Correction: On Aug. 10 in the Top 100 list, Capitol Weekly erroneously reported in item No. 16 that Robbie Hunter, the retired head of the State Building and Construction Trades Council, had performed consulting chores for the Western States Petroleum Association. In fact, he has not. The error in the Top 100 list has been corrected and we posted this separate correction, as well.
100. Tal Kopan and Joe Garofoli
Tal Kopan was the Washington, D.C. correspondent for the San Francisco Chronicle, (she’s now at the Boston Globe) and Joe Garofoli is the paper’s senior political writer. Together, they did good this year – real good. On April 14, their story on questions about U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s mental
27. David Pruitt
A relative newbie on the Top 100, having first been added to the list in 2022, Pruitt solidified his position as a figure of significant influence this year by remaking what is arguably the California Democratic Party’s most valuable annual fundraiser: the Speaker’s Cup. We’re told it was Pruitt’s idea to ditch
93. Randall Hagar
Randall Hagar, legislative advocate for the Psychiatric Physicians Alliance of California, has quietly, for decades, played a key role in complex policy and legislative efforts to reform California’s notoriously patchwork system of mental health care. It’s a subject generating intense political interest as the state’s mental health and homelessness crisis plays out
90. Michael Romano
Michael Romano is the founder and director of the Three Strikes Project at Stanford Law School, which seeks to amend or reverse the most unjust criminal sentences under the law. Since 2006, the effort has overturned 18 life sentences. In 2019, Gov. Newsom appointed Romano as chair of California’s new criminal law and
86. Arnie Sowell Jr.
Arnie Sowell Jr. is the Executive Director of Nextgen Policy, the California-based nonprofit launched by billionaire Tom Steyer to advocate for progressive policies in the Golden State. Steyer (a habituè of this list for several years) has increasingly turned his focus to the national picture and relies on key advisors like
87. Karen Getman
Attorney Karen Getman is the founding partner of the powerhouse political and governmental law firm Olson Remcho, based in Oakland. She is also a major player in education funding through her work for the California Teachers Association. That was on full display this year as the organization had a near knife fight
71. Kurt Oneto
Direct democracy looms over everything that happens in Sacramento and Kurt Oneto, the leader of Nielsen Merksamer’s government law section, knows that world like the back of his hand. A recognized expert in initiative and referenda law, Oneto specializes in statewide ballot measures, having served as counsel and legal strategist to more
Joaquin Esquivel at a water board meeting. (Photo: Water Education Foundation.)As a native of the Coachella Valley near Palm Springs where it hardly ever rains, Joaquin Esquivel has always known that water is precious. His uncle often took him to the Salton Sea, and he had family served by a well. He carries that respect for the resource as chair of California’s State Water Resources Control Board. “Growing up in the desert, you are very aware of water,” he said.
31. Alice Busching Reynolds
Alice Busching Reynolds wields enormous power as the president of the Public Utilities Commission, which oversees private utilities, natural gas operations, railroads, telecommunications and private water companies among other far-reaching industries and services. A consummate insider, Reynolds served for three years as Gov. Newsom’s senior advisor on energy and before that