Illustration by Chris Shary for Capitol Weekly.29. Susan Santana
Susan Santana is AT&T’s lobbying director in Sacramento, making her the maestro of the telecommunication giant’s well-organized advocacy corps. Her story is an inspiring one: going from a grocery bagger in Chula Vista to UC Berkeley, then to law school at UCLA. She joined AT&T in 2007 and lobbied for the company
Illustration by Chris Shary for Capitol Weekly.43. Sara Cody
On January 23, 2020, three days after the first confirmed case of coronavirus in the U.S., Santa Clara County public health officer Dr. Sara Cody established a coronavirus incident command center – three days later, the CDC confirmed the first COVID-19 case in California. The disease seemed to spread slowly – at
Illustration by Chris Shary for Capitol Weekly.40. Jared Blumenfeld
California’s environmental regulator is Jared Blumenfield, head of the California Environmental Protection Agency, and a major force in state – and national – environmental policy. Blumenfield, a gubernatorial appointee, goes way back with Newsom and knows his way around the political battlefields, state and federal: He served as Newsom’s environmental chief during
Illustration by Chris Shary for Capitol Weekly.33. Nadine Burke Harris During a pandemic, it’s a good thing to have a person crisscrossing the state extolling the virtues of wellness, preventive care and the value of vaccinations, and Nadine Burke Harris fits the bill. Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Harris as California’s first surgeon general, which means she urges people to identify health
Illustration by Chris Shary for Capitol Weekly.22. Tracy Arnold
Tracy Arnold was appointed earlier this year as assistant director of the Department of Health Care Services, the state agency that supervises California’s mammoth Medi-Cal program, which serves about 13 million people, or one in every three Californians. It’s an enormous task, but Newsom found the right person: Arnold was Newsom’s chief
Illustration by Chris Shary for Capitol Weekly.20. Rhys Williams Ah, 2019. Back in those halcyon days, before everything revolved around masks, viruses and opening/closing decisions, there were other emergencies to be prepared for and Gov. Newsom directed a good deal of energy to them. On his first full day as governor, Newsom addressed emergency preparedness and announced plans to beef up the
Illustration by Chris Shary for Capitol Weekly.No. 23: Mark Ghilarducci
It’s hard to believe that there was a time when California didn’t have catastrophic wildfires every year, but those days are long gone. Now, we seem to have them all the time, even in the winter, and that’s where Mark Ghilarducci comes in. He’s the head of state Office of Emergency
Illustration by Chris Shary for Capitol Weekly.17. Mark Ghaly
As the secretary of Health and Human Services, Mark Ghaly is not only California’s top health officer but also the head of the state’s largest agency. A primary care pediatrician with degrees in biology and biomedical ethics from Brown University, a medical degree from Harvard Medical School and a Master’s Degree from
DNA is injected into a stem cell. (Photo: Spectral-Design, via Shuttertock)The California stem cell agency has just finished pumping $5.3 million into the fight to save the lives of Covid-19 victims. And — in a ballot-box bonus — its efforts are already surfacing in the ballot campaign to rescue the agency from its own demise. The agency is running out of money. It will begin closing its doors this fall without major financial support that it hopes will come from Proposition 14, a $5.5 billion bond measure on the November ballot.
Illustration by Chris Shary for Capitol Weekly45. Gabriel Petek
Gabriel Petek is just the sixth person to serve as the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst since the office was founded in 1941. If you’re reading this, you don’t need us to explain how influential the Legislative Analyst’s Office is. Its analysis of California’s fiscal matters is the gold standard – and Petek has