A senior adviser to California’s Democratic gubernatorial frontrunner Xavier Becerra is working for his election campaign at the same time that her advisory firm is working for Meta’s super PAC, The Post has learned.
Courtni Pugh, a partner at Democratic advisory firm Hilltop Public Solutions, has served as a senior adviser to Becerra since at least April. Pugh teamed up with Becerra after previous stints working for outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom and disgraced ex-Rep. Eric Swalwell – who nixed his own gubernatorial run over misconduct allegations.
Meanwhile, Mobilizing Economic Transformation Across (META) California, Meta’s state super PAC, has paid Hilltop Strategies at least $232,000 since September 2025, according to campaign finance records reviewed by The Post. The most recent payment was this past September for $15,000.
Most of the payments identify Hilltop’s role for the super PAC as “campaign consultants,” while one payment is identified as reimbursement for “information technology costs.” Mobilizing Economic Transformation Across (Meta) California was formed specifically to help elect tech-friendly candidates and dodge strict regulations on artificial intelligence.
When approached for comment, Hilltop partner Jeremy Van Ess said Pugh “has no role in Hilltop’s work” for the META California super PAC.
“It is staffed and run exclusively from an office on the other side of the country,” Van Ess said in a statement. “She has had nothing to do with this engagement at any stage, and any suggestion otherwise is wrong.”
The Becerra campaign and Meta declined to comment.
Last month, The California Post identified Pugh as a “name to watch” among figures who could hold sway in a prospective Becerra gubernatorial regime – potentially in a more permanent senior adviser role.
In California, Pugh also has been working on efforts to defeat Proposition 39, a voter ID ballot measure, and Prop. 40, a controversial billionaire’s tax measure that has drawn criticism from Big Tech bigwigs including Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Google’s Sergey Brin.
The potential conflict of interest isn’t just theoretical. Newsom notably vetoed a major AI safety bill that Meta and Google had lobbied against in 2024.
“Consultants like Pugh trade on their proximity to power, like their ties to Newsom and Becerra, to land big-paying corporate clients like Meta,” a Democratic strategist who requested anonymity told The Post. “The real question is what kind of access they’re promising those clients.”
Becerra is seen as a virtual lock to become governor after entering Election Day with a commanding lead over Republican challenger Steve Hilton in the polls.
Becerra campaign spokesperson Jonathan Underland previously said the candidate has a “consistent” track record of “holding corporations accountable.”
“As Attorney General, Becerra took Facebook to court in an investigation of the company’s privacy practices,” the statement said. “As Governor, he will continue to fight to keep Californians safe, affordable, and stand up against Trump’s power grab.”
Aside from its work with META California, Hilltop is co-running another Meta-backed super PAC, the American Technology Excellence Project, alongside Republican operative Brian Baker.
The connections between Meta, Becerra and Hilltop could further inflame critics who have already warned that the Instagram and Facebook parent is trying to influence the likely future governor – who will be in a position to sign or veto state bills with major implications for artificial intelligence, social media and other hot-button regulatory issues.
As The Post reported last week, the Meta super PAC poured about $1 million in last-minute cash into Becerra’s campaign in five installments between Oct. 20 and Oct. 27. That came in addition to $1.2 million that the super PAC funneled toward his cause last May.
Julianna Arnold, cofounder of the kids online safety nonprofit Parents Rise, said the donations are troubling because “California has the chance to lead the nation in reining in companies like Meta.”
“My daughter Coco was groomed on Instagram and died of a fentanyl-laced pill. I don’t know what Meta expects in return for this spending,” Arnold told The Post. “I know what survivor parents expect, which is a governor who will take on this industry as if their children’s lives depend on it. Because they do.”
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