Where Did Everybody Go?

A lot of people in charge will say—whether they believe it or not—that they are only as good as their staff. It’s difficult to tell for State Assemblymember Nora Campos (D-San Jose), because almost all of her staff has been replaced. In fact, no elected official in the entire state Legislature has experienced a higher turnover of staff since the beginning of 2011 than Campos. Currently, only two people—senior assistant Darryl Lucien and consultant Dana Mitchell—out of six in Campos’ capitol office were working there the same time a year ago. Just one—field rep. Lauren Sutherland—remains from her district office in San Jose. Highlighting the musical chairs, Campos has no current chief of staff. As one former colleague of Campos’ on San Jose’s City Council muses, “They’ve had to reach down in the depths for anyone to fill the position.’ So far they’ve come back empty. The chief of staff role has been vacant since the departure of John Scribner, who took over the position after Willie Armstrong was appoint by Gov. Jerry Brown to serve in the State and Consumer Services Agency. Armstrong was among several staff members given to Campos from the office of former Assemblymember Anna Caballero, who’s now a member of Brown’s cabinet and once again Armstrong’s boss. In comparison to Campos’ overhaul in the last year, of the nine people on the payroll for fellow freshman Assemblymember Luis Alejo (D-Watsonville), seven remain on board from 2011.

The Fly is the valley’s longest running political column, written by Metro Silicon Valley staff, to provide a behind-the-scenes look at local politics. Fly accepts anonymous tips.

2 Comments

  1. She was useless on San Jose City Council and she’s useless in the state assembly.  Anyone with any integrity or ambition would leave as soon as possible.  I bet Anna Caballero’s former staffers couldn’t leave quick enough when they realized how incompetent Campos is.

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