Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Teri Holoman

7. Teri Holoman

If Tia Orr is the most powerful unelected woman in California politics, California Teachers Association associate executive director Teri Holoman is a close second. And it makes sense: Holoman heads up government affairs for one of the most powerful interest groups in the Golden State, with the CTA representing 310,000 well-organized members she can call on when needed. And for a while this year it looked like that might be the case, as the CTA and others dueled with Gov. Newsom over education funding in the budget. Such deals are always tricky, and savvy players have to know just where and when they can openly joust with a governor as temperamental as this one. Thankfully for CTA, Holoman is as savvy as it comes. It all worked out in the end, due in no small part to Holoman’s leadership. Full disclosure: Holoman serves on the board of Open California, the publisher of Capitol Weekly. She is married to Andrew Antwih, No. 55 on this list.

Updated Aug. 7, 2024