California’s Top Doctors Attended French Laundry Dinner with Newsom

OAKLAND – Officials from the California Medical Association were among guests seated next to Governor Gavin Newsom at a lavish birthday dinner for a senior California politician at French Laundry restaurant this month.

CEO Dustin Corcoran and CMA lead lobbyist Janus Norman both joined for dinner at French Laundry, an elite gourmet restaurant in Napa, to celebrate the 50th birthday of the lobbyist and longtime Newsom advisor Jason Kinney, a representative of the powerful interest group confirmed Wednesday morning.

Norman and Corcoran are both friends of Kinney, as is Newsom, who this week opened up about his 20-year friendship with Kinney. In a photo obtained by Fox LA, Norman is clearly visible seated to Newsom’s left.

The presence of CMA brass could amplify criticism over the dinner that unfolded despite coronavirus restrictions that have limited the movement of Californians and constrained businesses. While Newsom and Kinney’s lobbying firm said the meal complied with public health rules, it struck a chord with Californians who beset the high-end party as hypocritical as the surge in coronavirus cases.

The state has issued guidelines prohibiting more than three households from gathering in private – a limit clearly exceeded by the French Laundry dinner. However, the state intentionally allowed restaurants to cater for people from more than three households together.

Doctors and other healthcare workers have been vigilant since the onset of the pandemic asking Califorians to stay home – a call that has intensified in recent weeks as hospitals across the country fill to capacity.

CMA spokesman Anthony York said in a statement that “the dinner was held under state and county guidelines.”

Photos suggest the dinner was held in what amounts to a chic garage, with walls on three sides and a roof. Newsom and Kinney’s lobbying firm Axiom Advisors insisted it was an alfresco dinner party. It’s unclear if this counts as alfresco dining under state guidelines, although restaurants in Napa County were permitted to serve customers indoors at the time of the Nov. 6 event.

The CMA has long been a powerful presence in the State Capitol, and its officials in Sacramento have been long-time friends with Kinney. The group spent $ 2.1 million last year lobbying heads of state.

This year, the doctor lobby was successful in convincing Newsom and state lawmakers not to reduce reimbursement rates for Medi-Cal funded by a tobacco tax that the CMA conducted in 2016. In addition to the list of dozens of bills, the CMA also reported lobbying the Newsom administration on Covid-19 screening and testing rules.

But the group doesn’t always succeed with Newsom. He signed a bill in September that will give nurse practitioners more authority to work without medical supervision, a bill that the CMA opposed.