Alex Padilla’s Knickerbocker nightmare

Something is rotten in the state of California. Alex Padilla, the secretary of state, is considered a top contender to be appointed as the next junior senator, replacing Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. A number of media outlets are therefore well within their rights to have a nose through his affairs in the hunt for scandal. And the Sacramento Bee has turned up some rather suspect spending habits during his tenure: Padilla’s office has ‘received more than $34 million worth of invoices’ for a voter outreach campaign from consultancy firm SKDKnickerbocker.

If that firm’s name rings a bell, it might be because of Anita Dunn, the firm’s managing director (the ‘D’ is for ‘Dunn’), who just so happens to be a senior adviser to the Biden campaign and now advises the Biden-Harris transition team. What a phenomenal coincidence.

The Bee reports:

‘The voter outreach campaign was intended to inform California voters about changes to the election in light of the coronavirus pandemic — in particular, the state’s decision to send all active registered voters absentee ballots in the mail. Senate Bill 423, which which updated sections of the election code, called for the Secretary of State to “conduct a statewide voter education and outreach campaign regarding new procedures in place for the November 3, 2020, statewide general election”. The contract for the campaign was awarded through an expedited, emergency bid process, which Padilla’s office said was necessary given the urgency of the election and the coronavirus pandemic.’

It’s worth noting that the nearly $35 million sum has yet to be paid. It’s also worth noting that if there was an intention to turn out more Democrats than Republicans through the use of a Democrat-affiliated firm, the effort backfired spectacularly: the Republican party picked up three seats from the Democrats in California, as Nancy Pelosi’s House majority shrunk by 10.

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Nonetheless, House Republicans are demanding a probe into the awarding of the contract: Reps. James Comer, Rodney Davis and Jody Hice consider it ‘critical’ that Padilla ‘provide answers about his decision to award a contract to a partisan firm that appears to be both a misuse of taxpayer money and a violation of the law’.

Cockburn doesn’t see what all the fuss is about: Gavin Newsom is looking to replace Kamala Harris. Why on earth would he plump for an honest broker with a respect for the rules?