No. 13: Capitol Weekly’s Top 100

13. Daniel Zingale

After nearly a decade as senior vice president at the California Endowment, a multibillion-dollar nonprofit, Zingale has moved back into the familiar territory of the Horseshoe. A deft insider with sharp political and administrative skills, Zingale was tapped by Newsom to lead the Office of Strategic Communications and Public Engagement. That’s quite a title and takes in a lot of territory, but if anybody can do it, Zingale can. Already, he’s helped negotiate an agreement between police, families of police shooting victims and lawmakers to raise the standards of when police can shoot a criminal suspect. At the Endowment, Zingale worked to dramatically to engage the electorate and expand health care for children and low-income Californians. He previously served as chief of staff for former California First Lady Maria Shriver and was senior adviser to former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. He also served as cabinet secretary to former Gov. Gray Davis, was executive director of AIDS Action in Washington, D.C. and political director for the Human Rights Campaign. Under Davis, Zingale was the first chief of the Department of Managed Health Care, which regulates HMOs.

Updated Aug. 21, 2019