(The Center Square) – California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a series of cross-partisan appointments to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR), including one non-partisan and two Republican candidates in his six appointments to department leadership.
As of the most recent weekly report published by the department, DCR is responsible for overseeing 140,314 individuals. Newsom’s proposed budget of $14.5 billion for DCR represents an increase of half a billion dollars over the prior fiscal year. Year over year, the size of the state’s prison population declined roughly proportionally to the state’s increase in violent crime, or 6%.
Newsom appointed Ronald Broomfield, who has served as San Quentin State Prison warden since 2021 and previously was the facility’s chief deputy administrator, to serve as director of Adult Institutions, which is responsible for managing California’s adult prisoners. Broomfield is registered to vote without any party preference and, if approved by the California Senate, could be paid $202,656 per year from the position. Currently, there are 94,089 individuals interned in DCR prisons and camps.
Jennifer Benavidez, who has served as acting associate director of female offender programs and services, was appointed as deputy director of Facility Operations at the Division of Adult Institutions. Benavidez, a Republican, does not require Senate confirmation and will earn $193,212 per year from the position.
Jason Johnson, a Democrat who currently serves as chief deputy regional administrator at DCR and started working in the parole division in 2006, has been nominated to serve as director of the Division of Adult Parole Operations, a position that requires Senate confirmation and pays $189,000 per year. The DCR currently oversees 36,010 parolees.
Democrat Megan Rheinschild was appointed to the California Council for Interstate Adult Offender and Interstate Juvenile Supervision, which helps relocate offenders to their proper location if they cross state lines, after serving as a Victim and Witness Assistance program director for the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office since 1994. The position has no compensation and does not require Senate confirmation.
Norma Cumpian, a Democrat, and Dean Growden, a Republican, were both reappointed to the Board of State and Community Corrections, positions that both require Senate confirmation and do not have any compensation.
