An internal memo by Politico obtained by Talking Biz News reads as follows:
Team –
As we expand POLITICO’s California operation this year, going deeper in Sacramento – particularly in the state legislature – is job one. We’re covering California for an influential California-focused audience of policy and political professionals, while also tackling Sacramento as the global power center that it is, a key player along with Washington and Brussels on issues like energy, emissions, privacy and beyond.
The year began with the big news that Chris Cadelago is moving back to Sacramento in June to be California bureau chief. And today, we’re pleased to announce two new journalists joining the newsroom in Sacramento who help intensify our coverage for the California Pro audience – and give them the same depth of legislative coverage that we give subscribers in Washington.
Eric He
Eric He is our first state-based legislative analysis reporter, and he has a critical job: Delivering our Pro subscribers rapid-fire and deep-dive analysis and reporting on bills moving through California’s Legislature. He’ll have an eye on the latest and most pressing bills dealing with employment and labor, energy and climate, tech and data privacy, housing, water and innumerable other issues of interest to our professional subscribers in Sacramento. Eric joins Alec Snyder and Jordan Williams on the Legislative Compass team, reporting to Aubree Eliza Weaver, and will work closely with our California reporters and editors.
Eric most recently served as City News Service’s Los Angeles City Hall bureau chief. Prior to that, he did stints at Patch and the Los Angeles Town Crier — in addition to his freelance coverage of Bay Area and Southern California sports. He graduated from the University of Southern California in 2019 and completed his master’s degree in investigative journalism at Columbia in 2020.
Rachel Bluth
Rachel Bluth is our new California health care reporter, coming from Kaiser Health News, where she worked as a correspondent for California Healthline and covered the legislature from Sacramento. Rachel takes over the beat at a key moment, as state health policy evolves under Gov. Gavin Newsom and increasingly serves as a point of political tension nationally. Rachel will cover the state’s efforts to expand abortion access post-Roe, a hotly contested minimum wage proposal and Newsom’s push to get more people on the streets into mental health treatment, among other big storylines. She reports to Katy Murphy and Ben Fox.
Rachel previously wrote about Congress as the Peggy Girshman Fellow in Kaiser Health News and also covered the Maryland General Assembly and Republican Gov. Larry Hogan as lead political correspondent for Capital News Service. Originally from Albany, N.Y., Rachel studied political science at Binghamton University and has a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland.
Please join us in welcoming Eric and Rachel to POLITICO — and in cheering on the California team as it prepares to do big things in the year ahead.