Gavin Newsom already comes across as elite. Hiring his own photographer made it worse | Opinion

Vanity, thy name is ... Gavin Newsom?

So it would seem, after Politico recently reported that the Governor’s Office “quietly” hired well known photographer Charles Ommanney about six months ago.

He earns a not-too-shabby $200,000 per year, which is only slightly less than what the governor makes ($234,101 as of December 2023) and slightly more than the secretary of state earns ($175,576).

His main assignment appears to be trailing after the governor and making him look good. Tough job, but you know what they say. Somebody’s got to do it.

Opinion

That’s not to imply that photographers aren’t worth every nickel they earn. If you’ve ever had the unfortunate experience of having a really, really bad picture of yourself on a driver’s license or a passport or maybe in a newspaper, you appreciate the value of a flattering photo.

Still, the expenditure seems like a bit of an extravagance when you consider that California just had to face down a $47 billion deficit.

And for a governor who comes off as out-of-touch with California’s working people, hiring someone whose primary job is capturing images is too predictable a move, and a little tone deaf now that the state is struggling financially.

This seems destined to add to governor’s list of faux pas, along with that fancy dinner at the French Laundry during the COVID pandemic and initially exempting bakery restaurants from a new minimum wage law, allegedly to benefit a personal friend and contributor who owns Panera.

Governor’s Office says it’s common practice

Newsom’s office defended the move by pointing out that plenty of other governors have dedicated photographers, and prior to Newsom, it was a regular practice for California governors to do so as well.

OK, but as many a mother used to say, “If so-and-so jumped off a cliff, would you do it too?”

To be fair, Ommanney was also hired in the interest of transparency.

“Charles plays a critical role in communicating the work of state government to the public across visual platforms — including social media — helping us meet Californians where they are at,” Izzy Gardon, the governor’s director of communications, wrote in an email. “Charles is a retired photojournalist (he spent much of his career with Newsweek), and the photographs he captures for the administration are regularly used by news organizations across the state.”

It is sadly also true that many print media outlets are in dire straits right now and rely more on “handout” photos from public agencies than they once did. In that sense, the Governor’s Office is doing media — and the public — a service.

And Ommanney is highly skilled — just check out his Instagram.

He’s shot a range of subjects: presidents and soldiers, sand dunes and sunsets, balloons and bullets, wild horses and friendly puppies. He’s even made a bunch of plastic knives strewn on a sidewalk look magical.

It could almost be argued that California got a bargain with this hire. After all, photographs will last much longer than Gov. Newsom or you or me.

But Ommanney’s talents seem wasted on the governor, and I don’t say that to be critical.

Newsom is a photogenic dude, especially in those aviator shades he’s so partial to. He doesn’t need a Charles Ommanney to make him look good. I could probably shoot a decent photo of him with my iPhone 7 that’s at least six or seven years out of date.

Besides, if the governor wants some pics for posterity — or for a future political campaign, as many are speculating — he’s already got plenty of those. He’s been photographed planting a tree. Trudging through snow. Seated with royalty. Posing at the Great Wall of China. Standing behind the governor’s podium and sitting behind the governor’s desk.

Just recently, he was photographed picking up trash after a Los Angeles homeless camp was dismantled by Caltrans — a not-so-subtle attempt to shame L.A. officials and county supervisors representing urban areas throughout the state.

The ‘money shot’

We also have plenty of smiling Gavins, angry Gavins, grimacing Gavis. Gavins in suits and ties. Gavins in shirt sleeves. Gavins in T-shirts and Gavins in blue jeans.

And talk about a money shot: We even have a 2004 photograph of a young Gavin reclining next his then-wife, Kimberly Guilfoyle (who is now engaged to Donald Trump Jr.) on a fancy rug for a spread in “Harper’s Bazaar.”

“There he lay spooning his wife in a Hugo Boss tuxedo, hair slicked back, hands wrapped around Guilfoyle and eyes fixed in a piercing, model-like stare,” is how a writer for New York magazine’s “Intelligencer” recently described it.

If anything, the governor has been overexposed. He relentlessly seeks attention. Hiring his own photographer, to ensure that every last possible image is captured, cements his reputation as focusing on style more than substance.

At least now Newsom is assured of a photo library for posterity, and his next elusive political move, thanks to state taxpayers. For the governor, isn’t it time to put them in the picture?