Governor’s Office Explains the Lie

Governor Gavin Newsom

The office of Governor Gavin Newsom reached out to CTN because “there have been rampant rumors around the Palisades and Los Angeles communities regarding a funding announcement from the Governor’s Office and subsequent inaccurate coverage from Center Square click here. The article stated “Six months after the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires, California Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled $101 million in funding Tuesday for ‘multifamily low-income housing development’ that will ‘contribute to a more equitable and resilient Los Angeles.’ The priority is for ‘geographic proximity to the fire perimeters of the Eaton, Hughes, and Palisades fires.’”

Newsom’s Deputy Director of Communications Tara Gallegos wrote “These rumors have created fear and confusion in a time where people need accurate info more than ever,” and emphasized the following facts:

✅ No laws have changed that require new low-income housing in place of older apartments.

✅ No mandates exist requiring entire buildings to be rebuilt as affordable housing.

✅ This grant, which developers can choose to apply for, doesn’t change zoning laws or housing policy — it simply helps disaster-impacted communities recover and meet existing, long-standing housing needs at every income level.

CTN asked Gallagos “How does giving money to developers help families in Pacific Palisades and Altadena replace single family homes? Building large apartment buildings, even in adjacent areas, affects density and the ability to successfully evacuate. Why would the governor give developers money that is so desperately needed by residents who have lost everything? I don’t understand how that $101M helps disaster-impacted communities recover.”

People need money to rebuild the homes that were destroyed in the fire.

She responded “The funding is part of a longstanding state program specifically for multifamily housing. Funds from this program cannot be redirected to individual residents.  Hundreds of multifamily units were destroyed in these fires throughout the county. These funds will support housing developments that have already received local land use approval, are located near burn areas, and give preference to residents who have been displaced by LA County Wildfires.”

Regarding helping those in single-family residents, Gallegos wrote “the Governor has issued numerous Executive Orders to expedite the pace and lower the cost of rebuilding, including a recent Order that further suspends state permitting rules specifically for single-family homes in the city of LA.”

(CTN Translation: There’s no direct financial aid to help people who want to rebuild single-family homes destroyed in the fire.)

The second question CTN asked was “There are so many  empty apartments and buildings in Los Angeles. Another media outlet, Westside Current chronicled the government-funded buildings that are unoccupied. Where is proof that there are long-standing housing needs at every income level?”

There are numerous apartments for rent in Santa Monica.

That question was based on this editor’s experience and the experiences of community members who had to find a new place to live after the Palisades Fire.

After living with relatives, friends and in hotels, residents had to seek new dwellings. After hearing there was no affordable housing or no housing in general, most were surprised to find numerous apartments and duplexes to choose from. Finding single family houses was more difficult, but not impossible.

There are a large number of empty apartments in Marina del Rey, Playa Vista and Santa Monica. Chris del Rey reported on the phenomena in “The Cruel Inhumanity of the “YIMBY’ Movement” click here. The government’s preoccupation is to continue to give developers money to build big apartment buildings, when it seems people prefer single-family homes.

To prove there was not enough affordable housing, Gallegos sent me the link to the Three Decades of Housing Challenges in the Golden State – Public Policy Institute of California, which noted that “Since 1990, the state has added 3.6 million housing units and 9.4 million residents. Adjusted for inflation, California’s median values for owner-occupied housing have increased 56% since 1990 (from $456,000 to $753,000) and rents have increased 39% (from $1,300 to $1,800).”

The report also noted “California has the lowest homeownership rates in the country.”

Gallegos failed to point out that in 2020, L.A. County had 10,104,042 residents and in 2024 the population was estimated at 9,757,179. The State of California lost a congressional seat because of the declining population.

CTN checked with Westside Editor Jaime Paige, who wrote in a May 30 article about Project Homekey, the state government’s effort to renovate and expand apartments for the homeless  Paige wrote that there were more than 600 empty apartments in that program alone.click here.

(CTN Translation: Even though it is repeated constantly there are not enough affordable apartments, no one questions that statement.  It also appears that even though most families prefer homes, the majority of government-funding goes to apartments.)