Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Joe Cruz

No. 60. Joe Cruz

There are political operatives that are in your face, and there are those who rarely speak but carry immense power. Joe Cruz is one of the latter. Cruz is the Executive Director of the California State Council of Laborers, representing over 75,000 construction workers, the largest construction trade union in the state. Interestingly enough, he got his own political start at age 12 in destruction – tearing down opposition campaign signs for 50-cents each. He grew past that, eventually becoming a field organizer for San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown and a senior advisor to Speakers Cruz Bustamante, Antonio Villaraigosa and Robert Hertzberg. He has a long history in politics and policy, including lobbying for a few years with his brother Steve at Cruz Strategies and eleven years as Executive Director for the California Alliance for Jobs (over 100,000 construction workers & 5,000 contractors). From High Speed Rail & Prop 1A to numerous labor and management campaigns, Cruz has been at the forefront as a trusted leader on infrastructure, public finance, regulation, and legislation.