SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:
Richard C. Miadich, 43, of Sacramento, has been appointed chair of the California Fair Political Practices Commission. Miadich has been managing partner at Olson Hagel & Fishburn, LLP since 2016, where he was a partner from 2010 to 2016 and an associate attorney from 2005 to 2010. He was an associate attorney at Walsworth, Franklin, Bevins & McCall, LLP from 2003 to 2005. Miadich earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Davis School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $158,572. Miadich is a Democrat.
Lisa Middleton, 66, of Palm Springs, has been appointed to the California Public Employees’ Retirement System Board of Administration. Middleton has been a member of the Palm Springs City Council since 2017. She served in several positions at the State Compensation Insurance Fund from 1974 to 2010, including senior vice president of internal affairs, San Diego district manager and claims/rehabilitation manager. Middleton is a member of the Equality California Institute and the LGBT Community Center of the Desert. She earned a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Southern California. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Middleton is a Democrat.
Lateefah Simon, 42, of Oakland, has been reappointed to the California State University Board of Trustees, where she has served since 2015. Simon has been president of the Akonadi Foundation since 2016 and director of Bay Area Rapid Transit District 7, Board of Directors since 2016. She was director of programs at the Rosenberg Foundation from 2009 to 2011, executive director at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area from 2008 to 2011 and director of the Re-Entry Division in the Office of San Francisco District Attorney Kamala D. Harris from 2005 to 2009. Simon was a consultant and grants advisor at the Annenberg Foundation in 2004 and executive director at the Center for Young Women’s Development from 1997 to 2005, where she was director of the Girls Detention Advocacy Project from 1994 to 1997. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Simon is a Democrat.
Christopher Valadez, 38, of Marina, has been appointed to the California State Board of Food and Agriculture. Valadez will serve as president of the Grower-Shipper Association of Central California beginning May, 2019. He was director of environmental, governmental and regulatory affairs at the California Fresh Fruit Association from 2008 to 2019 and deputy district director in the Office of U.S. Congressman George Radanovich from 2004 to 2008. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Valadez is registered without party preference.
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