Governor-Elect Gavin Newsom (D) will be sworn in today as California’s 40th Governor.
Newsom, 51, has been the 49th Lieutenant Governor of California since 2011 and previously served as the 42nd Mayor of San Francisco from 2004–2011.
He is the first Democrat to directly succeed another Democrat as the state’s chief executive in 132 years.
To date, Newsom had made the following appointments to his administration:
- Chief of Staff: Ann O’Leary, a former top aide to Hillary Clinton.
- Cabinet Secretary: Ana Matosantos, former Director of the state Department of Finance.
- Finance Director: Keely Bosler, who has served as Finance Director under Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. since August. Before that, she worked as Gov. Brown’s Cabinet Secretary for two years and as his chief budget deputy for three years before that.
- Legal Affairs Secretary: Catherine E. Lhamon, former chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, a position former President Barack Obama appointed her to in 2016.
- Legislative Secretary: Anthony Williams, a longtime Capitol staffer and former Director of Government Relations for Boeing Company.
- Office of Strategic Communications and Public Engagement: Daniel Zingale was a Senior Vice President at the California Endowment, a health care foundation.
- Spokesman and Director of Public Affairs: Nathan Click, former Democratic campaign operative who was Newsom’s chief spokesman during the campaign and transition.
- Director of External Affairs: Priscilla Cheng, a senior political adviser to Newsom during his campaign and former labor leader.
- Director of Civic Engagement and Strategic Partnerships: Maricela Rodriguez, former Senior Communications Program Manager at the California Endowment.
- Chief Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Executive Branch Operations: Jason Elliott, former Chief of Staff for San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee, then, upon Mayor Lee’s passing, for three subsequent Mayors in quick succession, including current Mayor London N. Breed. Previously, Elliott served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director for Mayor Lee and as policy advisor to then-Mayor Newsom.
- Chief Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Policy Development: Angie Wei, former Chief of Staff of the California Labor Federation. Previously, Wei was the Federation’s Legislative Director. Wei began her career as an advocate for the California Immigrant Welfare Collaborative and the Northern California Coalition for Immigrant Rights.
- Secretary of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency: Julie Su, has served as state Labor Commissioner under Gov. Jerry Brown since 2011 and has led an office tasked with the enforcement of California’s labor laws.
- Chief Economic and Business Adviser and Director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development: Lenny Mendonca, has been a longtime advocate for rethinking government operations as co-chairman of the nonprofit organization California Forward. Previously, he was partner at McKinsey & Co., a global management consulting firm.
- Chief Deputy Director of Office of Business and Economic Development: Chris Dombrowski, policy consultant to Governor-elect Newsom, former director of operations for Next Gen Climate Action.
- Deputy Chief of Staff: Lindsey Cobia, a deputy campaign manager for Newsom’s gubernatorial campaign, former member of “Lyft’s Community and Government Affairs team.”
- Director of the Office of Planning and Research: Kate Gordon, senior advisor, Paulson Institute, non-profit whose “mission is to strengthen U.S.-China relations and to advance sustainable economic growth and environmental protections in both countries.”
- Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary: Analea Patterson, partner, Washing DC office of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.
- Director of Operations: Erin Suhr, Director of Strategic Planning and Scheduling for Next Generation, “A non-partisan think tank based in San Francisco.”
- Chief Deputy Director of Finance – Budgets: Vivek Viswanathan, advisor to Newsom’s transition team, former 2018 Democratic candidate for California Treasurer.
- Remains as Chief Deputy Director of Finance-Policy: Jacqueline Wong-Hernandez, previous director of legislation for the Department of Finance.
- Chief Deputy Appointments Secretary: Stuart Thompson: advisor to Newsom’s transition team, former associate director in the California Medical Association’s Center for Government Relations.
- Chief Deputy Legislative Affairs Secretary for Policy: Joey Freeman, Policy Director for Newsom’s gubernatorial campaign, also was Lt. Governor Newsom’s Southern California Director and Chief Consultant for Education Policy.
- Chief Deputy Legislative Affairs Secretary for Operations: Che Salinas, counsel in the government and regulatory practice in the Sacramento Office of Manatt, Phelps and Phillips.
- Remains as Deputy Legislative Secretary: Melinda Grant, same position since 2016.
- Deputy Legislative Secretary: Melissa Immel, legislative advocate, Shaw/Yoder/Antwih.
- Remains as Deputy Legislative Secretary: Jennifer Johnson, prior to current position was manager of strategic initiatives group at Apple.
- Deputy Legislative Secretary: Tam Ma, Assistant Secretary, California Health and Human Services Agency.
- Remains Deputy Legislative Secretary: Ronda Paschal, same position since 2017.
- Deputy Legislative Secretary: Rachel Machi Wagoner: Chief Consultant to California Senate Community of Environmental Quality.
- Director Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES): Mark Ghilarducci, retained and reappointed.
- Senior Advisor on Emergency Preparedness and Management: Rhys D.J. Williams, previously served as Chief of Staff in the Office of the Lieutenant Governor.
- California Military Department (CMD): Adjutant General David Baldwin, retained and reappointed.
- Commissioner California Highway Patrol (CHP): Warren Stanley, retained and reappointed.
- Director Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE): Thomas Porter, who is currently serving as acting director.
- Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA): Jared Blumenfeld
- Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA): Karen Ross, retained and reappointed.
Governor Newsom is required to present his first budget within days of taking office as required by the state constitution. The California Chamber of Commerce is hosting Department of Finance Director Keely Bosler on January 14 at a luncheon forum where she will provide attendees with details on the proposed budget.
