Anthony Victoria
For KVCR News, I'm Anthony Victoria, and this is IE Latino Voices, where we take a look at the people and issues shaping our region. The people appointed to state boards and commissions can help shape decisions that affect millions of Californians. But who gets these positions, and how are they chosen? Today, we're speaking with Morgan Carvajal, Appointment Secretary to Governor Gavin Newsom about her role and the importance of representation in state government. Secretary, thanks for joining us today.
Morgan Carvajal
Thank you so much for having me.
Anthony Victoria
Your role is vital to helping shape who serves on our state's boards and commissions. What makes your position unique, and how much influence does it have on the direction of state policy here in California?
Morgan Carvajal
It's incredibly important, right? I get to be the person that brings the recommendation to the governor, so it is kind of the backstage of the step. But there's a lot of steps before then that get us to the right point of making a recommendation. One of those is really at the base is trying to address what the governor wanted to address when he came into office, which was how do we make the state's boards and commissions look more like the state that we represent, right? How do we bring more diverse voices to the table, more Latino voices to the table, more Inland Empire voices to the table? Where are we missing those voices more importantly. And where can we make those adjustments? He understood what that impact was going to take. It was going to mean, you know taking legacy appointments that had been there for years and years and years and taking them out and putting somebody new who didn't have the same level of experience, but brought a different level of representation, a different lived experience, a different demographic - who brought a different story to the table.
Anthony Victoria
Where have you found in recent times, what commissions or boards have needed more of this representation, more Latino representation, or representation from communities of color?
Morgan Carvajal
Every area. There is not a single one I can point to to say, you know, we really needed more representation on water boards. That's true. We also needed more representation on local fair boards and on the California Transportation committee, you know, or on you know any of our public safety and public and CDCR boards, anything that deals with rehabilitation, anything that deals with the environment, the climate, water, access to clean, safe drinking water. There were so many gaps and so many areas that we really set out to make sure that we were really taking broad strokes at figuring out where more diverse voices were needed.
Anthony Victoria
And you know, for someone like myself or the average person that is interested in joining a board or a commission, what's that process look like?
Morgan Carvajal
First thing I'd say to anybody is go on our website gov.ca.gov. On the top: "Join the Administration" and click on the application and fill it out. Let us know what you're interested in. You don't have to know exactly what you want to be on before you fill out an application. The process of filling out the application gives us an idea of where your interests are. You know, what is your career? What do you do in the community? Tells us if you're a veteran, for example. If you really want to take it to the next level, call the office. Hold us accountable for looking at you as a candidate. Right when you're offering to step into a role like this in public service, there's always a reason. There's a passion. There is a representation that you see isn't there that you want to bring. So, we're really trying to get out of all of the candidates. What is that something? Why do you want to serve? And then from there, there's an interview process and a vetting process always. And then ultimately, I get to make a recommendation to the governor about how to fill a seat. And then we kind of are off to the races.
Anthony Victoria
What's your message to residents here in the state that do want to get involved, especially in these more disinvested or underserved communities like the Inland Empire?
Morgan Carvajal
There is a lot of opportunity to represent your area and represent your community in the appointment space that a lot of people just don't know about, right? And it's everything from local fair boards to the barbering and cosmetology board or the mining and geology board, right? It touches on so many different industries and so many different issue areas where representation is needed, but not just because, you know, you need just a Latino voice at the table for mining and geology, right? That's not just what we're looking for. Sometimes you know we're really intentional about looking for a civil engineer in that area, and so looking for someone that brings more story and more experience than just being a civil engineer to the board is only going to provide more value.
For example, if I was looking for a parent of a child with developmental disabilities, and we're talking about how you needed to get services this weekend and you just couldn't find them and they weren't accessible, and you had to drive all the way an hour and a half, you know, to the next town to get services, that's an experience that you have. That's part of your whole story. It's about who you are. You might be a civil engineer, but now I know you're a civil engineer, and you have a child with developmental disabilities. And so, our job is really to sort of zoom out and really look at the full person and figure out where is the best place for that experience to apply, and where do I need that representation at the table.
Anthony Victoria
Thank you, Secretary, again for coming on. Really appreciate it.
Morgan Carvajal
Absolutely, thank you so much.
