No. 44: Capitol Weekly’s Top 100

44. Michael Rubio

Michael Rubio is governmental affairs director at Chevron Corp., which means he heads the company’s lobbying effort. He’s not a lobbyist himself — that ended last year, according to the secretary of state — but he pushes the company’s legislative and policy goals in the Capitol. That’s a big deal. In a major development, Rubio recently brought former Assemblymember Henry Perea into the Chevron fold, wooing him from the Western States Petroleum Association. Chevron is a major Capitol player, and the maneuvering caused intense speculation in Sacramento. Interestingly, Rubio and Perea have similar trajectories. Both were born the same year, 1977; both abruptly resigned their legislative seats to work for private companies with interests in the Capitol. Both were Central Valley Democrats — Rubio in Bakersfield and Perea in Fresno. Rubio started his career at the U.S. Justice Department, then returned home and worked for state Sen. Dean Florez for four years. He was a Kern County supervisor before being elected to the Senate in 2010.

Updated Aug. 15, 2018