California Governor's Involvement in Homeless Encampment Issue
California Governor Gavin Newsom has been reported to have given preferential treatment to his sports superstar friend, former NFL running back Marshawn Lynch, after the athlete complained about a homeless encampment outside of his family's Oakland home. This revelation comes from a detailed report that highlights the governor's intervention in the matter.
The encampment appeared on Dover Street in North Oakland in early 2024 when a camper, an RV, and an SUV moved into the area near Lynch's grandmother's home. Desperate neighbors repeatedly reported the illegal parking to the city's antisocial behavior hotline 311 for several months. On May 22, the vehicles' owners were finally notified they had been in violation of city parking laws for more than 72 hours and would have to leave.
Six days later, Leigh Hanson, then-chief of staff to former Oakland mayor Sheng Thao, texted two city officials regarding the encampment and invoked Newsom's name. The messages obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle reveal that the Governor's office was requesting support to help resolve the issues in a timely manner.
Hanson also mentioned that 'several campers' were doing 'questionable things' after taking over the area. Newsom is known to be old friends with Lynch, and the two co-hosted a weekly podcast called Politickin in July 2024. Lynch, an Oakland native, graduated from high school in the Bay Area city and later attended Cal Berkeley. In 2017, he threw a party at the home in question to celebrate signing for his hometown Oakland Raiders.
The text message exchanges from Newsom's office were released last week as part of a public records request for the FBI's investigation into Thao. The former Oakland mayor, who was ousted in November 2024, is accused of bribery and corruption. She has pleaded not guilty and is due to stand trial in October this year. Messages disclosed as part of the record request show her chief of staff Hanson subsequently followed up by reiterating that Newsom's office had again been in touch. She added that she had visited the encampment and seen pit bulls ravaging the area.
It was not immediately clear how the issue concerning Lynch's home reached Newsom's office. Johnson ultimately offered to clear the area with encampment clearance teams and animal control. He also suggested working with the city's fire department on an emergency closure so that 'fire [could] access permanent structures.' Meanwhile, Duffey quipped that he would head over to the encampment in his 'Bat mobile' to take a look. There was seemingly no more conversation about the encampment after that.
Johnson resigned on Sunday after inappropriate texts to Duffey about female colleagues were revealed as part of the public records request. Duffey left his role in Oakland last September and became Brentwood's city manager two months later, according to a public LinkedIn profile. A spokesperson for Newsom said that the California governor's office had to 'repeatedly step in, across the city, because the former mayor wasn't moving with any urgency,' per the San Francisco Chronicle.
Oakland spokesperson Jean Walsh said the city did not take any steps to remove the encampment in June 2024. Instead, the homeless individuals relocated to nearby lots controlled by California's Department of Transportation in August that year. The Oakland Fire Department said they had not been asked by city leaders to begin any encampment closures, as was implied in one of Johnson's text messages.
Real estate developers had also been pushing officials to clear the encampment. This is not the first time that Newsom has intervened on behalf of Lynch, though under different circumstances. In 2012, Lynch was facing disciplinary actions from the NFL after being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. The superstar running back was playing for the Seattle Seahawks at the time, though the alleged incident happened in Oakland. Newsom, then the lieutenant governor of California, called league commissioner Roger Goodell to vouch for Lynch.
'For him to take the time out to talk to the commissioner about me is something I will never forget,' Lynch said at the time. 'For Gavin to be the second-most powerful person in California and [still] talk to a kid from Oakland and help me learn about business, it tells you what kind of character he has.'
Lynch ultimately pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of reckless driving and received two years of probation as part of the plea deal. The Daily Mail has reached out to Newsom's office and Lynch's agent Hendrickson for further comment.
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