Your eyes on California Government

The state Legislative Office Building at 1020 N Street will be renamed the William L. Cavala Legislative Office Building, according to Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 62, introduced on January 11 by Sen. Darrell Steinberg, a Sacramento Democrat.

William Lester “Bill” Cavala, who died at 66 in December,  was a longtime capital insider who in 1981 left a teaching post at UC Berkeley to work for Assembly Speaker Willie Brown. He went on to work for Assembly Minority Leader Richard Katz and Speakers Cruz Bustamante, Antonio Villaraigosa, Robert Hertzberg and Herb Wesson. He also served as Deputy Director and Director in the Speaker’s Office of Member services.

Johan Klehs, a former Democratic Assemblyman told reporters that Cavala was “a master strategist”  and compared him to the consiglieri character in The Godfather.

In a statement, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, an Oakland Democrat described Cavala as “a political pioneer and Democratic strategist who was considered by many the driving force in California politics for the past 40 years.”

Cavala passed away on Christmas eve but it is not necessary for anyone to be deceased for state property to be named after them.  State Route 46 from US 101 to Route 41 near Cholame is named after Jack O’Connell, a former state senator and currently State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

–Calwatchdog staff