California Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing accusations of corruption for paying $20 million in taxpayer money to a nonprofit led by an executive who also sits on the board of his wife’s organization that promotes gender equity.
It all comes down to diapers — as the initiative, “Golden State Start,” was rolled out ahead of Mother’s Day, billed as a partnership between the state and Los Angeles-based Baby2Baby.
The program aims to provide free diapers to newborns through hospitals statewide, but the deal has triggered a wave of scrutiny over how the nonprofit was chosen, and its proximity to Newsom’s political and personal network.
“If you take the number of diapers they’re planning to send out and the amount of money that he’s spending on it, it’s 50 cents for each one, which is like 100 times more expensive if you just bought them in Costco,” Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton said Saturday.
“But where’s the money coming from? Us.”
Siebel Newsom co-founded the California Partners Project, which helped facilitate the partnership.
Her non-profit works to increase women’s representation in leadership, and Norah Weinstein sits on the board.
Weinstein is also the co-CEO of Baby2Baby. She has run the organization since 2011 alongside co-CEO Kelly Sawyer Patricof.
That detail is what critics point to as evidence of overlapping influence between state-funded programs and affiliated nonprofit networks.
“Instead of taking our money, putting into some scheme that benefits their friends and cronies,” Hilton said, “why don’t they let us just keep more of our money in the first place so we can decide how to spend our money?”
Patricof’s family ties have also drawn attention from critics, including her marriage to film producer Jamie Patricof, whose father, Alan Patricof, is a longtime Democratic donor with deep ties to the Clinton-era political network.
The state has committed roughly $20 million to the program, including $7.4 million already approved and another $12.5 million proposed in the 2026–2027 budget cycle, positioning it as a major expansion of statewide diaper access for newborns.
Backlash has been swift and highly critical, with many questioning both the structure and cost of the initiative.
Many questioned the program‘s scale, arguing that comparable bulk retail prices are significantly lower.
Another person pointed to Baby2Baby’s reported financial position and political relationships, alleging the organization operates more like a politically connected network than a traditional charity. Those claims were not independently verified.
The California Post reached out to Newsom’s office and Baby2Baby for comment.
Despite the criticism, Newsom has promoted “Golden State Start” as a flagship child welfare initiative, calling it “a first-in-the-nation program to provide free diapers to all new babies born in California.”
