How focused is Gavin Newsom on his job? His official schedule remains a mystery

"If he wants to prove to the United States that he would be a good president, why doesn't he start by leading and actually running the state of California?" then-Republican Assemblymember Bill Essayli, who has since been appointed a U.S. attorney, said in a March appearance on Fox News.

But it's difficult to evaluate what effect Newsom's extracurricular activities have had on his work, because the governor's office has not made his full schedule available all year.

Each month, CalMatters requests Newsom's calendar under the California Public Records Act. While the governor's office routinely released those documents in the past, it has not provided anything new in five months and has yet to hand over any of his 2025 calendars.

Multiple inquiries about a timeline for releasing the records, a requirement under the law, have been ignored during that period. Representatives for the governor's legal affairs unit, which handles records requests, wrote that the calendars "will be provided as soon as they are ready for release."

Newsom's spokesperson did not respond to questions about what is causing the delay, but said in an email Wednesday that the calendars would be provided when they are "finalized and ready for public disclosure."

"Governor Newsom has been among the most transparent governors in California's history and we'll continue to share his calendar, as always, with the transparency, diligence, and accuracy it deserves," spokesperson Izzy Gardon wrote. He added, "I look forward to reading your webpost about the hardships you've encountered while waiting."

David Loy, legal director of the First Amendment Coalition, which advocates for government transparency, said it's "deeply problematic" that the governor's office has not quickly fulfilled what amounts to a simple clerical task.

"We're not talking hundreds and hundreds of records that need to be rounded up and redacted. It's a pretty straightforward request," Loy said. "This is not difficult — or should not be difficult."

A fight for public access

California governors have shared their calendars for about two decades.

Previously, Gov. George Deukmejian went to court to protect those records from disclosure, arguing that making his appointments public would discourage people from meeting with him and hinder his decision-making process. The California Supreme Court ruled in his favor in 1991.

Then California voters expanded the Public Records Act in 2004, ultimately compelling then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to begin releasing his calendar. During Gov. Jerry Brown's subsequent tenure, his office proactively provided his appointments log monthly to reporters who made standing public records requests.

The schedules are of limited utility, because they include only official events, not personal or political activities, and even those are sometimes redacted to protect attorney-client privilege or the governor's security. Newsom's calendars from previous years include many days with just a few meetings or no official events listed at all, and the hours are often filled with "work time," providing no further details.

But because most of the governor's other records, including emails, remain legally protected from disclosure, calendars offer the public the most comprehensive picture available of who Newsom is speaking to and how he is prioritizing his time. That means their release can still be politically fraught, and numerous administrations have resisted going beyond the minimum requirements.

"It would be so much better for transparency if they just posted his calendar online," Loy said.

Calendars not produced 'promptly'

The governor's office last provided Newsom's calendars to CalMatters on April 1, for the months of September through December 2024.

When a request is made under the California Public Records Act, government agencies are required to determine within 10 business days whether they have any disclosable documents and, if so, provide an estimated delivery date. The agencies are then supposed to produce the records "promptly," which is not a defined time frame.

The law also obligates that records be produced as they existed at the time of the request.

The calendars that Newsom's office has released in the past are PDF files that simply list his schedule in chronological order: date, time, a brief description of the appointment, location and staff lead.

The entries appear to be copied over from a calendar program into a text file, which Loy said is concerning, because the law requires that electronic records are provided in their native format, for proper accountability.

"The whole point of transparency law is 'trust but verify,'" he said. "We don't have to take their word that they're doing it right. We can see it for ourselves."

Newsom's spokespeople did not respond to questions about how the governor's calendar is maintained and in what format.

The delay echoes a similar issue involving Newsom's tax returns. While they are not a public record, Newsom pledged to be the first California governor to release his filings every year while in office. But he has not done so in more than three years, last sharing a tax return in March 2022, as he was running for reelection.