Illustration by Chris Shary, for Capitol Weekly58. Doug Herman
What if you ran a mayoral campaign where your opponent burned through $100 million dollars, outspending your candidate by about 11 to one? Moreover, the strategist for the opposition is Ace Smith (no. 69), one of the most successful campaign strategists in California history. Given all that, you’d probably expect to get
Illustration by Chris Shary, for Capitol Weekly33. Lia Lopez
As the chief administrative officer for the Assembly Rules Committee, Lia Lopez is one of the most important cogs in the machinery of the legislature. Her committee effectively runs the Assembly by not only overseeing the chamber’s administrative business but by also assigning bills to other committees, and this capitol veteran is
Illustration by Chris Shary, for Capitol Weekly44. Mark McKenzie
Mark McKenzie, the staff director for the Senate Appropriations Committee, is a veritable Capitol institution at this point. He’s in his 20th year with the Senate Committee on Appropriations and has been staff director since 2012. He’s on his eighth committee chair and is working under his fourth Pro Tem, (Too many
Illustration by Chris Shary, for Capitol Weekly30. Lindsey Cobia
Lindsey Cobia has been described as Gov. Newsom’s “Swiss army knife,” involved in basically all manner of political decisions the governor makes. But as Newsom this year took on an even bigger national profile, her role as the executive director of the governor’s Campaign for Democracy PAC may have made her even
Illustration by Chris Shary, for Capitol Weekly28. Viviana Becerra
Viviana Becerra, Attorney General Rob Bonta’s chief of staff, effectively runs the California Department of Justice. In her role, she oversees the Office of Communications, Office of Native American Affairs, Office of External Affairs, Community Awareness, Response, and Engagement Team, and the Office of Legislative Affairs. Oh and she’s also the AG’s
Illustration by Chris Shary, for Capitol Weekly19. Liz Snow
Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas has surrounded himself with several top-notch advisors, but perhaps no one is more important to his day-in and day-out success than his chief of staff, Liz Snow. Known for her level head and steady approach, Snow draws upon a deep reserve of political experience, having served as president
Illustration by Chris Shary, for Capitol Weekly10. Gayle Miller
This is Gayle Miller’s first time on the Top 100 list, but she is hardly a newbie to the Capitol. Miller has served numerous posts around the building, dating back to her days as a staffer with former Senate pro Tem John Burton. Much of that duty has been in the Senate,
80. Nick Rowley
We’ve mentioned the revision of the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) a number of times so far: Others involved in that deal may have better numbers on this list, but without attorney Nick Rowley there would have been no deal. Rowley authored and partly funded the Fairness for Injured Patients Act
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
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