California Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed state Sen. John Laird of Santa Cruz to the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission. The unpaid position requires confirmation by the state Senate.
Since being established by Congress in 1947, the commission “helps resource agencies and the fishing industry sustainably manage” Pacific Ocean resources in the five-state region of California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska. Each state is represented by three members of the commission.
Laird, a Democrat, was first elected to represent Senate District 17 in 2020. He served as secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency from 2011 to 2019, was a member of the California Integrated Waste Management Board from 2009 to 2010, and represented District 27 in the California State Assembly from 2002 to 2008.
Earlier in his career, Laird was executive director at the Santa Cruz AIDS Project from 1991 to 1993, and worked as a budget analyst for the County of Santa Cruz from 1974 to 2002. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in politics from UC Santa Cruz.
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