No. 100: Capitol Weekly’s Top 100

100. Craig Brown
Craig Brown knows prison and correctional issues, and he should. He’s one of those utility infielders who can do anything. He was an undersecretary of corrections, head of the Youth Authority, director of the Corrections Department and, during the Pete Wilson years, he was named director of the Finance Department, the agency that writes the governor’s budgets and decides on money for a demanding bureaucracy. After a stint in the Air Force, he joined the LAO, then left in the early 1980s to work for the Deukmejian administration. He served in executive correctional positions in both the Deukmejian and Wilson administrations and retired as Finance Director. He worked with lobbyist Richard Robinson for 12 years, and after Robinson retired, set up his own firm, Craig Brown and Associates, and handles only a handful of clients – including the California Correctional Peace Officers Association and the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association.

Updated Aug. 25, 2015