The Rusty Areias Highway… to Hell?

Bizarre backroom shenanigans and negotiations have been taking place for five months now deep inside of the California State Capitol… not over sneaky last minute tax increases, or new CARB regulations… the extraordinary negotiations are over naming a stretch of Highway 152 the “Rusty Areias Highway.”

But it’s feeling more like the Highway to Hell right now.

Senate Constitutional Resolution 129 by Senator Dave Cortese (D-San Jose) would designate a specified portion of State Highway Route 152 in Santa Clara County as the Rusty Areias Highway, and erected signage identifying the highway naming.

Seriously.

Sen. Cortese provides details on his website:

California State Senator Dave Cortese (D–San José), as Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, introduced Senate Concurrent Resolution 129 (SCR 129) to honor the legacy and distinguished public service career of former California Assemblymember Rusty Areias. SCR 129 would designate a portion of Highway 152 as the “Rusty Areias Highway.” The Senate Transportation Committee approved SCR 129 advancing efforts to honor the legacy of the former Assemblymember.  SCR 129 is co-authored by 21 members of the legislature.

The issue is over recognizing a former legislator, who is still alive, and concerns about using state resources to grant a special favor for a registered lobbyist.

Rusty Areias is very much alive. And he is a registered lobbyist with California Strategies public affairs. Naturally many are questioning why a highway is being named after a living former legislator and lobbyist.

So what’s really going on here? And why does Rusty Areias need a highway named after him?

First, you have to be over the age of 60 to remember that Rusty Areias was a California Legislator. Areias served in the California State Assembly from 1982 to 1994. He ran twice for the California State Senate in 1996 and 2002, but lost both bids.

Areias was appointed in 1995 to the California Coastal Commission by the state Senate Rules Committee. In announcing the appointment, Senate President Pro Tem Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward) called Areias “a committed advocate for the coast” who will “stand up to powerful interests,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

From 1998 to 2001, Areias was the Director of the California Department of Parks and Recreation, appointed by Gov. Gray Davis.

More recently, on Mar 23, 2026, Governor Gavin Newsom appointed John “Rusty” Areias, of Walnut Grove, to the University of California Board of Regents.

@CAgovernor Newsom Appoints Rusty Areias to the UC Board of Regents!! Areias has been a Partner at California Strategies since 2002, bringing a wealth of knowledge from his previous positions, including Director at the California Department of Parks and Recreation and… pic.twitter.com/Ehp0MLzlop

— CALSTRAT (@Calstrat1) March 24, 2026

He is a principal at California Strategies, a public affairs and lobbying firm. Areias and two other employees of California Strategies were fined in 2013 for seeking to influence state government decisions without registering as lobbyists, the Sacramento Bee reported in 2013. “Jason Kinney, Rusty Areias and Winston Hickox violated state law when they ‘crossed over the line which separates policy consultants from lobbyists,’ says a proposed settlement the Fair Political Practices Commission released today.”

If Jason Kinney’s name rings a bell, he is the California lobbyist and BFF of Gov. Gavin Newsom, who hosted the party at the French Laundry restaurant in Napa to celebrate his 50th birthday November 6, 2020 during Gov. Newsom’s Covid lockdowns… at the French Laundry restaurant with multiple households without masks or social distancing, as was clearly spelled out in Newsom’s lockdown orders. Gov. Newsom limited the state’s 40 million residents to no more than 10 people to a “gathering,” while he and his wife violated this very order at the swanky birthday party event in Napa Valley.

But I digress.

“Three well-connected partners in the prominent California Strategies public affairs firm have agreed to pay fines to California’s political watchdog agency for trying to influence state government decisions without registering as lobbyists.” They paid a combined fine of $40,500.

There is also the Rusty Areias Community Garden at Martial Cottle Park located in San Jose, California. Areias was involved in the creation of the park while serving as Director of the California Department of Parks and Recreation.

And now he and/or his lobbying firm wants a highway named after him. The Globe is told that his lobbying partners Jim Brulte and Kristen Olsen, both former lawmakers, are pulling out all of the stops to get the “Rusty Areias Highway” passed.

June 29th, there was a dust-up in the Assembly Transportation Committee over Sen. Cortese’s bill to name Highway 152 after Areias. Committee Chairwoman Assemblywoman Lori Wilson (D-Suisun City) pulled SCR 129 from the agenda after  heated exchange with Sen. Cortese.

Specifically and notably, the Assembly Transportation Committee has a policy establishing criteria for highway naming resolutions.  One of these criteria states: “The person being honored must be deceased.”

The Globe can report that near the end of the Assembly Transportation Committee hearing June 29, 2026, Sen. Cortese and Assemblywoman Wilson can be seen walking off of the dais (above) and out the camera to have a chat. A source told the Globe that “Cortese got in her face about it.” But that Wilson had seen the Senate Republican analysis of SCR 129 and was concerned about naming a highway after a living former politician who is a paid lobbyist with business before the California Legislature.

The analyses indicates that the resolution is seeking to honor a career politician and political insider who had a fair-to-middling public service career, and a self-serving history since leaving public office.

The Senate Republican Analysis of SCR 129 says:

“While it makes sense to honor people like legendary Speaker Willie Brown, it takes a pretty significant leap of faith to suggest that Mr. Areias provided extraordinary service to the state, or the people of Santa Clara County in any way comparable to the inimitable former Speaker.

Mr. Areias claims to fame in Sacramento were typically attached to his personal life, rather than significant policy victories. Whether as Cosmopolitan Magazine’s Most Eligible Bachelor, or for attempts to sell his farm’s water to Los Angeles, something that still rankles farmers in the Los Banos area where his family’s farm was located, Areias’ reputation was far from unblemished.

While extraordinary may be in the eye of the beholder, some might wish to consider whether naming resolutions should be extended to every former member of the Legislature, or reserved for truly effective leaders whose exemplary service should be commemorated.

Not for nothing, the policy used to be reserved for deceased community leaders, to avoid the naming resolutions being a final victory lap for people addicted to self-aggrandizement.”

The Assembly Republican analysis of SCR 129 is as incriminating, and gets right to the heart of the matter:

“Rusty Areias’s firm represents more than 100 clients with business before the Legislature.

Granting special favors to lobbyists could reinforce public perceptions about corruption and backroom deals with power brokers in Sacramento.  It can also easily cross into actual impropriety.  It is completely permissible for elected officials to grant favors to lobbyists using their own resources (such as taking them to the French Laundry).  A resolution, however, is an official legislative act that commits state resources.

In February 2016, former Senator Leland Yee was convicted in a pay-to-play scheme that involved exchanging campaign contributions for the performance of official legislative acts.  Notably, one of these acts was a Senate resolution.  Discussing this resolution with any of the firm’s lobbyists or clients in any context that involves receiving something of value, such as at a fundraiser or any event funded by a client, could be interpreted as a bribe.”

Another source said that two partners with California Strategies public affairs firm were in attendance at the Assembly Transportation Committee hearing, which would only cement the concerns of public perceptions about corruption and backroom deals with power brokers in Sacramento.

Is California Strategies using the naming of the “Rusty Areias Highway” as a marketing strategy? Are they twisting arms and/or using their clout, promising future good will to compliant lawmakers?

The legislative time wasted over such a seemingly inconsequential issue should be front and center, with many far more crucial issues facing California today.

This is the most sensible statement perhaps in the entire ridiculous chain of events: “A person’s reputation can change in an instant. Waiting until a person is deceased helps prevent potential embarrassment for the Legislature.”

In addition to his political exploits, Areias tenure has not been without some significant issues. Some examples:

• In 1994, a legislative aide alleged in a lawsuit that Assemblyman Rusty Areias ignored sexual harassment complaints she lodged against his chief of staff and that the San Jose Democrat later threatened her with the loss of her job if she pursued the charges, the Los Angeles Times reported.
• In 2012, I wrote about the illegal vacation buyout scandal in the State Parks and Recreation agency, and how for at least 12 years the parks department underreported tens of millions of dollars to the state Department of Finance. Ruth Coleman, California parks director, was forced to resign. State Natural Resources Agency Secretary John Laird said a preliminary investigation showed the underreporting of the money began at least 12 years ago, under Gov. Gray Davis’ former parks director, Rusty Areias, the Mercury News reported.
• In 2022, the California Department of Insurance and Commissioner Ricardo Lara, former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and Rusty Areias were involved in a Workers’ Compensation Insurer of Pay-to-Play Scandal, PRNewswire reported. The department “previously hid the fact that the former lawmakers-turned-lobbyists represented the company in the proceedings and refused to search for or produce records of meetings and communications with them. ‘There’s nothing in the record in this case that would reflect that [Fabian Nunez or Rusty Areias represented Applied Underwriters],’ according to the Attorney General’s office on behalf of the Department of Insurance at a September 22, 2021 court hearing in the ongoing Public Records Act lawsuit brought by Consumer Watchdog.”
• SacBee.com covered this as well: “Fabian Núñez and Rusty Areias had a job to do. The former lawmakers who left public service for private consulting were hired by a workers compensation company to convince the Department of Insurance to allow an acquisition deal to proceed. If they succeeded, they say they were promised a $2 million bounty fee.”

I’m not sure Rusty Areias will be Rockin’ Down the Highway anytime soon. If cooler heads prevail, the Rusty Areias Highway will be a dead end.

Rusty Areias is featured in the New York Times regarding the recent effort after the LA Fires to salvage historic tiles which are treasured artifacts in the community of Alta Dena #californiawildfires #lafires #californiahistory https://t.co/TItBus56Ce

— CALSTRAT (@Calstrat1) March 24, 2025