No. 44: Capitol Weekly’s Top 100

No. 44 Jodi Remke

As chair of the Fair Political Practices Commission, which enforces campaign ethics laws, Jodi Remke is in charge of making sure everyone plays fair amid the roar and clash of the state’s often-supercharged political campaigns. Remke is judged by most observers as a fair umpire, but some of her decisions have generated controversy; in July 2017, the panel supported lifting donation limits to officials targeted by recalls — just as Democratic state Sen. Josh Newman is facing one. Remke, a Democrat from Oakland, served as presiding judge of the State Bar Court, hearing appeals of disciplinary cases involving attorneys. Gov. Brown appointed her to the FPPC in April of 2014, and reappointed her to a full four-year term the following January. Earlier, Remke was a VISTA attorney in Montana, representing clients in domestic violence cases and advocating on behalf of children with disabilities in a rural, underserved area.

Updated Aug. 29, 2017