Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Steve Maviglio

62. Steve Maviglio

Communications strategist Steve Maviglio is at the top of the tree in California political messaging, for two reasons: He’s smart and he’s relentless. He’s also straightforward – unusually so, for a hired gun – and when he pitches a story, he lays out the conflicting forces. He’s had some victories over the past two years: He worked on the Blue Shield vaccine rollout, got more in the state budget for hydrogen fueling infrastructure and anti-gun violence prevention programs, and worked with the California Cattle Council, a client, on droughts and fires. He also works with the Sacramento Press Club. In D.C., he was executive director of the House Democratic Caucus, and after coming to California served as former Gov. Gray Davis’ spokesman and was a ranking executive for two former Assembly speakers and a communications consultant for a third. In addition to his pro-public pension work, he’s doing communications for Assemblymember Robert Rivas, who is making a run to depose Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, a drama that likely will play out in the coming months. Stay tuned.

Updated Aug. 9, 2022