is any accountability about Newsom’s own homelessness efforts.
Website visitors are left to wonder – are taxpayers getting any results from the $24 billion spent on homelessness by Newsom’s administration since 2019? The answer, not surprisingly, is no.
Fortunately, we don’t need bureaucrats to build yet another state website – this information is readily available on PRI’s website and those of other government watchdogs.
The latest federal homeless data shows that California’s homeless population continues to grow to 187,084 in 2024 – an increase of nearly 5,700 individuals over a twelve-month period. But this data isn’t exactly “on message” with Newsom’s website.
PRI’s research has documented the ineffectiveness of Newsom’s homeless spending for years. Our study “Project Homekey Provides No Way Home for California’s Homeless”, for example, showed that “the Newsom administration’s claims that Homekey has been ‘the fastest, largest, most-cost-effective addition of permanent housing in California history’” is “unfounded.”
Among the projects heralded by Newsom – and funded in part by his Project Homekey initiative – are Los Angeles County homeless housing units also being funded by Proposition HHH.
The Los Angeles City Controller’s office has documented that HHH projects will cost as much as $837,000 per unit to build. Meanwhile, costs to build so-called “affordable housing” units elsewhere in California have been pegged at over $1 million per unit.
While proclaiming “Californians deserve results,” there’s no criticism or mention of these astronomical costs on the Los Angeles section of the accountability website.
In fact, there’s no criticism or accountability for the lack of state and local results anywhere on the Newsom website. Newsom did, however, announce another $920 million in homeless funding when unveiling the accountability website. But that’s the California way – spending more money and holding photo ops delivering oversized checks rather than delivering results.
The nonpartisan State Auditor’s office last year identified serious flaws in what the cities of San Jose and San Diego are doing locally to combat homelessness, saying that both “must do more to plan and evaluate their efforts to reduce homelessness.” Naturally, there’s no mention on the Newsom website of any progress, or lack thereof, by these cities in reducing homelessness.
The Auditor also criticized Newsom last year, saying that “the state must do more to assess the cost-effectiveness of its homelessness programs.” But this website isn’t that. In fact, he fought efforts by the Legislature to implement the Auditor’s recommendations, vetoing bipartisan legislation last year by Asm. Josh Hoover (R-Folsom) that would have required the state to publish public reports on homeless spending and outcomes.
But that’s not his goal with the website. As demonstrated during his much-criticized response to the Southern California wildfires in January – when he directed his taxpayer-funded communications staff to launch another website combating “misinformation” about his wildfire record – this is all about shaping favoring headlines.
A true government accountability website on homelessness would flag much of what Newsom is doing and funding as being ineffective. But holding yourself accountable isn’t the California way. It’s all about creating vibes and sending out press releases while the problem grows worse.
Tim Anaya is the Pacific Research Institute’s vice president of marketing and communications and co-author of The California Left Coast Survivor’s Guide.
A Website About Being Transparent That Isn’t
Tim Anaya
A true government accountability website on homelessness would flag much of what Newsom is doing and funding as being ineffective. But holding yourself accountable isn’t the California way. It’s all about creating vibes and sending out press releases while the problem grows worse.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration has launched a new initiative – accountability.ca.gov – which it characterizes as “bring(ing) together thousands of locally reported data points to provide a clear picture of local communities’ work on California’s most pressing issues, including homelessness.”
In case your stomach is full after eating that word salad, it’s a website with data about homelessness.
Leave it to Newsom to say that Californians “expect fast results, not excuses,” but do the exact opposite at the state level. This is “the California way” after all – issuing press releases and creating self-promoting websites instead of delivering results.
Perusing the website, you’ll see information about how many housing units have been built in Alameda County. On the main page, you’ll read about California’s “unprecedented investments” in “build(ing) more homes (and) provid(ing) a place to live and assistance for those experiencing homelessness.”
But what you won’t find is any accountability about Newsom’s own homelessness efforts.
Website visitors are left to wonder – are taxpayers getting any results from the $24 billion spent on homelessness by Newsom’s administration since 2019? The answer, not surprisingly, is no.
Fortunately, we don’t need bureaucrats to build yet another state website – this information is readily available on PRI’s website and those of other government watchdogs.
The latest federal homeless data shows that California’s homeless population continues to grow to 187,084 in 2024 – an increase of nearly 5,700 individuals over a twelve-month period. But this data isn’t exactly “on message” with Newsom’s website.
PRI’s research has documented the ineffectiveness of Newsom’s homeless spending for years. Our study “Project Homekey Provides No Way Home for California’s Homeless”, for example, showed that “the Newsom administration’s claims that Homekey has been ‘the fastest, largest, most-cost-effective addition of permanent housing in California history’” is “unfounded.”
Among the projects heralded by Newsom – and funded in part by his Project Homekey initiative – are Los Angeles County homeless housing units also being funded by Proposition HHH.
The Los Angeles City Controller’s office has documented that HHH projects will cost as much as $837,000 per unit to build. Meanwhile, costs to build so-called “affordable housing” units elsewhere in California have been pegged at over $1 million per unit.
While proclaiming “Californians deserve results,” there’s no criticism or mention of these astronomical costs on the Los Angeles section of the accountability website.
In fact, there’s no criticism or accountability for the lack of state and local results anywhere on the Newsom website. Newsom did, however, announce another $920 million in homeless funding when unveiling the accountability website. But that’s the California way – spending more money and holding photo ops delivering oversized checks rather than delivering results.
The nonpartisan State Auditor’s office last year identified serious flaws in what the cities of San Jose and San Diego are doing locally to combat homelessness, saying that both “must do more to plan and evaluate their efforts to reduce homelessness.” Naturally, there’s no mention on the Newsom website of any progress, or lack thereof, by these cities in reducing homelessness.
The Auditor also criticized Newsom last year, saying that “the state must do more to assess the cost-effectiveness of its homelessness programs.” But this website isn’t that. In fact, he fought efforts by the Legislature to implement the Auditor’s recommendations, vetoing bipartisan legislation last year by Asm. Josh Hoover (R-Folsom) that would have required the state to publish public reports on homeless spending and outcomes.
But that’s not his goal with the website. As demonstrated during his much-criticized response to the Southern California wildfires in January – when he directed his taxpayer-funded communications staff to launch another website combating “misinformation” about his wildfire record – this is all about shaping favoring headlines.
A true government accountability website on homelessness would flag much of what Newsom is doing and funding as being ineffective. But holding yourself accountable isn’t the California way. It’s all about creating vibes and sending out press releases while the problem grows worse.
Tim Anaya is the Pacific Research Institute’s vice president of marketing and communications and co-author of The California Left Coast Survivor’s Guide.
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.