Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Teri Holoman

No. 9 Teri Holoman

Teri Holoman’s political influence goes way beyond her work as Associate Executive Director of the 310,000-member California Teachers Association, always one of the most powerful organizations in Sacramento. She helps craft the organization’s fundraising, independent expenditures, voter outreach and, most of all, the foot soldier campaigns that drive voters to the polls. It is a power position for sure, but hard as it might be to believe it reflects only a sliver of the influence Holoman has in California politics. Because Holoman’s real superpower is building relationships with and earning the trust of the state’s most powerful players on both sides of the aisle, from Gavin Newsom to local and state officials, business leaders and most definitely aspiring gubernatorial candidates. She also has great influence with the other unions and CTA partners. Holoman may be loath to ever be in the spotlight herself, but all of the aforementioned powerful and wannabe-powerful people who crave that kind of juice know and respect her. Note: Holoman is a board member of Open California, the nonprofit publisher of Capitol Weekly.

Updated Aug. 11, 2026