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Secretary of State Padilla’s Secretive $35 Million Voter Outreach Contract Hangs in Limbo
(Sacramento, CA) — A 35-million-dollar contract awarded by Secretary of State Alex Padilla to a Democratic firm is now in limbo after state officials refused to pay the bill. Republican Assemblyman Kevin Kiley says the move by Governor Newsom to appoint Padilla to the Senate seat left open by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris shows poor judgement.
State Controller Betty Yee has stated that she refuses to pay the contract because she has not seen it and it was not previously approved by her office, which means taxpayers could be on the hook for the amount. But a spokesperson for SKD Knickerbocker, the firm that was hired by Padilla, says Governor Newsom’s office did review the contract and has agreed to pay the amount owed. The spokesperson also says the firm was awarded the contract after a competitive bidding process, a claim that is disputed by other media reports, and that the work done was strictly non-partisan voter outreach.
Assemblyman Kevin Kiley says he believes hiring a Democratic firm with close ties to the Biden campaign was a divisive move.
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