California to cut its D.C. lobbying crew from six to two

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Mike Doyle | McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — California Governor-elect Jerry Brown is dramatically scaling back California's lobbying force on Capitol Hill, reportedly cutting the state's Washington, D.C. staff from six to two.

The downsizing comes as Brown seeks quick budget savings in an effort to shrink the state's looming deficit.

"They are going to pare down the office quite a bit, but they are going to keep it open," Linda Ulrich, the current director of California's D.C. office, said Thursday. "It's going to be much smaller."

Ulrich and another, Sacramento-based Schwarzenegger administration official described the D.C. downsizing, which has not yet been officially announced by the Brown transition team.

With the reductions, California's two-person D.C. presence would be notably smaller than that of other states, such as Florida and New York.

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