{"id":5114,"date":"2026-06-01T21:02:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T21:02:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/01\/former-gavin-newsom-aide-picked-as-new-california-high-speed-rail-board-chair\/"},"modified":"2026-06-01T21:02:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T21:02:08","slug":"former-gavin-newsom-aide-picked-as-new-california-high-speed-rail-board-chair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/01\/former-gavin-newsom-aide-picked-as-new-california-high-speed-rail-board-chair\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Gavin Newsom aide picked as new California high-speed rail board chair"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!--[--><!-- AiSummaryComponent.html --><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><svg><title>Key Takeaways<\/title><defs><lineargradient><\/lineargradient><\/defs><\/svg><\/p>\n<div>Key Takeaways<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Read our AI Policy.<\/p>\n<ul><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<li>Stephen Kawa was chosen to be the new chair of California\u2019s high speed rail board.<\/li>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<li>Newsom appointed Kawa and Jason Elliott last month to replace two outgoing board members.<\/li>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<li>California voters approved the rail project in 2008 and it has cost about $15 billion.<\/li>\n<p><!--]--><!--]--><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The California High-Speed Rail Authority\u2019s Board of Directors on Monday voted to elevate board member Stephen Kawa, a longtime former aide to Gov. Gavin Newsom, to become the governing body\u2019s new board chair.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/01\/california-primary-2026-where-do-i-go-to-vote-finding-your-polling-place-2\/\">California primary 2026: Where do I go to vote? Finding your polling place<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Early last month, Newsom appointed Kawa of Cloverdale in Sonoma County to the HRSA board along with Jason Elliott of San Francisco, another former Newsom aide. Kawa and Elliott were appointed to replace Fresno\u2019s Tom Richards and Sacramento\u2019s Nancy Miller, who were chair and vice chair of the board, respectively.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Kawa worked as chief of staff for San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee from 2011 to 2017, before he was Newsom\u2019s chief of staff from 2004 to 2008 when Newsom was San Francisco\u2019s mayor. Kawa was also had various roles in the office of San Francisco Mayor Willie L. Brown Jr. from 1996 to 2004, including deputy chief of staff, legislative director and liaison to the city\u2019s Board of Supervisors.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/01\/california-primary-2026-where-do-i-go-to-vote-finding-your-polling-place\/\">California primary 2026: Where do I go to vote? Finding your polling place<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The governor has the authority to appoint five of the nine members on the rail board.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The high-speed rail project was first approved by California voters in 2008 and that has so far cost about $15 billion. The rail authority has said it\u2019s on pace to lay the train\u2019s first tracks by December in the Central Valley, the region prioritized for construction and spending by state law.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/01\/murals-to-honor-more-sacramento-legends-of-hospitality-see-who-made-the-list-2\/\">Murals to honor more Sacramento \u2018legends of hospitality.\u2019 See who made the list<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p><i>The Fresno Bee\u2019s Erik Galicia contributed to this story.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><!-- --><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The California High-Speed Rail Authority Board of Directors voted for Stephen Kawa, a longtime former aide to Gov. Gavin Newsom, to become its new board chair.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5113,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-california","category-transportation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Former Gavin Newsom aide picked as new California high-speed rail board chair - San Diego Relocation News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/01\/former-gavin-newsom-aide-picked-as-new-california-high-speed-rail-board-chair\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Former Gavin Newsom aide picked as new California high-speed rail board chair - San Diego Relocation News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The California High-Speed Rail Authority Board of Directors voted for Stephen Kawa, a longtime former aide to Gov. 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