Longtime Chamber of Commerce CEO to retire after 23 years lobbying for California business
Allan Zaremberg, California Chamber of Commerce’s president and CEO, will retire at the end of the year after 23 years on the job, the organization announced Monday.
Leading California’s main business advocacy organization through five governors, Zaremberg and his organization found success in both Democratic and Republican administrations.
Under Gov. Jerry Brown, CalChamber was a part of the successful campaign against repealing the state’s gas tax hike. Under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, CalChamber successfully pushed for sweeping changes to the state’s workers’ compensation system that cut costs for the employers.
Under Gov. Gavin Newsom, Zaremberg pushed for more workers to be exempt from Assembly Bill 5, the 2019 law that requires employers to give benefits to more workers.
Zaremberg was once deemed as the “Coalition Man” by the Wall Street Journal for his ability to work across the aisles.
“I’ve worked for him and against him — but I’ve always admired him,” tweeted Jason Kinney, a Democratic lobbyist and a former political consultant for Newsom. “Allan’s an astute, affable warrior who built one of best top-to-bottom advocacy operations in Sac.”
Zaremberg has had many critics, including for CalChamber’s practice of deeming bills it dislikes as “job killers.”
But the method has worked more often than not. Last year, only one of 19 bills identified as “job killers” became law. This year, the vast majority of the bills deemed “job killers” failed to advance through the California Legislature.
“CalChamber and Allan Zaremberg have been one and the same for more than two decades,” said Donna Lucas, chair of the CalChamber Board of Directors, in a statement announcing Zaremberg’s retirement. “His effectiveness in representing California’s business community is legendary and he created models for success that are now common practice.”
Zaremberg became CalChamber’s president and CEO in 1998 after six years as the organization’s executive vice president and head of its legislative advocacy program. Before that, he was the chief legislative adviser for former Republican Govs. George Deukmejian and Pete Wilson.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to be part of California’s business and political development, working with California’s business leaders to establish a strategic plan for economic success,” Zaremberg said in CalChamber’s statement.
This story was originally published August 16, 2021 at 3:01 PM.
