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Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Christine Aurre

Christine Aurre. Illustration by Chris Shary for Capitol Weekly.

23. Christine Aurre

When Christy Bouma stepped down in March as Newsom’s legislative affairs secretary, her replacement might have been unfamiliar to folks outside the Capitol. But inside Newsomworld, Christine Aurre was 100 percent a known quantity. Previously a staffer for lawmakers Patrick O’Donnell and then-Senate Majority Leader Robert Hertzberg, Aurre was already serving as

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Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Myesha Jackson

Myesha Jackson. Illustration by Chris Shary for Capitol Weekly.

24. Myesha Jackson

There was a TV commercial back in the day that went like this: “When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen.” 
The same thing can be said of Myesha Jackson, policy director for Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas. If it is a policy issue, be it a question from a reporter or a lawmaker or

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Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Oscar Lopez

Oscar Lopez. Illustration by Chris Shary for Capitol Weekly.

38. Oscar Lopez

Tia Orr and Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher understandably get most of the notoriety for labor’s big wins of late, but insiders know that SEIU state political director Oscar Lopez deserves a lot of that credit as well. In that role he heads up all of the union’s ballot measures and political campaigns, coordinates

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Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Tony Bui

Tony Bui. Illustration by Chris Shary for Capitol Weekly.

41. Tony Bui

A V.P. with the California Apartment Association, Tony Bui has rapidly earned a reputation as a lobbyist to be reckoned with both for his ability to build key relationships and as the point person in all the group’s independent expenditures. And make no mistake, the CAA is writing some big checks these

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Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Bob Salladay

Bob Salladay. Illustration by Chris Shary for Capitol Weekly.

13. Bob Salladay

If not for Bob Salladay, Gov. Gavin Newsom might not have given a State of the State speech this year. We’re told Salladay was instrumental in getting the governor to do the presentation after he had almost 100 percent decided against it. Think what you want of the speech, which Salladay of

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Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Jamie Callahan

Jamie Callahan. Illustration by Chris Shary for Capitol Weekly.

12. Jamie Callahan

Jamie Callahan’s official title in the governor’s office is Senior Counselor and Deputy Chief of Staff. But as we all now know, titles in Newsomworld don’t always accurately or fully reflect what someone does in that oh so unique land of Gavin. For one, Callahan is the rare staffer who is not

Podcast

Coming Soon: The Top 100 Hall of Fame!

CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: We’ll be releasing a special episode on Wednesday morning to talk about the 2024 Capitol Weekly Top 100, which will publish Tuesday night…. in the meantime we’ve got a very short episode with Who Had the Worst Week in Callifornia Politics, and talking about a Big Change coming to the Top 100 this year: The Top 100 Hall of Fame!

Analysis

CA120: New polls show young voters, Latinos key to Dem hopes in November

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Photo by AP.

The events of the past week have seemingly turned the Presidential race on its head in a frenetic month of nerve-wracking surprises. While the results of national and statewide polling are relatively small considering the major shifts in the campaign, we can use our large sample Capitol Weekly poll, with over 5,000 completed surveys, to look at underlying trends that speak to the factors that will be in play as we head toward November.

Capitol Spotlight

Capitol Spotlight: Kim Delfino, Earth Advocacy

Kim Delfino, photo by Scott Duncan, Capitol Weekly

Kim Delfino, an environmental attorney and consultant, is known for her vast knowledge of land use law, wildlife law, water law and energy law. The president of Earth Advocacy, she has led her campaigns while balancing the needs of her family (she and her husband have two adult children) and surviving breast cancer.

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