California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office defends adding director of photography for $200K a year

SACRAMENTO – California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office is defending the decision to add a $200,000-a-year director of photography to his office.

Retired photojournalist Charles Ommanney is paid to capture Newsom’s image in wildfire zones and encampment cleanups. The news was first reported by Politico.

Ommaney’s website features a past list of prominent politicians he’s worked with, including former presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush.

His LinkedIn page shows his former work as a photojournalist for Newsweek and notes that he’s been published by prominent magazines including Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone. 

The Governor’s Office issued a statement that reads in part: “Unlike nearly all of his predecessors and gubernatorial counterparts, the real story here is that Governor Newsom did not have a dedicated photographer for over five years. We’re thrilled that changed when Charles joined our team.”

Jack Ohman is a Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist and columnist who has drawn Newsom’s caricature over his career. 

But Ohman is not calling out the governor for the hire. 

“I think Newsom is very conscious of how he comes off, how they’re projecting,” Ohman said. “I just am not cranked up enough about this to really get angry about it. State government is highly paid, and you know a lot of the time, the reason that it’s highly paid is because it’s really expensive to live in California.”

The price is not right for Doug Elmets, a Republican political strategist who sees a problem with the six-figure salary, given the state’s recent $73 billion deficit.

“Why is it that the governor feels the need to hire somebody for $200,000 to take pictures of him,” Elmets said. “That photographer should be hired as a contractor to Governor Newsom’s campaign, and there you wouldn’t have all the questions raised about taxpayer dollars.”

For comparison, the chief photographer’s salary is not far off from the governor’s own salary — $230,000 a year.