Do Gavin Newsom’s appointees reflect California? Study shows Latinos under-represented

Mathew Miranda
·3 min read

Gov. Gavin Newsom is naming more Latinos to executive appointments in California state government, but not nearly enough to reflect the state’s Hispanic population.

That’s according to a report released on Thursday from the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute. Researchers analyzed the demographic representation of 482 appointees across California’s executive branch. These appointees consist of positions in the state’s governing boards, commissions and departments.

The report found that Latinos make up 18% of appointees from the governor and legislative leaders despite accounting for more than 39% of the state population. Whites are over-represented at 36% of the state population but 48% of all appointees.

“Parity in executive branch appointments is critical to ensuring representation at key regulatory and agenda-setting tables,” said Sonja Diaz, director of the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute. “Without representation in these bodies, the myriad of policy reforms necessitating a Latino lens evolve into a universal approach that can leave Latinos worse off. Our elected leaders have an obligation to do more to ensure the state’s diverse Latino population is truly represented as architects of state policy and rulemaking.”

Proportional representation is also lacking in the environment and criminal justice sectors. Latinos hold 10% of appointed positions on criminal justice boards and commissions, while making up over 40% of the jail and prison population in California. And they are 14% of the positions that regulate the environment.

The report called this “particularly troubling” given Latinos are disproportionately impacted by the health and economic threats of climate change.

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The report comes one day after Newsom nominated Patricia Guerrero to be the first Latina state Supreme Court chief justice. Earlier in the year, he nominated Guerrero as the court’s first Latina member. Newsom named former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a one-time rival for the governor’s office, to serve as an state infrastructure advisor on Thursday.

This follows a trend of Newsom making diversity a priority since taking office in 2019. Newsom last year appointed Alex Padilla to fill the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by Vice President Kamala Harris, making Padilla the first Latino to represent California in the Senate.

The UCLA report found Latinos tend to be more recent appointments, with 71% of Latino appointees coming in the last four years.

“The report tells us that under this administration diverse representation has improved and more Californians from different parts of the state are serving as voices on our boards and commissions, however it also tells us there is a lot more work to do,” said Sen. Monique Limón, D-Santa Barbara. “The improvement is better than with past governors, but it’s still one that makes us all ask -- how can we all do better?”

Newsom has appointed 55% of all executive branch appointees, as of March 2022, according to the UCLA report. His predecessors named appointees to 21% of the positions the report authors analyzed, and the remaining 23% have come from other state legislators or officials.

Legacy appointments carried over from previous administrations were more likely to be white, with over 57% appointed before 2019. The report recommends the governor should define appointment term limits and limit the practice of granting legacy reappointments to recruit a regular stream of diverse candidates on boards and commissions.

It also urges Newsom to pass Senate Bill 1387, which would direct the governor’s office to track and report the demographic makeup of gubernatorial appointees. Newsom vetoed the bill last year.

The governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Report authors recommend the governor to issue an executive order to set administration-wide directives for reaching proportional representation.

“This ongoing data collection is necessary to shed light where inequities in representation exist, encourage outreach to communities of interest, and address any systemic barriers to full and inclusive participation in our state’s democracy,” said Helen Torres, CEO of Hispanas Organized for Political Equality, a leading proponent of SB 1387. “

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