Who is Jim DeBoo and why is he joining Gavin Newsom’s administration?
Jim DeBoo will join Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration as a “senior member” in a yet-unannounced role at the start of next year, Newsom’s chief of staff Ann O’Leary announced in a staff email Tuesday night.
O’Leary, widely believed to be under consideration for a job in the Biden administration, didn’t say exactly what DeBoo would do. DeBoo did not return a call seeking comment, but speculation swirled about what role he might play should O’Leary leave.
In her email, O’Leary praised DeBoo’s experience working in California politics.
“As we build out our senior team, Jim will become an integral part of the work we are doing to ensure that we are working closely with all of our partners together to respond to the multiple fronts we are battling – from COVID19 to economic recovery to climate change to racial injustice,” O’Leary wrote. “I’m delighted that he’ll be at the table with us.”
DeBoo has been a close political adviser to Newsom. During California’s March primary elections, DeBoo led an unsuccessful ballot measure campaign spearheaded by the Democratic governor that would have provided bond funding to update school buildings.
Filings with the California Secretary of State’s Office show DeBoo is currently registered as a lobbyist. The California Medical Association, which represents doctors, the California Apartment Association, which represents landlords, and health insurer Kaiser Permanente all pay his firm, DeBoo Communications, to lobby for their interests at the Capitol.
Prior to entering the lobbying sector, DeBoo held a host of jobs in the Legislature, including director of the Speaker’s Office of Member Services and director of the Assembly Democrats, the campaign arm of the Assembly Democratic Caucus. He also served as interim chief of staff for Speaker John A. Pérez.
“He’s a fixer, he’s a problem solver, he is a manager. And I think those three things will be extremely helpful to the (Newsom) administration,” said Steven Maviglio, a California Democratic strategist who worked with DeBoo in the statehouse.
“On top of that, he’s wired to the Legislature in a way I don’t think this administration has seen before. He he knows just about everybody in the Legislature and has worked on their campaigns and knows where they’re at and what they want.”
It’s unclear whether DeBoo would serve as chief of staff, but if he were to, he would be well-positioned for the job, Maviglio added.
“90% of the chief of staff’s job is dealing with people. It’s dealing with legislators... it’s looking out for the boss, and you have to know the way Sacramento works,” he said. “And few people know that as well as Jim DeBoo.”
Greg Campbell, now a California political consultant, worked with DeBoo under Pérez, and said he is an exceptionally talented staffer who is well-respected and liked by members of the Legislature. When DeBoo starts on Jan. 1, he’ll be entering one of the most divisive political arenas in modern history as the state continues to deal with fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
The governor, meanwhile, will be thinking forward to reelection while fending off a recall effort.
“These are about the toughest circumstances that anyone can walk into a job that I can imagine,” Campbell said. “Knowing Jim, he’s going to run straight into it and do what he can to turn it around, to help the governor and the state of California.”
This story was originally published December 9, 2020 at 7:38 PM.