No. 72: Capitol Weekly’s Top 100

72. Aaron McLear
Aaron McLear has a journalism degree from Ohio State and he knows news, but he also knows advocacy and communications. He got into the California political communication wars in a big way during his three-year stint as press secretary to former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Since then he’s been involved in any number of issues and clients. Last year, he was lead spokesman for GOP gubernatorial candidate Neel Kashkari, and he successfully handled communications for the multimillion-dollar campaign against a ballot measure to lift the cap on pain and suffering awards in medical malpractice cases. He worked Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, and the opposition to Proposition 30, which ultimately passed. He also was part of a Sacramento-area committee pushing for a new arena for the Sacramento Kings. Now, McLear is a partner in Redwood Pacific Public Affairs, a blue-chip lobbying and consulting firm that launched in 2013. McLear, a member of the Open California governing board, began his political career working for former Ohio Gov. Bob Taft and former Ohio House Speaker Jo Ann Davidson.

Updated Aug. 25, 2015