Gov. Newsom Assails Turlock Mayor After Council Voted Not to Support Local Homeless Shelter

California Governor Gavin Newsom really stepped in it this time, in what many are calling a noxious move. Governor Tone Deaf claimed that “California has invested billions to combat homelessness,” as he accused the Turlock Mayor of “a ridiculous lack of local leadership — an absolute moral failure,” over the decision not to facilitate a grant to a local homeless shelter, We Care. “The city council voted NO to writing a letter of support and allocating $1 so that the shelter would be eligible to receive a state grant worth more than $260,000,” CBS News reported.

“Truly a ridiculous lack of local leadership — an absolute moral failure. California has invested billions to combat homelessness. In Turlock, their only shelter is at risk over a single dollar. The state has done its part. Local leaders need to step up,” Newsom posted to X:

Right. And Gavin Newsom is the arbiter of morality.

We all remember the billions Gov. Newsom has “invested” to “combat homelessness.” I’m thinking specifically of the missing/unaccounted for $24 billion the governor spent on the “homeless” in the state, which succeeded only in growing the homeless population exponentially.

That’s $24,000,000,000. Billions. Gov. Newsom’s record isn’t exactly stellar on homeless spending.

One year ago this month, the California State Auditor issued a scathing report on how very broken the state’s homeless programs are, the Globe reported. The audit concluded that “spending money on homelessness, at least in California, actually increases the problem due to the induced demand (people from out of state coming for the benefits and yes it is a very high percentage,) and that the homeless-industrial complex – which stands between the state and the homeless person – is hoovering up vast amounts of cash with little or no oversight.”

CBS reports that Turlock is calling on the county to provide assistance. “We know the county has money to help other areas, not put a gun to our head and say we have to support this,” Turlock Mayor Amy Bublak said. “Well, no. You do it.”

The Turlock Journal reported:

“Corey Mai, the shelter’s executive director, has resorted to starting a GoFundMe account in hopes of raising money.”

“Do they think if we close down, homeless people are going to just go away?”

Asked what the city’s plan would be if We Care were to cease operations, Bublak said, “Then we’ll start having conversations with the county. Right now, it’s broken. All of California is broken. I wish We Care had been more pragmatic and less emotional, but whatever happened has happened. Tomorrow’s another day, and we’ll see what happens next.”

Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil (R-Jackson) who represents Turlock, shared her thoughts in a statement, “after Governor Gavin Newsom launched an unprovoked attack on the City of Turlock and its local leadership.”

“The governor’s attack on local leadership and the city of Turlock is a blatant overreach of executive power. Forcing failed, one-size-fits-all policies onto the Central Valley only drives up costs for local taxpayers and further erodes community voices in local decisions. I stand firmly with Mayor Amy Bublak and support the city’s efforts to defend local control, hold We Care accountable, and act in the best interests of Turlock constituents.”

Ted Howze, who ran for Congress in 2020, is a veterinarian, and former member of the Turlock City Council, corrected Gov. Newsom:

As a former Turlock City Council member, I can assure you the organization in question “We Care” has a long history of doing vastly more harm than good in the community. This Councils action is within their right & it’s commendable for them to make the best choices for Turlock.

The Globe spoke with Ted Howze who had this to say:

“Gov. Newsom is backing an organization that never did anything other than help themselves. ‘We Care’ is the model for what not to do in dealing with homelessness.”

A quick look at We Care’s IRS Form 990 from 2022, the most recent year available (isn’t it 2025?), shows:

• $884,312 total revenue
• $473,753 in salaries
• $793, 203 government grants
• $50,763 other contributions
• $29,477 compensation for Executive Director
• $378,568 “other” salaries and wages
• $26,175 “other benefits
• $81,682 contract work
• $54,813 grant expense
• $857,216 expenses

That’s a very high ratio of salaries to revenue for a non-profit. I’d like to see the most current Form 990. It appears We Care relies entirely on government grants, spends more than half of that on salaries, benefits, contract work and grant writing?

$24 billion in homelessness spending in the last five years has resulted in a 30% increase in California’s drug-addicted, mentally ill homeless population. And the millions of illegal immigrants who flooded across the border during the Biden administration only exacerbated the housing problem.

Given Gov. Newsom’s track record for reckless homeless funding and spending, and the many dubious non-profit organizations and NGOs created to receive the funding, will we ever see another legitimate audit of homeless spending?

Turlock Mayor Amy Bublak is on to something.