Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Bob Salladay

13. Bob Salladay

No gubernatorial project gets off the ground without good messaging, and in Newsomworld Bob Salladay is the wordsmith who makes that happen. His official title is Senior Advisor for Communications, which really equates to “if Newsom needs to say something in public, have Bob write it.” Because few can capture the gov’s thoughts the way Salladay can, and thankfully he can do it with a bit more economy than the governor himself. That lean yet elegant writing style is a skill Salladay honed over decades as an investigative reporter and editor with news publications like the San Francisco Chronicle, L.A. Times and the Center for Investigative Reporting. Salladay also has another skill all good reporters possess – the ability to get someone to talk when they really don’t want to, and Newsom can definitely be a pill about such things. Unless of course there is a podcast mic present, but that’s another story. Additional kudos here to Izzy Gardon, who also handles a ton of the communications grunt work for Newsom.

Updated August 26, 2025