Michael Rossi Named California 'Jobs Czar' By Jerry Brown: Is It A Jab At Gavin Newsom?

California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom had a plan.

He thought it a good plan. The type of plan that, if properly executed, could resurrect California's moribund job market.

More importantly, it was a plan that bore his watermark. It was something he could run on if, being the ever-ambitious politician he is, he ever decided to seek higher office. But for the plan to work, Newsom would need the full cooperation of officials with far more power than that held by his largely ceremonial office—he would need the help of the notoriously fracturous state legislature and, more importantly, Governor Jerry Brown.

That is precisely why Jerry Brown's appointment of former Bank of America executive Michael Rossi as the state's new "jobs czar" is largely being viewed as a slap at Newsom.

The Associated Press reports:

The administration announced the appointment of Michael Rossi of Pebble Beach to the unpaid position. He will act as the liaison between the state's business and labor leaders and the administration, advising Brown on regulatory, legislative and executive actions needed to promote job growth.

The 67-year old Rossi was a senior executive at the formerly San Francisco-based Bank of America. After leaving the mega-bank in the late 1990s, he has worked with organizations such as GMAC Residential Capital, Shorenstein Properties and the San Francisco 49ers.

A member of Newsom's staff told the San Francisco Chronicle they were "blindsided" by Rossi's appointment:

On Tuesday, when rumors started floating about Rossi being named, Newsom, who was attending a Lake Tahoe conference with Brown, was asked by Chronicle reporter Wyatt Buchanan what he knew. "I'm finding out as everyone is finding out," Newsom replied.

Newsom's plan calls for a focus on increasing exports, reinvigorating the state's manufacturing sector, developing green jobs in what the Lieutenant Governor calls the "clean economy" though public-private partnerships, establishing official state trade offices in foreign countries (particularly in Asia) and streamlining some of the state's regulatory practices to make them less onerous on businesses.

A crucial part of the Lieutenant Governor's plan is the creation of a cabinet-level jobs council. A bill creating the council is expected to be presented to the governor sometime in the next two months. Whether Rossi's appointment will derail the council's creation remains to be seen.

An editorial in the Chronicle praised Newsom's plan, calling it "welcome" and saying that, while it was still "far from a finished package...the thinking runs across the political dance floor for maximum appeal."

After spending much of the past year attempting to untie the Gordian Knot of the state's budgetary headache, Brown has been criticized for ignoring the plight of the state's unemployed workers. As California was one of the states hardest hit by the housing crisis, the state's unemployment rate has accordingly risen to a staggering 11.8 percent%—the second highest in the nation. As Brown pivots to a focus on job creation, his appointment of Rossi is largely a signal to the state's business community that he will be responsive to their needs.

Despite its apparent competition with his plan, Newsom put a positive spin on Rossi's appointment, writing on his Facebook wall earlier this week, "I applaud Governor Brown’s announcement that he has appointed a jobs czar. It is critical we put jobs, economic growth and competitiveness on the top of Sacramento’s agenda and I look forward to continuing to work with the Brown administration."

Newsom, who unsuccessfully ran against Brown for the governorship in the Democratic primary, has already amassed a significant war chest in preparation for the 2014 election cycle, indicating that he may eye another run for governor if the 73-year-old Brown decides to not to run for a second term.

Comments

[gypsy508]

08:28 AM on 08/21/2011

Let's not forget that Gavin is barely literate. He only made it to college because his family was able to pull some connections and get him a baseball scholarship. They guy was elected mayor the first time around by Republicans (a majority of Democrats voted for Gonzalez). Seeing the problem, after his election, he began a series of bizarre actions to find support from the left. Finally, one stuck - marrying gay swing voters in defiance of the law. While admirable, Gavin was in fact the only candidate who had opposed gay marriage during the campaign. The rest of his first term was lost in a drunken haze.

[Seacliff]

08:48 AM on 08/20/2011

You cannot deny the fact that politically ambitious Newsom was a mostly ineffective mayor. Blatantly unsuccessful in his campaign promise of fixing homelessness on the streets of our beautiful San Francisco. It actually got a hell of a lot worse during his time in office. If he can't be an effective mayor in a city of 805,000 residents how can he possibly govern the most populous state after Governor Browns terms?

Does Marin County need a new mayor?

[davidpkronmiller]

01:52 PM on 08/19/2011

I think Newsom should run regardless if Brown seeks a second term. I was hoping for Newsom out here and was surprised that Brown stepped in - it frankly is still an issue for me though Brown has done some good work. We here in California needed some new ideas and Newsom had those.

[Robert SF]

01:38 PM on 08/19/2011

A lot of people will enjoy seeing this because they already don't like Newsom. Still, this doesn't make anyone look good. Newsom should have gotten Brown's buy-in long ago, but even so, Brown certainly had to have known that Newsom was working on a jobs plan. I don't see how Brown gains by publicly humiliating Newsom this way. At the very least, that's bound to hurt staff morale because not everyone will think Newsom deserves it.

[whatisthedealio]

03:14 PM on 08/19/2011

Newsom's policy paper is just a rehash of talking points and ideas put out by various silicon valley groups and companies. There is no detail in it and it was just another political stunt designed to make it look like Newsom is working on something. The fact is Newsom was a terrible mayor of SF, was more interested in Photo ops than substance and is the kind of politician that we need less of. A show horse not a work horse, and like the incompetents in the GOP, a political weather vein that is more interested in his career than in good, responsible governance and common sense.

[Tsckey]

12:57 PM on 08/19/2011

Newsom didn't exactly cover himself in glory as Mayor of San Francisco, why should he be job Czar?

[Christopher Hull]

11:51 AM on 08/19/2011

I voted for Jerry Brown. I like Jerry Brown. But this is yet another stupid decision for a Democratic executive who has bought into the whole "cater to the job creators" myth. Pres. Obama did it by appointing the "job exporter" CEO of GE and now Gov Brown has done it by appointing a "wealth destroyer" executive from BofA.
There are things that can be done to bring down unemployment in CA.
1) Create a single payer health insurance plan for CA.
2) Make car insurance part of your annual tag fee.
3) Mandate that those two things operate at a 5% profit and that those profits will be used for infrastructure repair.
4) Bring down the cost of going to a state university. Getting out of college more than 100k in debt is shameful.

[TheOuroborus]

03:45 AM on 08/19/2011

This is Jerry's time. Gavin will have his day in the sun. And more.

[Sepiano]

04:39 PM on 08/19/2011

The more sunshine for Gavin, the better. The sun is a great disinfectant.

Can you tell I am not a GN fan? I don't trust him either to think very deeply or to follow through with discipline and smarts. This is a guy who boffed the wife of his best friend and campaign manager. What does that tell you about character, about impulse control, about honesty and loyalty?

He's taken up the occasional cause that I agree with, but even then, there are problems, as he often does it in a way that energizes backlash. Could the "Gay Marriage" issue perhaps waited a few months? Could it have been done in a less "in your face" kind of way? How much did his timing and manner feed the Bush fear campaign?

It is easy to pooh-pooh such an argument, as the Republicans seem to have no shortage of ways to cry "Wolf!" But here, in recent the CA state elections, the opposition literally spent weeks running a recording of a Newsom speech as a way to rally the Right wing conservatives against Gay Marriage! Gavin couldn't resist a feel-good moment and it cost the people he was trying to help.

[TheOuroborus]

03:43 AM on 08/19/2011

No. Huff thinks she know everything about California politics. She knows NOTHING!

[Turtlenewz]

02:07 AM on 08/19/2011

Gavin does not have enough experience at this point in time . It would of been too much of a risk if Brown appointed Newsom

[AGarcia]

02:03 AM on 08/19/2011

Has politics become just another version of "Survivor" to these reporters? Come on... I'd love it if we could get away from the "personality" political reporting and get at the substance of the policies. I hate this petty tabloid ego driven garbage the political press seems to love to peddle.

[Suspiro]

01:58 AM on 08/19/2011

Gavin's job is to stand next to Brown and look pretty. I'd say he's doing an outstanding job so far

[jerryfromcalifornia]

01:40 AM on 08/19/2011

I TRUST JERRY BROWN'S JUDGEMENT.

[peaceplez]

01:03 PM on 08/19/2011

I don't. I did, but, I saw him choose money and power over what's right for people when he was mayor of Oakland. Gavin is a better human being, in my opinion, therefore not as successful a politician. I find this article sad news for my home state.

[gypsy508]

08:23 AM on 08/21/2011

Gavin a better human being? That's about the worse put down you could say to anyone.

[stelios928]

01:21 AM on 08/19/2011

Gov. Brown's appointment of Mr. Rossi as the 'Jobs Czar', without pay, shows that he is aware of the problems big businesses are suffering and he considered Mr. Rossi to be the best man to advise him. I shall not bother to talk about Mr. Newsom, taking my son's evaluation of him when he was first elected Mayor, that he did not respect him as a restaurant owner, let alone as Mayor.

[Gregory Mccoy]

12:37 AM on 08/19/2011

Who cares? Get a life people.

[Steamboater]

12:13 AM on 08/19/2011

So Brown gives Bank of America Rossi the job as Job Czar. What a brilliant idea.

"(Reuters) - Bank of America is cutting 3,500 jobs this quarter and working on a restructuring that could eliminate thousands of additional positions, the Wall Street Journal reported, adding to a slew of layoff by major banks.


Executives at the bank still are discussing the possible range of cuts, but one person familiar with the situation said at least 10,000 jobs are likely to be eliminated, the report said."

That ain't all folks.

"Eager to shed assets and rebuild its battered capital base ...


Bank of America has lost more than $22 billion in its consumer mortgage division in the last four quarters.

It agreed in June to pay $8.5 billion to mortgage securities investors and is fighting numerous lawsuits challenging the settlement and other mortgage issues."

Smart move Brown. Very smart.

[tdpubs]

12:33 AM on 08/19/2011

The 67-year old Rossi was a senior executive at the formerly San Francisco-based Bank of America. After leaving the mega-bank in the late 1990s, he has worked with organizations such as GMAC Residential Capital, Shorenstein Properties and the San Francisco 49ers. Rossi has not been with the bank for a decade.

[Steamboater]

08:49 AM on 08/19/2011

That, I didn't know and thank you. Still, Brown gave Newsom a bad deal with this. I knew brown was a hard-@ss but not such an @ss as to do something like this. Still, he got my vote and and I'm not sorry I voted for him.

[Suspiro]

01:42 AM on 08/19/2011

So the Czar's objective is not to slaughter and exterminate jobs?