Lobbyists, former lawmakers among those in Brown transition mix
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As Gov.-elect Jerry Brown prepares to take office, there is no shortage of people offering their advice and their service to the once and future governor.
Some of Sacramento’s best-known lobbyists, former lawmakers and other political insiders are being asked about potential interest in big-ticket jobs as Brown works to fill out his administration.
Brown spokesman Sterling Clifford said Brown was reaching out to ‘people with ideas, subject matter expertise, familiarity with California government as it exists now,’ but would not name specific people contacted by transition officials.
That hasn’t stopped capital chatter among those who are under consideration for a post in the Brown administration -- or would like to be. Labor lobbyist Barry Broad is openly campaigning for the post of labor secretary and has been in contact with transition officials.
Former Sen. Mike Machado (D-Linden), a farmer, water policy expert and onetime lobbyist who now serves as executive director of the Delta Stewardship Council, says he has been contacted about a Brown administration post.
Other former lawmakers, such as former Santa Cruz Assemblyman Fred Keeley, have also been in discussions with Brown officials. Also giving advice to Brown appears to be B.B. Blevins, who was an executive director of the Energy Commission under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and now consults for big energy companies. Officials at the state’s Environmental Protection Agency report being contacted by Blevins about their interest in staying on.
Brown’s transition is being led by Tom Quinn, a longtime aide, former Brown campaign manager and Cabinet secretary; James Humes, Brown’s chief deputy in the attorney general’s office; campaign manager Steve Glazer; and Brown’s wife, Anne Gust Brown. Ed Emerson, who did advance work for Brown during the campaign, has also been involved in the preliminary information-gathering and vetting process.
As with Brown’s campaign operation, there are no formal titles or clear job descriptions. ‘There’s a lot of crossover in terms of who’s doing what,’ said Brown spokesman Sterling Clifford. Clifford says Brown’s team is working on multiple tracks. ‘There’s the budget that has to get done,’ he said. ‘Then even in terms of the administration, there are multiple functions there. One is staffing a governor’s office and filling out appointments. Those are different. It’s the difference between your staff and the state government.’
At the same time, Clifford said, the Brown team is ‘working on figuring out where we can trim back.’ Clifford said Brown would come in with his own personal staff, but that some administrators who serve under Schwarzenegger may not be immediately replaced. ‘The urgency is to make sure that state government is being run by people who share Jerry Brown’s vision,’ he said.
-- Anthony York in Sacramento