California Resources secretary gives insight into his job
By Greg Lucas, Capitol Weekly
John Laird is sitting in an armchair in his austere 13th floor office in the state Resources Building on O and 9th Streets. The former chair of the Assembly Budget committee is in shirt sleeves buttoned at the wrist. He gestures broadly while talking.
There are posters of parks on the walls, a hard hat from the state firefighters on a credenza, a row of baseball caps in the otherwise empty bookcase. His desk is ordered but full.
John Laird
Named secretary on Jan. 5 – one of Gov. Jerry Brown’s first appointments – the 61-year-old Santa Rosa native touched many of the issues he now is responsible for overseeing during his six-year tenure in the Assembly: state parks, the Sierra Conservancy, renewable energy, the future of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
The former aide to East Bay Rep. Jerry Waldie, Santa Cruz City Council member, director of the Santa Cruz AIDS Project and Cabrillo College Board trustee talks with Capitol Weekly about his current job and some of its unique challenges.