Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Scott Lay

Top 100 Hall of Fame

Scott Lay got his start in politics while a teenager at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa. In 1991 he met Paul Mitchell in a speech class, and the two soon cofounded a College Democrats chapter – a show of youthful optimism at a time when Orange County was the heart of “Reagan Country.” Lay made other connections there, including future Lincoln Party cofounder Mike Madrid and future California Medical Association CEO Dustin Corcoran. Lay, who didn’t graduate high school due to health issues but later got his GED, turned his passion for education into a career, working at the Community College League of California for nearly 20 years, including eight as president. But it was for his work as a journalist and political gadfly for which he was best known. With journalist Anthony York, Lay launched The Roundup, a pithy daily email about California politics, in 2004. A decade later he created The Nooner newsletter, which quickly became a must-read for anyone involved in state politics, and turned to publishing full time. A generation of staffers learned how things work from Lay and The Nooner. Scott Lay’s official resume – legislative advocate, lawyer, CEO, journalist – does not present the measure of the man. Beyond whatever was on his business card, Lay was the ultimate capitol insider. He had every phone number, he knew every scandal (before it broke) and his understanding of the political process, including the all-important human element, was unparalleled. In his final Top 100 bio we wrote, “If there is a person who lives and breathes capitol politics and intrigue more deeply than Scott, we don’t know them.” He was one of a kind.

Updated August 9, 2026