ASSEMBLYMAN KORETZ'S CHIEF OF STAFF
The Eyes and Ears of the 42nd Assembly District
by Patrice Broussard
Assemblyman Paul Koretz (D-West Hollywood) is one of the new faces under the dome in the Assembly, but he is no stranger to the political world. He has been involved in politics since he was five-years-old when he attended a political rally for future president John F. Kennedy. Since coming to Sacramento, Assemblyman Koretz has been busy introducing legislation that would better the lives both his constituents in Southern California, as well as the rest of the state. Assisting Assemblyman Koretz with this daunting task is Scott Svonkin.
Svonkin is Assemblyman Koretz' chief of staff. In this position, Svonkin is the head of the assemblyman's legislative team. With this position come many duties that need to be done in order for Assemblyman Koretz to the work of his constituents. One of these duties in helping Assemblyman Koretz in setting his legislative agenda and strategy. Another one of these duties is managing the staff of both the capitol office and the district offices, which have a combined staff total of eight people. This requires Svonkin to travel up to Sacramento on a regular basis.
The task that Svonkin seems to enjoy the most is going out into the district and meeting with the people that Assemblymember Koretz represents. Says Svonkin, "I'm the eyes and ears of the district when Assemblyman Koretz is in Sacramento."
The road to Assemblyman Koretz' office was an interesting one for Svonkin. A native of Los Angeles, Svonkin is a graduate of California State University, Northridge. After college, Svonkin spent nearly eight years working in the private industry. He was also a staff member for the former mayor of Los Angles, the late Tom Bradley. Svonkin met Assemblyman Koretz by accident when Koretz was a member of the West Hollywood City Council. The accidental meeting led to a job as Deputy Councilman (and ultimately employment as the assemblyman's chief of staff) for Koretz. In this capacity, Svonkin worked in important legislature, community activities, media relations and constituent services for the City of West Hollywood. During his two-year tenure in this position, Svonkin worked on a variety of legislative projects, some of which include an anti-crime program that focused on getting guns off of the streets, putting limits on tobacco and its advertising, and helping to improve city services.
Svonkin loves his job as chief of staff. "I get to do what I've wanted to do since I was a young man." More importantly, Svonkin likes the person he works for. Svonkin has a great interest in the issues that Assemblyman Koretz' has chosen to tackle such as gun control, civil rights and health care. He also likes the assemblyman's vision for California. And as for Assemblyman Koretz himself, Svonkin has nothing but praise for the man he describes as being very focused and "the nicest guy in the legislature, treating every member of his staff like the valued members that they are.
It could be said that Svonkin is as equally focused as his boss. He has three major things that he would like to accomplish in his life - run for political office, teach full time and run a non-profit organization. Running for political office shouldn't be too difficult a goal for Svonkin to accomplish with the background in politics and his tie with various community organizations in the Los Angeles area. Svonkin is also well on his way to accomplishing his second goal of teaching full time. Svonkin currently teaches a course at a Los Angeles area college about how to fight city hall successfully. Svonkin's third goal is directly related to community work that he does. He is a member of organizations and actively participated in a variety of civil, political, cultural and Jewish activities. The type of organization he has in mind would promote cultural awareness between various ethnic and religious groups or focus on issues such as education of healthcare.
Away from the office, Svonkin is a family man. He likes to spend time with wife Jennifer and his baby daughter Rose. He also enjoys tennis. At one point, Svonkin was a professional tennis referee officiating at high profile events such as the U.S. Open. As a matter of fact, at the age of 15, Svonkin was the youngest person to ever referee a match at this Grand Slam event.