Welcome to 2020! As all of you know, there is probably no clearer signal that a new year is underway in Sacramento than the release of the Governor’s budget, which, in ways few other acts by the Governor can do, lays out his vision for the state and, most importantly, his priorities for the year.

When we first launched this podcast, you joined us as we began building a playbook to address an economy that is not working for working Californians. A playbook that dealt with staggering geographic and demographic inequality in the state, a playbook that leveraged our greatest strength – innovation – to address the big changes of our time coming from technology and climate change, a playbook that ultimately leads to the creation of quality jobs, that revive mobility and the California Dream, in partnership across sectors.

Later in the year, we’ve launched key initiatives to address all those issues, like Regions Rise Together and the Future of Work Commission. We’ve seen progress on addressing climate change and creating a new big industry in electric vehicles, which are now our top export as a state.

And now, with the budget, we’re set to begin 2020 with a focus on one thing above all else – execution. For our first podcast of 2020, what better way to start than talking about the budget and what better person to talk to than the Governor’s Chief of Staff, Ann O’Leary.