Ann Ravel ’74 Appointed to Lead Fair Political Practices Commission

Ann Ravel '74 was appointed on Tuesday by Governor Jerry Brown to head the commission that regulates California's campaign financing.

Ravel, Santa Clara County counsel from 1998 to 2009, will lead the Fair Political Practices Commission, an agency that monitors the ethics, fundraising and reporting requirements of lawmakers and lobbyists.

During the past 20 months, Ravel has served in a top post in the civil division of the U.S. Justice Department in Washington, D.C. She will step down as deputy assistant attorney general for torts and consumer litigation, a post she had been named to by President Barack Obama. On March 4, she'll begin her new position in Sacramento.

Ravel stated in an interview in Washington that she looks forward to the move and is eager to help create greater transparency in government as a member of Brown's administration.

"Transparency is key for the FPPC, absolutely key," Ravel said. "It seems to me there are a lot of rules and regulations that are not widely understood by both the public and the officials who are bound by them."

Read Governor Brown's announcement here.