CA Gov Newsom Pays $200K Per Year for Famed Photographer to Tail Him

California Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration hired a personal photographer earlier this year, raising eyebrows among California taxpayers. Officially called the governor’s Director of Photography, the photographer reportedly earns a $200,000 annual salary, among the highest in Newsom’s administration, and just $34,000 shy of Newsom’s wages.

Newsom’s photographer is famed British-born photojournalist and portrait specialist Charles Ommanney, who has previously worked with other influential political figures, like George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

As Politico reports, Ommanney recently captured photos of Newsom picking up trash as he helped clear a homeless encampment in Los Angeles and also traveled with Newsom to China last fall, although reportedly at that time as a freelancer.

Last November, The Sacramento Bee reported that Ommanney was being paid $5,000 per month on a contract basis to capture photos of the governor. According to a Newsom spokesperson, Ommanney had worked for the state since June 2023.

“Modern communications is not just written. It includes photos, videos, social media and more. Photos are a critical component to communicating with the public,” spokesperson Erin Mellon told The Bee over email last year when the publication asked if the photographer was a “necessary expense.”

“The actual story is the fact that Governor Newsom didn’t have a photographer for the last 5 years. Since the Governor took office we’ve relied on staff who were not hired as photographers to capture images of the administration’s work,” Mellon continued.

Now that Ommanney has been made the official Director of Photography for the Newsom administration, the question of whether it is a sound use of taxpayer money has returned to the fore.

However, as Newsom spokesperson Izzy Gardon tells Politico, it’s not unusual for governors to have personal photographers. It’s also common for state governments to hire photographers to document governmental proceedings. Many political analysts believe Newsom has ambitions beyond state government and may enter the national political arena in the coming years.

“Charles plays an instrumental role in communicating the work of state government across visual platforms — including social media, helping us meet Californians where they are at,” Izzy Gardon, a Newsom spokesperson, tells Politico via an official statement.

The new Director of Photography role arrives as California’s Legislator’s Nonpartisan Fiscal and Policy Advisor office projects that the California state government will have a $73 billion deficit for the 2024 fiscal year. The state says a revised budget will result in a surplus in the 2025 and 2026 fiscal years.

Image credits: California Governor Gavin Newsom’s Office