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Mayor’s wedding gala a real frame-up
By: Brent Begin
Examiner Staff Writer
04/01/09 10:25 PM PDT
How many picture frames can San Francisco's first couple use? Apparently, more than the 19 they received for their 2008 wedding.
Mayor Gavin Newsom released his statement of economic interest Wednesday, which included, among a wide range of investments, an inventory of all his wedding gifts worth more than $50.
Among Newsom and bride Jennifer Siebel Newsom's wedding loot were six pieces of glassware, two decanters, several candlesticks and 11 vases. Frames, including one from actress Molly Sims, were the most common gift.
The big ticket item for the Newsom wedding was the hoedown-themed event itself. Financial tycoon Chuck Schwab and his wife, Helen, contributed $23,141 for the wedding and symphony magnate Maryon Davies Lewis gave $16,000.
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-San Francisco, spent $675 for a serving dish, tie and glassware. The Newsoms are set for stew with a $150 crock pot from former state Sen. John Burton.
Another prominent politician attending the Montana wedding, former Mayor Willie Brown, was not listed as giving a gift, but custom does allow presents to be sent for up to a year following the event.
As for tea and coffee, the newlyweds have ample supplies. A $1,120 coffee pot and another for $875 may have been a double gift.
Newsom, however, who has switched to tea, may use the $225 Beijing 2008 tea set given by the Chinese Consulate more often.
Whatever the hot beverage of choice, it can be enjoyed while watching $130 worth of DVDs from Newsom's former chief of staff, Phil Ginsburg.
Siebel Newsom trust fund may pose conflict of interest
Newlyweds Gavin Newsom and Jennifer Siebel Newsom may have to rethink their investments after a number of stocks held by the bride’s trust fund were revealed Wednesday.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars are investments by the Jennifer Lynn Siebel Trust, from telecom companies to power conglomerates, but the specifics were unknown to the bride until now, says a spokesman for the family.
More than $100,000 has been invested for Siebel in Boeing Co., Monogram Biosciences, Google, Illumina Inc. and JP Morgan Chase, according to the latest statement of economic interest for Newsom.
Siebel, 34, did not have access to the trust fund until she was 35, according to the spokesman. Now, the two will have to consider divesting from a number of companies that have a direct effect on the mayor’s job.
“The financial investments of Jennifer Siebel Newsom have been managed privately as a trust without her involvement or control, for more than 30 years,” the family spokesman said. “They were not aware of the specific investments involved until the process of preparing the Form 700 began.”
In the coming year, she and Mayor Newsom will be reviewing their now jointly held investments and making decisions about how to proceed with them."
-- Brent Begin
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