Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Nancy McFadden

Top 100 Hall of Fame

When she was Gov. Jerry Brown’s Chief of Staff, Nancy McFadden was seemingly not only involved in everything, she was in charge of everything. In 2017, after five years in the top three, and just a year before her untimely death from ovarian cancer at age 59, we named her No. 1 on the Top 100 and wrote, “She shapes every major political and policy issue that emerges from the administration and manages the staff to get it done. Whether it’s extending the state’s cap-and-trade program or pushing for new revenue to overhaul the state’s crumbling infrastructure – the two biggest issues of the year for the Brown administration — McFadden was at ground zero when the deals were cut. Indeed, she seems to be everywhere when negotiations reach critical mass, and nothing happens unless McFadden signs off on it.” At the peak of her powers in Sacramento, she was the epitome of the Capitol power player, respected by everyone and yes, at times, feared by some as well. But that emotion was certainly not driven by any Machiavellian bent on her part – McFadden was in fact well known as one of the truly good and affable people around the Capitol community. She worked in and out of both the state and federal government for years, acting as aide to a who’s who of Democratic heavyweights: Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Gray Davis. Her stature was so also recognized well beyond California politics: her tragic passing was documented in an obituary in the New York Times. This Hall of Fame is intended for the greats of our community and no one excelled more in the incredibly difficult job of Chief of Staff to the governor than her.

Updated August 26, 2025