Gov. Gavin Newsom’s top strategist retiring after decades shaping California policy

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s top strategist Daniel Zingale announced Wednesday that he will retire from full-time state service to focus on his health and family.

Zingale, who turns 60 this year, said he’ll continue to work as the governor’s senior adviser on strategy and communications as Newsom prepares to deliver his State of the State speech sometime in the next several weeks.

Zingale plans to continue informally advising Newsom as a volunteer and is open to working part-time in the future on “anything that comes up where I can be helpful,” he said. Zingale has served in the cabinets of three of California’s last four governors.

“My plan is to not work full-time again,” Zingale told The Sacramento Bee. “I want to pay more attention to my family and my health.”

Zingale was among the first hires Newsom announced after being elected governor in 2018. At the time, Zingale was working on health policy issues as senior vice president of the California Endowment, a not-for-profit health care foundation.

Before joining the Endowment, Zingale served as senior adviser to former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, chief of staff to former First Lady Maria Shriver and cabinet secretary for former Gov. Gray Davis.

A longtime advocate for universal health care, Zingale helped Newsom extend state health coverage to some undocumented immigrants, as well as other efforts to expand health coverage to more Californians.

Zingale also worked to improve the administration’s outreach to marginalized groups on topics ranging from how to prepare for natural disasters to the importance of filling out the 2020 census.

“One of the great things about my job is it’s allowed me to work with him and the administration on a wide range of issues from criminal justice reform to civil rights to environmental issues,” Zingale said Wednesday. “It’s been an honor to have been able to serve in the first year of this administration.”

In an interview with The Bee last year, Zingale described how being an openly gay man helps him understand perspectives of other marginalized people. He pointed to his work brokering a compromise with lawmakers, police and families of people killed by police to update the state’s use-of-force laws.

Although Zingale was never a victim of police brutality, he said he’s familiar with feeling that your community is being targeted by law enforcement.

“Having grown up LGBT in this state gives us some insight into what that’s like, what that feels like, and the importance of those in government treating all communities equally,” Zingale said at the time. “Being a member of the gay community helped me see some of what was being called out on that issue of excessive force.”

Zingale said Newsom does not currently have plans to replace him.

“Daniel has played a central role in our team getting off to a strong start, connecting a wide range of initiatives to our overarching vision of a California for All,” Newsom said in a statement. “I deeply appreciate his commitment to cap a long and accomplished career in state service as a senior member of this administration.”

Chief of Staff Ann O’Leary also praised Zingale’s efforts to help marginalized people.

“Daniel’s wise counsel has been immeasurably helpful to me, the governor and the entire office,” she said in a statement. “He has been a senior statesman for horseshoe staff -- helping to engage and lift up our diverse communities and charting a vision for a more inclusive California.”

On Wednesday, Newsom also announced two new cabinet secretaries.

Yolanda Richardson will be secretary of the Government Operations Agency. She previously ran of private health care consulting firm Teloiv and served as executive director of Covered California from 2011 to 2016.

Lourdes Castro Ramirez was appointed secretary of the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency after serving as president of the University Health Systems Foundation since 2017. She previously worked for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Castro Ramirez replaces Alexis Podesta, whom Newsom appointed to the State Compensation Insurance Fund Board of Directors.

This story was originally published January 22, 2020 at 5:01 PM.