Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Jason Kinney

No. 30 Jason Kinney

We’ve heard Jason Kinney called a “professional friend,” a dig at Kinney’s close ties with Gov. Gavin Newsom, which to some degree is fair. After all, Kinney and the Gav have been bros for decades now. But let’s get real: you’ve read over and over in these pages about the power of relationship building in the Capitol, and Kinney is about as good at that as there is. He left his “Boy Wonder” days behind him a long time ago, and what’s left now is a man who isn’t just tight with Gavin Newsom – Kinney is tight with almost every Dem and half the Reeps in California. And if you think that doesn’t make him influential then you simply are not paying attention. Kinney is a partner (with Cassie Gilson, No. 18 on your scorecard) at Axiom Advisors, which in just seven years has grown from a start-up to being one of the top two or three grossing consulting/lobbying firms in California. When it comes to friendship, Kinney has definitely gone pro.

Updated Aug. 11, 2026