Governor’s Involvement in Homeless Encampment Near Friend’s Home
California Governor Gavin Newsom has been revealed to have taken a personal interest in addressing a homeless encampment near the home of his close friend, former NFL running back Marshawn Lynch. This development came to light through a detailed report that highlighted the governor’s preferential treatment towards Lynch after the athlete raised concerns about the encampment located outside his family's home in Oakland.
The encampment first appeared in early 2024 when a camper, an RV, and an SUV were parked on Dover Street in North Oakland, near Lynch’s grandmother's residence. Local residents repeatedly reported the illegal parking to the city's antisocial behavior hotline, 311, over several months. On May 22, the owners of the vehicles were finally notified that they had violated city parking laws by remaining for more than 72 hours and were required to leave.
Six days later, Leigh Hanson, then chief of staff to former Oakland mayor Sheng Thao, sent messages to two city officials regarding the encampment, mentioning Newsom's name. In one message, she wrote, “The Governor's office is requesting our support to help resolve the issues in a timely manner.” The text messages were obtained as part of a public records request related to the FBI's investigation into Thao, who was ousted in November 2024 and is accused of bribery and corruption.
Hanson also claimed that "several campers" were engaging in "questionable things" after taking over the area. Newsom and Lynch have a long-standing friendship, having co-hosted a weekly podcast called Politickin with their friend and agent Doug Hendrickson since July 2024. Lynch, an Oakland native, attended Cal Berkeley and celebrated his signing with the Oakland Raiders in 2017 at the home in question.
The messages from Newsom's office were released last week as part of the public records request. It remains unclear how the issue concerning Lynch's home reached Newsom's office. However, Johnson, then-city administrator, offered to clear the area with encampment clearance teams and animal control, while also suggesting working with the city's fire department on an emergency closure to ensure access to permanent structures.
Duffey humorously suggested he would head over to the encampment in his "Bat mobile" to take a look. There was no further discussion 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.
Oakland spokesperson Jean Walsh stated that 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. The Oakland Fire Department confirmed that they had not been asked by city leaders to begin any encampment closures, as implied in one of Johnson's text messages.
Real estate developers had also pushed 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 faced disciplinary actions from the NFL after being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. At the time, 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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