Since California speaker rose to power, corporate money flowed to nonprofits tied to his wife
Sacramento Bee 2/19/2021 Hannah Wiley and Lance Williams, The Sacramento Bee
Feb. 19 This article was reported in partnership with Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting.
In the years since Anthony Rendon rose to power as speaker of the California Assembly, nonprofits associated with his wife, Annie Lam, received more than $500,000 in donations and event sponsorships from dozens of companies with business before the Legislature.
Nonprofits are not required to publicly disclose their donors. But since 2016, when Rendon ascended to the speakership, five nonprofits where Lam is employed have received donations or sponsorships from more than 50 entities, according to public records, promotional flyers and interviews.
March 12, 2021
Anthony Rendon, D-Paramount, stands with his wife, Annie Lam, while he is acknowledged by fellow members of the Assembly before he is sworn in as the new Assembly speaker on Monday, March 7, 2016 in Sacramento, Calif. Credit: Randy Pench/The Sacramento Bee
This article was reported in partnership with The Sacramento Bee.
In the years since Anthony Rendon rose to power as speaker of the California Assembly, nonprofits associated with his wife, Annie Lam, have received more than $500,000 in donations and event sponsorships from dozens of companies with business before the Legislature.
Nonprofits are not required to publicly disclose their donors. But since 2016, when Rendon ascended to the speakership, five nonprofits where Lam is employed have received donations or sponsorships from more than 50 entities, according to public records, promotional flyers and interviews.
By Arturo Castañares
Editor-at-Large
A lawsuit seeking to undo the City of San Diego’s lease of a downtown building plagued by financial scandal and equipment failures was amended to claim the deal is illegal under the state’s constitution and is now seeking the return of over $23 million already paid by the City.
“The lawsuit was filed by a concerned taxpayer to do what the City isn’t doing – demanding the money back for a building that can’t be used. The lease purchase agreement was unconstitutional on its face and is void,” Maria Severson, one of the lawyers representing plaintiff John A. Gordon, a San Diego resident, told La Prensa San Diego immediately after the amended complaint was filed. Severson is a law partner of former City Attorney Michael J. Aguirre, and is also joined on the lawsuit by attorney Lawrence W. Shea.