Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Paula Treat

56. Paula Treat

With 43 years in the game and counting, Paula Treat is an institution around the Capitol. Her shop was one of California’s first woman-owned contract lobbying firms, and its longevity is a testament to the energy, passion and intellect she brings to the table every day. She is still a one-person operation, though at times it seems like there surely must be a dozen of her working the halls of the Capitol. In recent years her efforts have garnered major dollars for plastic recyclers, a mandate on recycled content in plastic bottles, protections for tribal sacred sites, a 20-year extension to a moratorium on new cardroom licenses, big wins by DaVita against unionization and, well, you get the picture. It hasn’t all been a cakewalk, however. Treat has also been open about the sexual harassment she experienced at the hands of the late Assemblymember Lou Papan, the Rules Committee chair and a former FBI agent. Papan intimidated many of his colleagues, but not Treat, who revealed her story in the midst of the Capitol’s #wesaidenough movement.

Updated Aug. 15, 2023