SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:Victor Duron, 40, of Sacramento, has been appointed Chief Deputy Director at the California Department of Rehabilitation. Duron has been Grants Director at the California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency since 2021. He held several roles at the California Department of Rehabilitation from 2015 to 2021, including Deputy Director for Independent Living and Community Access, Executive Advisor, Section Chief and Unit Manager. Duron was an Associate Governmental Program Analyst at the California Department of Public Health from 2015 to 2013. He was an Associate Governmental Program Analyst at the California Department of Community Services and Development from 2012 to 2013. Duron was a Program Specialist at the Santa Clara County Office of Education from 2009 to 2012. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $176,364. Duron is a Democrat. Walter “Budge” Currier, 55, of Granite Bay, has been appointed Assistant Director, Public Safety Communications at the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. Currier has been 9-1-1 Branch Manager at the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services since 2011. He was Communication Engineer and Project Manager at AECOM from 2007 to 2011. Currier was an Assistant Professor at Liberty University from 2006 to 2007. He served in the U.S. Marines from 1985 to 2006. Currier is President of the National Association of State 9-1-1 Administrators and a member of the National Council of Statewide Interoperability Coordinators, National Emergency Number Association and the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials. He earned a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $168,552. Currier is registered without party preference.Alejandra Duran, 33, of Sacramento, has been appointed Deputy Director of Legislation and Policy at the California Department of Pesticide Regulation. Duran has been an Associate at Weideman Group since 2017. She was a Legislative Assistant at Political Solutions from 2016 to 2017, Senior Legislative Assistant in the Office of State Assemblymember Tony Thurmond from 2014 to 2016 and an Assembly Floor Analysis Unit Intern for the Office of the Assembly Chief Clerk in 2014. She was an Assistant in the Office of State Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi from 2013 to 2014. Duran is a member of the Chicano Latino Youth Leadership Project Board of Directors. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $135,000. Duran is a Democrat.Mary Sackett, 47, of San Rafael, has been appointed Supervisor for the 1st District of the Marin County Board of Supervisors, where she was elected to serve for a four-year term starting January 10, 2023. Sackett has been an Aide to District 1 Marin County Supervisor Damon Connolly since 2017. She was a Senior Associate at the Goldman Law Firm from 2004 to 2017 and Secretary on the Board of Directors for LIFT Levántate from 2013 to 2015. She was a Judicial Law Clerk at the Randolph County Circuit Court in West Virginia from 2001 to 2002 and a Legislative Clerk in the Office of Iowa Senator Bob Dvorsky in 1998. She is a member of the Marin County Bar Association Board. Sackett earned a Juris Doctor degree from West Virginia University. This position does not require Senate confirmation. Sackett is a Democrat.Arturo Barajas, 30, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the California Exposition and State Fair Board of Directors. Barajas has been Government Affairs Manager at FanDuel Inc. since 2021. He was a Deputy Secretary at the California Department of Food and Agriculture from 2019 to 2021. Barajas was a Legislative Aide in the Office of State Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula from 2016 to 2019. He is a member of the 52nd District Agricultural Association. This position requires Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Barajas is a Democrat.
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