No. 14: Capitol Weekly’s Top 100

14. Anthony Williams

Anthony Williams, Gov. Newsom’s legislative affairs secretary, was one of the governor’s earliest appointments. With the Legislature now running on only two cylinders, being the legislative secretary must be really hard or really easy. “I mean, how hard can it be?” a lobbyist very familiar with the Capitol asked us recently. But when the pandemic lifts, it will be back to normal – and that means the usual pandemonium, an avalanche of bills and negotiations with a balky Legislature. Handling that pressure shouldn’t be a problem for Williams, who worked for former Senate Leader John Burton. Williams, an attorney, has taught law at the McGeorge Law School on the Legislature’s dynamics since 2007. He also served two years as policy director former Senate Leader Darrell Steinberg, now mayor of Sacramento, and Williams once was the chief lobbyist for the State Bar of California.

Updated Aug. 11, 2020