ICYMI: Council’s Statewide Political Influence Celebrated

Two weeks ago, we trumpeted Bay Area Council CEO Jim Wunderman being recognized by Capitol Weekly in its annual Top 100 ranking of the state’s most powerful movers and shakers. Jim has been a regular on the list for more than 15 years and this year made a meteoric rise to #43, jumping more than 30 spots from recent years.

It’s a tremendous and deserving individual honor for Jim that also reflects the Council’s growing presence, power and influence in Sacramento. It’s also a testament to a strategy we launched more than a decade ago to elevate our presence in the halls of power to effectively advocate for and represent our many members and this great region.

Political leaders are paying attention. As Capitol Weekly noted in a recent podcast, “the Bay Area Council are definitely players in everything that goes on in Capital.” The hosts also highlighted that Jim’s Top 100 profile was the most visited of anyone in the ranking: “He is so far out front of anybody else there’s really not a second.”

And while honors are nice, results are what matter. And we’re delivering. We had one of our most effective and successful legislative sessions ever this year, including landmark legislation Gov. Newsom personally embraced as part of the budget to streamline new housing. It follows a successful legislative session last year when CalMatters named the Council the most effective business group in the state in passing legislation.