Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Jason Elliot

9. Jason Elliott

Gov. Newsom’s trusted advisor and former deputy chief of staff, Jason Elliot has been with Newsom longer than anyone else in the governor’s orbit. In that role, he has run point on some of the administration’s most critical issues, including housing, homelessness and the treatment of the mentally ill. He’s served a variety of roles for Newsom, as a senior advisor to his gubernatorial campaigns, chief deputy cabinet secretary and director of intergovernmental affairs and even worked for him when he was mayor of San Francisco. Newsom chief of staff Dana Williamson compares him to Kramer from Seinfeld for his penchant for entering a room with a big pronouncement, his mind fully focused on whatever issue is at hand, oblivious to anything else already in process. Alas, he announced his departure from the administration earlier this year to start his own consulting firm, but like DeBoo he is expected to continue to have a strong presence around the governor’s office. Elliot is married to Nicole Elliott, the head of California’s Department of Cannabis Control, making the pair one of the Capitol’s top power couples.

Updated Aug. 7, 2024