California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton asserted that $370 million designated for substance abuse programs was instead funneled to support Democrats.
This substantial sum, sourced from the California Cannabis Tax Fund, was claimed to have been distributed to various organizations that “support the Democratic Party’s voter base,” as per Hilton’s unofficial CAL DOGE group.
According to the group, the money collected from marijuana sales led to 517 organizations receiving checks averaging around $700,000 each.
The funds were supposed to be managed by Elevate Youth California, which was tasked with allocating taxes from cannabis sales under Proposition 64 to aid substance abuse initiatives in the state.
However, the investigation revealed that the money ended up going to groups like Young Invincibles and Jakara Movement, nonprofit organizations in Los Angeles and Fresno that allegedly misused the funds.
The Jakara Movement reportedly received $350,000 aimed at “Sikh youth empowerment and voter registration.”
Meanwhile, Young Invincibles got a grant of $1 million purportedly intended for broader “civic engagement” projects, as claimed by CAL DOGE.
Interestingly, Asian Refugees United, a San Francisco-based social justice group, secured $800,000 for a project on “LGBTQ+ Asian Storytelling.”
Hilton and Herb Morgan, an aide to the state’s secretary of state, stated they uncovered about $250 billion in “fraud, waste, and abuse” within major state programs in California.
Hilton mentioned that CAL DOGE had “discovered more fraud in just one week than Gavin Newsom’s administration has in seven years.” He expressed a strong commitment to exposing corruption, stating, “This is why I started CAL DOGE: to root out fraud and corruption from the system.” He added that the group’s work would be crucial in ending the 16-year period of Democratic rule this coming November.
The CAL DOGE team comprises “investigators, technical advisors, and citizen journalists.” Interestingly, Director Jenny Ray Le Roux previously ran a brief campaign during the 2021 California gubernatorial recall election.
Attempts to reach out to Elevate Youth, Young Invincibles, Jakara Movement, and the Asian Refugee Federation for comments were not met with responses.
