From governor's mail room to utilities commission

Michael Picker, the newest member of the powerful Public Utilities Commission, has a long history with Gov. Jerry Brown (D-CA): He worked in the governor's mail room during his first term from 1975 to 1977, during Brown's first term. "I delivered press releases," said Picker, 62, who moved to Sacramento from Echo Park a year after graduating from Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles in 1974. Since then, Picker, has held a number of government jobs, most recently as an elected board member of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District and as senior adviser on renewable energy for Gov Brown and his predecessor, Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA). The governor named Picker, a Democrat, to fill the last 11 months of the unexpired term of Commissioner Mark J. Ferron, who resigned. Picker must be confirmed by the state Senate within a year of his appointment. "Probably the reason he keeps me around is that I demonstrated that I can get things done," Picker said of Gov Brown.