California Governor Gavin Newsom’s official calendar shows he logged “no official business” on 18 workdays in just four months, and it only became public after a long legal fight.
Quick Take
- Newsom’s newly released calendar marks 18 weekdays as “no official business” in the first four months of the year, about one in four workdays.
- The calendar also lists 53 entries simply labeled “work time,” giving little detail about what the governor actually did.
- The records came out only after months of requests and legal pressure, following a pattern of delayed disclosure.
- Courts have repeatedly ordered Newsom’s office to hand over meeting records tied to utility companies and other outside groups.
Calendar Fight Ends With Blank Spots
Governor Newsom’s office released his official calendar after a monthslong fight over public records. An analysis of that calendar found 18 weekdays in the first four months of the year marked “no official business.” That works out to roughly one out of every four workdays with no listed activity at all.
The calendar also included 53 entries labeled only as “work time,” with no names, locations, or topics attached. For a governor who is often mentioned as a possible 2028 presidential candidate, the vague entries leave taxpayers with little way to check what he was doing on the public’s clock.
A Pattern of Withheld Schedules
This is not the first time Newsom’s office has slow-walked calendar requests. CalMatters reported that the governor’s office did not release any of his 2025 calendars for months, even though state law says the records must be provided promptly. Reporters have asked for these records every month, only to face delays and no clear explanation.
Other outlets found the same pattern going back years. In 2021, the California Globe said Newsom’s legal team denied a request for his public schedule for over a week before rejecting it outright. News organizations in Spanish-language media also noted that Newsom’s office went five months without updating his public schedule at all.
Courts Repeatedly Side With Transparency
Newsom’s office has lost several court fights over calendar secrecy. A state appeals court ruled that Alice Reynolds, Newsom’s former senior energy adviser, had to disclose her meetings with utility companies from before she became president of the California Public Utilities Commission. Newsom’s office had objected, but the court sided with a watchdog group seeking the records.
A similar case involved Ann Patterson, Newsom’s Cabinet Secretary. A judge ordered the governor to release calendar entries showing meetings between Patterson and representatives of Pacific Gas & Electric. Sacramento television reporter Brandon Rittiman sued for those records in 2023 after his public records request went unfulfilled, and the court ruled in his favor.
What the Records Show and Don’t Show
The governor’s office has cited exemptions in California’s Public Records Act to justify withholding some calendar details, arguing that not every entry belongs in the public file. Courts have generally disagreed when the records involve meetings with regulated industries like utilities, pointing to the public’s interest in knowing who influences state decisions.
Gavin Newsom’s secret meeting calendar revealed after monthslong fight
Working hard or hardly working, Gov?
Gavin Newsom's official calendars show the lefty governor listing zero government business on a staggering 18 taxpayer-funded workdays in the first four months of the…— Timothy, Patrick Michael (@TimDipinto) August 10, 2026
Voters on both sides of the aisle have reason to take notice. Conservatives who already distrust California’s Democratic leadership see the blank calendar days as proof of a governor more focused on national ambitions than daily state business. Liberals who value open government have their own reasons to ask why a governor’s office kept fighting requests that state law says should be routine.
Sources:
nypost.com, sfchronicle.com, calmatters.org, medialaw.org, sacbee.com, courthousenews.com, abc10.com
