Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Melanie Mason

100. Melanie Mason

​​We have duly praised Politico’s Chris Cadelago for his stellar work in building the publication’s West Coast (best coast!) operation. But it is still the reporters who have to do the solid day-to-day work that makes political coverage so important in our society. And in the Capitol media ecosphere, few can hold a candle to Politico’s California Bureau Chief Melanie Mason. For going on two decades she has been one of the most deeply-sourced and authoritative reporters on the scene, as capable of longform investigative work as she is at co-authoring the California Playbook, Politico’s daily snapshot of what is going in the Capitol and beyond. She established her reputation during her dozen years at the L.A. Times before moving to Politico, including several years in the Times’ Washington D.C. bureau. She has covered just about everything you can in politics, from gubernatorial races to presidential campaigns, and her reporting on a certain governor’s national aspirations is must-read material. There are not many of us left out there who can move the needle with our reporting, but Mason is most definitely one who can and does.

Updated August 11, 2026.