Illustration by Chris Shary, for Capitol Weekly50. Josh Fryday
Relatively unknown to many in the Capitol community, Chief Service Officer Josh Fryday is the man tasked with overseeing one of Gavin Newsom’s passion programs – California Volunteers. But that’s not all. Underneath that umbrella are also #CaliforniansForAll Youth Corps, AmeriCorps California and Californians ForAll College Corps, which collectively will soon be
Illustration by Chris Shary, for Capitol Weekly61. Yana Garcia
Another newbie to the list, Yana Garcia is the first Latina to ever lead the California Environmental Protection Agency. A native of Oakland, Garcia lived in Mexico during the heyday of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), where she developed a passion for advocating for environmental justice. And her power to
Illustration by Chris Shary, for Capitol Weekly58. Doug Herman
What if you ran a mayoral campaign where your opponent burned through $100 million dollars, outspending your candidate by about 11 to one? Moreover, the strategist for the opposition is Ace Smith (no. 69), one of the most successful campaign strategists in California history. Given all that, you’d probably expect to get
Illustration by Chris Shary, for Capitol Weekly95. Margie Estrada
Margie Estrada may or may not someday make it into the Capitol Weekly Top 100 Hall of Fame. But she has been compared to one of its newest members, the estimable Kip Lipper. Now that is some pretty high praise, but anyone familiar with her work knows she has earned the comparison.
Seeking a home, image by Ralf GeitheThe Newsom administration has put a lot of faith in its own Housing First strategies, which prioritizes permanent housing solutions, to address the problem. But not everyone is as enamored of the program as is the governor.
Allison Lim, photo by Scott DuncanLim describes herself as a problem solver, a decision maker, and as someone who enjoys being intellectually challenged. She evaluates her career based on whether these attributes are encouraged and whether her opinions are respected. That, Allison said, is how she ended up working with Assemblymember Lee.
Outnumbered, image by Hernan E. SchmidtDuring one unremarkable time period of four weeks, the number of political filings was roughly 12 times greater than the total number of people working for the agency charged with overseeing the accuracy and legality of those very filings. And that was a slow month.
Image by Adao via ShutterstockANALYSIS – There is often confusion regarding effective versus operative dates. Specifically, Capitol observers often inquire when a statute actually “takes effect.” When it takes effect can be different than when the statute is operative.
Illustration by Chris Shary, for Capitol Weekly85. Michael Pimentel
Transportation was another sector seemingly doomed to be a budget casualty this year when Gov. Gavin Newsom froze $2.4 billion in state transportation funds in April. One problem: local transit agencies had already begun huge projects based on expectations of getting those funds as part of a $5.1 billion transportation funding deal
Illustration by Chris Shary, for Capitol Weekly28. Lia Lopez
Lia Lopez is another one of those vital Capitol aides who is anonymous to the general public but invaluable to those inside the Legislative machine. As the Chief Administrative Officer for the Assembly Rules Committee, Lopez oversees that chamber’s administrative business and assigns bills to other committees. That might sound wonky –