Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Francisco Silva

No. 48 Francisco Silva

There was exactly one major labor group this year that endorsed Xavier Becerra early in the campaign – the California Primary Care Association, led by president and CEO Francisco Silva. And it didn’t end there. Silva and Joe Cruz (No. 29 on this list) put together an independent expenditure campaign that produced enough cash for the Becerra campaign to keep going at a time when that prospect wasn’t looking good. Silva is also deeply involved in the opposition campaign against a pair of Dave Regan (No. 31) measures – the billionaire tax and another targeting SEIU-UHW measure targeting federally qualified health centers. That tracks because Silva leads a group that represents approximately 1,300 community health centers that serve over seven million mostly low-income Californians every year. It’s not a great time to be in that position given the magnitude of federal healthcare spending cuts that are due to hit California next year. But Silva’s vast network of relationships in the Capitol paid off this year as CPCA, in spite of California’s massive budget issues, got 100% of its funding request. Not many others can say the same.

Updated Aug. 11, 2026