Gov. announced appointments Oct. 14, 2026, the governor’s office said.

The release named Michael Mullaney of Sacramento as Chief Policy Advisor to the President at the California Public Utilities Commission; the release said he has worked at the CPUC since 2017, previously held several positions in the Brown administration and will receive compensation of $201,432; the position does not require Senate confirmation.

The governor also appointed and reappointed multiple members to the Dental Board of California and the Dental Hygiene Board of California; the release listed Cara Miyasaki, Kevin Cheng, Ram Vaderhobli, Monika Lee, Sonia “Pat” Hansen, Sridevi Ponnala, Naleni Tribble-Agarwal and Sherman King and summarized their professional credentials; the release said these posts do not require Senate confirmation and that compensation is $100 per diem.

Newsom reappointed Denise Kadara to the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, Peter Satin to the Colorado River Basin Regional Water Quality Control Board and Michael Mendez to the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board; the release said each of those positions requires Senate confirmation and carries a $250 per diem.

The release included each appointee’s background, party registration and the stated compensation for the post; appointments that require Senate confirmation will proceed through that process before the appointee can serve in a confirmed seat.

State

Gavin Newsom

Governor · Democrat

Named 4 times in this story.

Everything the Journal has reported on GavinOfficial site

Portrait: Official portrait

Sources & methodology

This report was written from the primary materials below. Links open at the original publisher.

Office of the Governor of California

See something we should correct? Read our corrections policy.