Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Bob White

Top 100 Hall of Fame

Bob White’s legendary career in California politics began an astounding 58 years ago, when Ronald Reagan was governor. In 1968, after serving in the U.S. Coast Guard, White joined the Sacramento staff of a first-term Republican assemblymember, a fellow by the name of Pete Wilson. What happened next is the stuff of Golden State political lore. White became Wilson’s most important advisor and confidant, and the pair rose through the political ranks together. White moved to San Diego in the early ‘70s when Wilson was elected mayor. Then he moved out east in the early ‘80s when Wilson became a U.S. Senator. Then they came back to Sacramento in the early ‘90s when Wilson became governor. By the time White unexpectedly resigned as Wilson’s Chief of Staff in 1997, he was an undisputed giant of California politics. But in many ways, you could argue that was all just a prelude to his second act, as the founder and chair of one of the largest and most successful lobbying firms in state history, California Strategies. CalStrat is a colossus, with receipts of more than $2 million for each of the last 19 consecutive quarters. The firm’s reach is so wide and deep, it’s allowed White to remain as influential in Sacramento as he was as the governor’s Chief of Staff — if not more so. From his perch in the third house, he became one of the first people to work with Arnold Schwarzenegger in politics, serving as a key strategist for the movie star’s after-school initiative Prop. 49 in 2002. The following year, White became Schwarzenegger’s campaign manager during the historic recall of Gov. Gray Davis that propelled the Hollywood icon to Horseshoe. It’s not at all a stretch to say White has his fingerprints on many of the most consequential events in California politics over the past half century, particularly when Republican interests held more sway.

Updated Aug. 9, 2026