Could Newsom Be Forced to Spend the $28 Million Housing Package?

But I began to reconsider that position last month after the Board passed a $28 million affordable housing package by an 8-3 vote, only to have the Mayor say that he simply wont spend the money.

While the Left still doesnt have a candidate for November, is there a way to get the Mayors Office of Housing to spend that money besides throwing Newsom out of office? At the federal level, Presidents Nixon and Reagan were sued and lost when they refused to spend money on social programs that Congress had allocated. While the executive branch implements the budget and has a certain level of discretion, is there a legal basis to mandate the spending of appropriated funds?

Rather than veto the $28 million housing package, Newsom let it become law but said he would ignore it. Last week, I asked the City Attorneys Office if he could get away with that, but I got a vague answer that relied on the basic principle of separation of powers. The Board of Supervisors adopts ordinances authorizing particular expenditures, said spokesman Matt Dorsey. But upon adoption of the ordinance, control of the appropriation passes to the executive [i.e., Mayor] who has an independent authority to decide how best to promote the public interest when making spending decisions.

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