Matt LaVere, of Ventura, has been appointed Supervisor for the 1st District of the Ventura County Board of Supervisors. LaVere has been Mayor of the City of Ventura since 2018 and a Principal at LaVere Huff LLP since 2018. He was Of Counsel at Jones & Lester LLP from 2013 to 2017 and an Associate at Goldenring & Prosser APLC from 2010 to 2013 and at Myers, Widders, Gibson, Jones & Schneider LLP from 2006 to 2010. LaVere is a member of the Ventura College Foundation and the Ventura City Council Homeless and Affordable Housing Subcommittee. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Pepperdine University School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation. LaVere is a Democrat.

Dee Dee Myers, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to serve as Senior Advisor to the Governor and Director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), a cabinet-level position. Myers joined the Newsom Administration in May as a volunteer at the peak of the COVID-19 public health crisis working to support the Governor and his team, including the Task Force on Business and Jobs Recovery. Prior to joining the Newsom Administration, Myers served as Executive Vice President of Worldwide Corporate Communications and Public Affairs for Warner Bros. Prior to that, she was a Managing Director of the Glover Park Group, where she counseled corporate and non-profit clients on strategic and crisis communications, reputation management and strategic positioning. Myers also served as White House Press Secretary during President Bill Clinton’s first term and was the first woman to hold the position. After leaving the White House, she worked as a Political Analyst, Commentator and Writer as well as a Contributing Editor to Vanity Fair. She is Author of the New York Times best-selling book “Why Women Should Rule the World.” She also co-hosted the CNBC political talk show “Equal Time” and was a consultant on the Emmy Award-winning drama series “The West Wing.” Before joining the Clinton presidential campaign in 1991, Myers worked on a number of local, state and national campaigns. She served as Press Secretary for Dianne Feinstein in her 1990 bid for governor of California and worked on the presidential campaigns of Governor Michael S. Dukakis and Vice President Walter F. Mondale. Myers also worked on the staffs of Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley and California State Senator Art Torres. Myers is a Director of Wynn Resorts, Ltd. and serves on the boards of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $200,000. Myers is a Democrat.

Liane Randolph, of Oakland, has been appointed Chair of the California Air Resources Board. Randolph has been a Commissioner at the California Public Utilities Commission since 2105. She was Deputy Secretary and General Counsel at the California Natural Resources Agency from 2011 to 2014 and an Attorney at Pillsbury, Winthrop, Shaw, Pittman from 2007 to 2011. She served as Chair of the California Fair Political Practices Commission from 2003 to 2007, where she also served as a Staff Attorney from 1996 to 1997. Randolph served as San Leandro City Attorney and was a Principal at Meyers Nave from 2000 to 2003, where she was an Associate from 1997 to 2000. She was an Attorney at Remcho, Johansen and Purcell from 1994 to 1996 and an Associate at Manatt, Phelps and Phillips from 1993 to 1994. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $183,552. Randolph is a Democrat.

John Balmes, of Berkeley, has been reappointed to the California Air Resources Board, where he has served since 2008. Balmes has been a Professor at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine since 1986 and a Professor of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health since 2002. He was Assistant Professor at the University of Southern California School of Medicine from 1982 to 1986. He is a member of the American Thoracic Society and American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Balmes earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $50,497. Balmes is a Democrat.

Davina Hurt, of Belmont, has been appointed to the California Air Resources Board. Hurt has been a Belmont City Councilmember since 2015 and an Attorney at Davina Hurt, Esq. since 2005. She was Campaign Manager at the Democratic Volunteer Center from 2014 to 2015, Securities Litigation Case Assistant at Heller Ehrman White and McAuliffe LLP from 2004 to 2005 and a Law Clerk at Bay Area Legal Aid from 2002 to 2004. Hurt was a Law Clerk at Gardere, Wynne and Sewell LLP in 2001, Judicial Clerk Extern for the Honorable James Ware at the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California from 2002 to 2003 and a Summer Associate at Milberg, Weiss, Bershad, Hynes & Lerach LLP in 2002. She is a member of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $50,497. Hurt is a Democrat.

Gideon Kracov, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the California Air Resources Board. Kracov has been Owner of the Law Office of Gideon Kracov since 2004. He was a Deputy City Attorney in the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office from 2002 to 2004, an Associate at Rose, Klein & Marias LLP from 1997 to 2002 and Associate at Weston Benshoof LLP from 1995 to 1997. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. Kracov is a member of the South Coast Air Quality Management District. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $50,497. Kracov is a Democrat.

Tania Pacheco-Werner, of Sanger, has been appointed to the California Air Resources Board. Pacheco-Werner has been Assistant Co-Director at the Central Valley Health Policy Institute at California State University, Fresno since 2019, where she has held multiple positions since 2015, including Research Scientist and Postgraduate Fellow. She was a Lecturer at the California State University, Fresno Department of Sociology from 2011 to 2017 and a Diocesan Administrator at the Diocese of San Joaquin in 2013. Pacheco-Werner is a member of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District and the American Public Health Association's Latino Caucus for Public Health. She earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in sociology from the University of California, San Francisco. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $50,497. Werner is a Democrat.

Tomás Aragón, of San Francisco, has been appointed Director of the California Department of Public Health. Aragón has been Health Officer for the City and County of San Francisco and Director of the Population Health Division for the San Francisco Department of Public Health since 2011. He has been Volunteer Faculty for the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health since 2004. He earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from Harvard Medical School, a Doctor of Public Health Degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health and a Master of Public Health degree from the Harvard School of Public Health. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $275,650. Aragón is a Democrat.

Elizabeth Landsberg, of Sacramento, has been appointed Director of the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. Landsberg has been Deputy Director of the Help Center for the California Department of Managed Health Care since 2016. She was Director of Policy Advocacy for the Western Center on Law and Poverty from 2006 to 2016, Supervising Attorney for the Health Rights Hotline at Legal Services of Northern California from 2000 to 2006 and a Law Clerk at the U.S. District Court, District of New Mexico from 1999 to 2000. She was a Ruth Chance Law Fellow for Equal Rights Advocates from 1998 to 1999. Landsberg earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $192,402. Landsberg is a Democrat.

Mary Watanabe, of Roseville, has been appointed Director of the California Department of Managed Health Care, where she has served as Acting Director since 2020 and as Acting Chief Deputy Director since 2019. She was Deputy Director for Health Policy and Stakeholder Relations for the California Department of Managed Health Care from 2015 to 2019 and Deputy Director of the Sales Division for Covered California from 2013 to 2015. Watanabe was Staff Services Manager I at the California Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board from 2012 to 2013, where she was a Research/Health Program Specialist I from 2008 to 2012. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $186,389. Watanabe is registered without party preference.