Announcements regarding key staffing changes of importance to California’s rural counties.
Arthur Baggett, of El Portal, has been reappointed to the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, where he has served since 2024. Baggett has been Partner and Counsel at AG Baggett and PJ Weber Inc. since 2011 and Adjunct Faculty at the San Joaquin College of Law since 1997. He had multiple roles at the State Water Resources Board from 1999 to 2011, including Chair and Member. Baggett was the District One County Supervisor for Mariposa County from 1986 to 1994. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from San Joaquin College of Law, a Master of Science degree in Ecosystem Management and Forest Ecology from Antioch College, and Bachelor of Science degree in Education from the University of Cincinnati. This position requires Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $250 per diem. Baggett is a Democrat.
Gregory Guisti, of Kelseyville, has been reappointed to the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, where he has served since 2013. Guisti has been Director and Advisor of Forests and Wildlands Ecology at the University of California Cooperative Extension since 1985. He was an Agricultural Biologist for the San Mateo County Department of Agriculture from 1981 since 1985. Guisti was Chief Biologist at the Marine Ecological Institute from 1978 to 1981. He is a member of the California Forest Pest Council and of the Western Section of Wildlife Society. Guisti earned a Master of Arts degree in Ecology and Population Biology and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Systemic Biology from California State University, San Francisco. This position requires Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $250 per diem. Guisti is registered without party preference.
Kendall Hannon, of Alameda County, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the Siskiyou County Superior Court. Hannon has served as a Deputy Attorney General at the California Attorney General’s Office since 2024. He was an Attorney at the Judicial Council of California from 2022 to 2024. Hannon was a Staff Attorney at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 2018 to 2022 and 2015 to 2017 and an Administrative Law Clerk in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California from 2017 to 2018 and 2013 to 2015. He worked as an Appellate Attorney at the California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District in 2015. He was a Staff Attorney in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 2012 to 2013. Hannon worked as an Associate at Kirkland & Ellis, LLP from 2009 to 2010. Hannon received a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Notre Dame Law School. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Karen L. Dixon. Hannon is a Democrat. The compensation for this position is $244,727.
Shelly Jones, of Rocklin, has been appointed as Assistant Deputy Director of Board and Bureau Relations at the California Department of Consumer Affairs. Jones has been Division Chief of the Strategic Organizational Leadership and Individual Development Unit at the California Department of Consumer Affairs since 2023, where she was a Staff Services Manager from 2020 to 2023. Jones was a Staff Services Manager at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Division of Juvenile Justice from 2018 to 2020. She was a Staff Services Manager at the California Department of Consumer Affairs from 2015 to 2018. Jones served in multiple roles at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Juvenile Parole Board from 1996 to 2015, including Staff Services Analyst, Associate Governmental Program Analyst, Assistant Project Manager, and Litigation Coordinator. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $125,004. Jones is registered without party preference.
FredRicco McCurry, of Mendocino County, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the Mendocino County Superior Court. McCurry is a Deputy in the Mendocino County Alternate Public Defender’s Office, where he has worked since 2025. He served as a Deputy Public Defender at the Mendocino County Public Defender’s Office from 2022 to 2025. He worked in solo practice from 2021 to 2022, 2015 to 2019, 2009 to 2013, 2005 to 2008, and 1995 to 2003. McCurry served in various roles in the U.S. Army, including as a Chief of Staff at the 311th Expeditionary Sustainment Command from 2019 to 2021, Deputy Director of Logistical Operations from 2013 to 2015, and as a Transportation Officer from 2008 to 2009 and 2003 to 2005. McCurry worked as a Paralegal Specialist in the U.S. Small Business Administration from 1994 to 1995. McCurry received a Juris Doctor degree from Pepperdine University School of Law. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Jeannie Nadel. McCurry is a Democrat. The compensation for this position is $244,727.
Jeffery Molnar, of Crescent City, has been appointed to the 41st District Agricultural Association – Del Norte Fair Board. Molnar has been Director of Facilities at Sutter Coast Hospital since 2020, where he was Manager of Facilities from 2020 to 2022. He held multiple roles at Providence Medford Medical Center from 2007 to 2020, including Lead Engineer and Maintenance Engineer. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and there is no compensation. Molnar is registered without party preference.
Alex Rodriguez, of Santa Barbara, has been reappointed to the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Board, where he has served since 2023. Rodriguez has been Chief Executive Officer of Conduit Government Relations since 2022 and President of Diversity Consulting Group LLC since 1995. He is President of La Cumbre Mutual Water Company, a member of the Dean’s Council of the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at University of California, Santa Barbara and the United States Environmental Protection Agency National Drinking Water Advisory Council. Rodriguez earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management from Antioch University Santa Barbara. This position requires Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $250 per diem. Rodriguez is a Democrat.
Dominic Roques, of San Luis Obispo, has been appointed to the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board. Roques was Senior Engineering Geologist at the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board from 2001 to 2021. He was a Water Resources Education Coordinator at the California State Water Resources Control Board from 1999 to 2001. Roques was an Environmental Consultant for California Coastal Conservancy in 1999. He was Principal and Owner of Roques Wildland Resources from 1993 to 1999. Roques was a Project Manager at BASELINE Environmental Consulting from 1991 to 1993. Roques is Board President of the Coastal San Luis Resource Conservation District. He earned a Master of Science in Wildland Resource Science and a Master of Landscape Architecture degree from the University of California, Berkeley and a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from the University of Texas, Austin. This position requires Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $250 per diem. Roques is a Democrat.
Lauren Sanchez, of Oakland, has been appointed Chair of the California Air Resources Board, effective October 1, 2025. Sanchez has been Senior Advisor for Climate in the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom since 2021. She was Senior Advisor for the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate in the Biden-Harris Administration in 2021. Sanchez was Deputy Secretary for Climate Policy and Intergovernmental Relations at the California Environmental Protection Agency from 2019 to 2021. She was International Policy Director at the California Air Resources Board from 2018 to 2019. Sanchez was a Climate Negotiator at the United States Department of State from 2015 to 2017. Sanchez earned a Master of Science degree in Environmental Management from Yale University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Studies and Biology from Middlebury College. This position requires Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $214,956. Sanchez is a Democrat.
Kevin G. Walthers, of Santa Maria, has been appointed to the 35th District Agricultural Association – Santa Maria Fair Board. Walthers has been a President of Allan Hancock College since 2013. Walthers was the President of Las Positas College from 2011 to 2013. He was Vice Chancellor for Administration for the West Virigina Higher Education Policy Commission from 2009 to 2011. He was Vice President for Finance and Administration from Utah State University – Eastern from 2006 to 2010. Walthers is a member of the Santa Maria and Solvang Chambers of Commerce, California Nature Art Museum, Marian Regional Medical Center Board, Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley, and Santa Maria Breakfast Rotary Club. Walthers earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Educational Leadership and Policy from University of Utah, a Master of Education degree from East Texas A&M University, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from the University of Texas, Austin. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and there is no compensation. Walthers is registered without party preference.