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
10. Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher
A former state lawmaker, Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher leads the California Labor Federation, another of the state’s most prominent labor organizations. CLF is affiliated with 120 unions that represent a combined 2.1 million workers, including the United Farm Workers, whom Gonzalez Fletcher brought into the fold when she left the Assembly in
14. Anthony York
Anthony York has solid journalistic chops – Salon, McClatchy, LA Times and, most important of all, Capitol Weekly – but in his current role he occupies what newsies traditionally call the “dark side.” He’s the governor’s top communications advisor, helping him navigate a media landscape characterized by hyperbole and gotcha. He’s invariably
16. Andrew Meredith
Andrew Meredith is another new name on this list, heading the State Building and Construction Trades Council, or BCTC. The top-tier labor group is affiliated through local unions with 450,000 workers focused mostly – but not entirely – on large commercial and government projects. Meredith took over in January replacing the feisty
9. Lauren Sanchez
Lauren Sanchez is Gov. Newsom’s senior climate adviser, a position that didn’t even exist – either in title or substance – until relatively recently. Her title includes “senior” – a real stretch, since she’s only 32 years old – and she is the governor’s go-to political staffer on climate change. Sanchez, a
10. Ben Chida
Ben Chida is a new name on this list, but you might as well get used to him – he’s going to be around awhile. Chida, 36, currently (it may change before we go to press) is the governor’s Senior Policy Adviser for Cradle to Career, and in the flow chart he’s
5. Joe Stephenshaw
Joe Stephenshaw is the director of the California Department of Finance, making him the governor’s top advisor on the state budget. Compared to his counterparts with the Speaker and the Pro Tem, Stephenshaw is relatively new, having started in the job in August 2022. Given our current budget shortfall, one could argue
Illustration by Chris Shary17. Yolanda Richardson
Yolanda Richardson heads a cabinet-level agency called “GovOps,” or Government Operations Agency, which Jerry Brown created in 2013 and is intended to bring organization and rigor to nearly a dozen state operations, including Human Resources, the Census Office, the Franchise Tax Board, CalPERS, CalSTRS and something called the Department of Tax and
Dee Dee Myers6. Dee Dee Myers
As head of the governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development – “Go-Biz” in government patois – Dee Dee Meyers sits at a crucial intersection of business and politics. When she arrived in Sacramento, conspiracy-minded reporters immediately saw her as a point person for Gov. Newsom’s foray into national politics, a