California Medical Association leaders also attended the controversial dinner party where Gov. Gavin Newsom was seen breaking his own coronavirus restrictions.
California Medical Association CEO Dustin Corcoran and CMA lobbyist Janus Norman were among those present celebrating the birthday of Jason Kinney, Newsom’s political adviser, Politico reported Wednesday.
“The California Medical Association represents 50,000 doctors in the nation’s most populous state and has recently tweeted messages including #StayHome and #WearAMask,” KTLA reported.
Photos of the event also surfaced this week and show none of the 12 partygoers wearing face masks, most notably the Democratic governor.
“EXCLUSIVE: We’ve obtained photos of Governor Gavin Newsom at the Napa dinner party he’s in hot water over. The photos call into question just how outdoors the dinner was. A witness who took photos tells us his group was so loud, the sliding doors had to be closed,” Fox 11’s Bill Melugin tweeted, accompanied by the photos.
EXCLUSIVE: We’ve obtained photos of Governor Gavin Newsom at the Napa dinner party he’s in hot water over. The photos call into question just how outdoors the dinner was. A witness who took photos tells us his group was so loud, the sliding doors had to be closed. 10pm on @FOXLA pic.twitter.com/gtOVEwa864
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) November 18, 2020
CMA spokesman Anthony York said in a statement that “the dinner was held in accordance with state and county guidelines.”
Politico added in its report that the CMA has lobbied “the Newsom administration on Covid-19 screening and testing rules.”
However, Newsom was met with fierce pushback over the dinner, where meals cost $350 a person according to a menu from 2018, including from San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer.
“His kids can learn in person. But yours can’t,” Faulconer tweeted. “He can celebrate birthday parties. But you can’t. He can dine on a $350 meal at one of California’s fanciest restaurants during the worst recession in generations. But you definitely can’t. Can you believe this? I can’t.”
Newsom announced this week that he was halting the state’s reopening plan and put 94% of California under the state’s most restrictive coronavirus guidelines. Guidelines in the state also prohibit more than three households from gathering.
Newsom apologized for the dinner on Monday, saying he needs to “preach and practice.”
“I want to apologize to you because I need to preach and practice, not just preach and not practice, and I’ve done my best to do that,” Newsom said. “We’re all human. We all fall short sometimes.”
