from Kevin J Pedrotti, Legislative Advocate, Golden State Builders Exchanges
Governor Jerry Brown was sworn in this week to serve his third term of Governor. Typical of Brown, the swearing in was short and casual. There was no Inaugural Ball, only a late-afternoon reception which reminded many of a farmers market. Brown strolled through the event followed by a hoard of reporters and did not make any public comments.
The Governor has started to roll-out appointee to various positions but at a measured pace. It appears the governor will have a flatter hierarchy within his own office, not having a Chief of Staff but two Executive Secretaries with distinct duties. The Governor named his wife, Anne Gust Brown, to an unpaid position of Special Counsel to the Governor.
- Jim Humes, 51, of San Francisco, has been appointed Executive Secretary for Administration, Legal Affairs, and Policy in the Office of the Governor. Humes was Brown’s Chief Deputy while Brown was Attorney General, and before that Humes was the Chief of the Civil Division under then-Attorney General Bill Lockyer.
- Nancy McFadden, 51, of Sacramento, has been appointed Executive Secretary for Legislation, Appointments, and Policy in the Office of the Governor. She was senior vice president at PG&E from 2005 to 2010. Previously, McFadden served as senior advisor to Governor Gray Davis from 2001 to 2003, deputy chief of staff for the Office of the Vice President from 2000 to 2001, and general counsel for the U.S. Department of Transportation from 1996 to 2000.
- Anne Gust Brown, 52, of Oakland, has been appointed Special Counsel in the Office of the Governor. This position does not require Senate confirmation and Gust Brown will serve with no compensation.
- Jonathan Renner, 40, of Sacramento, has been appointed Legal Affairs Secretary in the Office of the Governor. Renner was Senior Assistant Attorney General for Government Law while Brown was Attorney General. Prior to that, Renner practiced law at Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann & Girard, in Sacramento.
- Nick Velasquez, 30, of Los Angeles, has been appointed Director of External Affairs in the Office of the Governor. Velasquez served as Deputy Campaign Manager for Governor Brown’s 2010 campaign. Previously, he headed the California Accountability Project at the Democratic Governor’s Association. From 2006 to 2009 he served as a senior communications and policy aide to Los Angeles City Attorneys Rockard Delgadillo and Carmen Trutanich.
Next Monday is the scheduled release of the Governor’s budget which is expected to be unlike past budgets. The Governor has stated it will have deep cuts and no gimmicks. Telling will be which groups yell the loudest. Part of the plan is to go to the voters with a special election mid-year asking the voters to approve an extension of the temporary taxes that were approved in a previous budget. If an extension of these taxes is rejected, it is expected there would need to be an additional $8 billion additional chopped from the budget. More details on this Monday.
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