Capitol Spotlight: Niesha Fritz, Lucas Public Affairs

If there’s one word to describe Niesha Fritz, it is “indefatigable,” according to her former editor at the Sacramento Bee, Cathie Anderson.

Incapable of being fatigued is an apt description for Fritz, who recently left the California Capitol and joined consulting firm Lucas Public Affairs as its newest vice president.

Fritz’s career path began when she was young, with an electric typewriter gifted to her by her late grandfather and a penchant for asking questions.

Polishing her writing skills through contests her mother encouraged her to apply for, Fritz eventually settled on journalism.

“It was the storytelling I really enjoyed, the process of gathering the details, and then sitting down and weaving them together into something that could be compelling,” she said. “I just sort of fell in love with the craft of it.”

Graduating from Chico State University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and two minors, Fritz began as a reporting intern for the Sacramento Bee.

Following the completion of her internship, she was invited to stay on the Bee team, and in her nine-year stint with the local newspaper, covered a range of topics from breaking news, crime, land use and interestingly, cooking.

Fritz recalls how the former three-story Bee building on Q Street had a test kitchen in the basement.

“I would develop recipes and go down there and make them. My colleagues loved it because I would bring everything upstairs for them to eat,” she said. “It was the best time.”

While at the Bee, Fritz also obtained her master’s degree in criminal justice, got married and had two children, a son and a daughter who are now both in their late teens.

“It was the storytelling I really enjoyed, the process of gathering the details, and then sitting down and weaving them together into something that could be compelling.”

It’s only fitting, then, that Fritz widened her journalistic reach with a weekly parenting column.

“My mom was so adorable. She was like my biggest fan. She would go on my columns and comment online,” Fritz remembered. “She thought she was being slick,” she said, chuckling.

As she reminisced on her years with the Bee, Fritz concluded that what made working in the publication so fun was that every day was different from the next.

“Holy heck, I’ve never run so much in my life,” Fritz said with a sigh.

She recalled how her co-workers would tease her because when she would hear her desk phone ring, she would run across the expansive second floor in a rush to answer.

“It kind of became a running joke, no pun intended,” she said.

Fritz eventually left the Bee in 2011 and worked for two years as the managing editor of nonprofit newspaper, The Sacramento Valley Union Labor Bulletin. From there, she joined the California Faculty Association as their communications specialist.

It was in her position with the CFA that Fritz was drawn to the idea of potentially crossing over to the Capitol.

At a march on the Chancellor’s office that the CFA was a part of, Fritz documented the event while the Speaker of the Assembly at the time, Toni Atkins, roused the crowd.

“I remember standing there in the crowd and taking pictures and listening to her and just being so captivated,” she said. “I mean, she is a dynamic public speaker, so to think about having the opportunity, then to go write for her and write her speeches, ‘I was like, this is too good to be true.’”

Whether it was who Atkins was as a person or the Californian future she represented, Fritz emphasized that “What really pulled me into the building was Toni Atkins.”

“I don’t know that I would have moved into the building if it wasn’t for that position that was open for her, specifically,” she said.

And in a little over a year in that position, Fritz became communications director. She called it a “pinch me moment,” describing it as “honestly unreal.”

While Fritz was shocked to have gotten the position, Atkins’ former chief of staff, Nick Hardeman, said she was the only person they really considered because she had already proven herself in her short time as a speechwriter.

Still in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic and stepping into the position a month before the legislative session ended, Fritz had a major responsibility on her shoulders.

And yet, having only officially worked in the Capitol for a little over a year at that point, Hardeman said Fritz was always someone he could call and count on to get the job done.

John Myers, who is currently the Senior Vice President for Communications and External Affairs for the CalChamber, but has held positions as the Bureau Chief of the Los Angeles Times and the Bureau Chief of NPR-affiliate KQED worked in the Capitol Press Corps for almost 25 years.

He describes Fritz as a “pro’s pro,” saying that the relationship between journalist and communications director can often be contentious, but it was not like that with her.

“She understood what we needed. It wasn’t an adversarial relationship,” Myers said.

“We weren’t going to always agree, but it was respectful, and again, it was one of those situations where she understood that it was a marathon and not a sprint, that you needed these long term relationships, both to help lawmakers, constituents and the public in general, understand what’s going,” he said.

“You knew with Niesha that you were getting a fair shake, and I think that’s what all reporters really want.”

While Myers emphasized that they didn’t always see eye to eye on coverage, “You knew with Niesha that you were getting a fair shake, and I think that’s what all reporters really want,” he said.

She followed up her time with Atkins by filling the same role for Senate pro Tem Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) when he ascended to the chamber’s top leadership role in February of 2024. All things must come to an end, however, and by summer of this year Fritz felt her time as a working member in the Capitol had come to its natural completion.

She didn’t have to look far for her next opportunity.

To Lucas Public Affairs CEO and Founder Donna Lucas, having someone new join their relatively small team at the firm is no easy task. It’s more than just the qualifications on paper.

It’s about “someone who also embraces the culture and who’s going to bring their own skill set and their own personality to the firm,” Lucas said. “And that clearly was Niesha.”

Despite the consistent workload Fritz has had in every position she’s worked in, being a wife and a mother, she also owns and operates a 5-acre farm on the outskirts of Sacramento County.

Following her 45-minute commute home after an 8-hour work day, Fritz then throws on her overalls and buckles up for what she calls her relaxation time, shoveling hay and manure, feeding her multitude of farm animals that she and her family raise and growing tomato plants.

“I have the best of both worlds,” she said.

Acsah Lemma is an intern with Capitol Weekly’s Public Policy Journalism Internship program.