Current Position: Head of Council on Environmental Quality (since January 2009)
Why She Matters
Although her appointment to head the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) surprised some who were expecting a bigger, national name, Sutley has a long and robust record on environmental and energy policy in both California and Washington, D.C.
Sutley has been working on climate and energy policy in the Golden State for the past decade. Prior to that, she was the special assistant to then-Environmental Protection Agency administrator
Carol Browner (who has now been tapped to serve as Obama's energy and environment "czar").
In her time as the deputy mayor, she's been a quiet playmaker, doing a lot of the behind-the-scenes work to implement Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's (D) major environmental initiatives as he attempts to makeover Los Angeles as the "greenest big city in America." She's spearheaded his two biggest initiatives: overhauling the dirty truck fleets at the L.A. and Long Beach ports, and moving the California Water and Power Department to wind-and-solar energy.
Described as small in stature and soft-spoken, many in the state say Sutley's commanding presence is often overlooked. One state environmentalist described her as "the [basketball player] Jason Kidd of environmental policy – small, fast and deadly accurate."
At a Glance
Current Position: Head of Council on Environmental Quality (since January 2009)
Career History: Deputy Los Angeles mayor for energy and the environment (2005 to present); Mayor's representative to the board of directors for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (2006 to 2009); Deputy secretary for policy and intergovernmental relations at the California Environmental Protection Agency (1999 to 2003);
Energy adviser to Gov. Gray Davis (2002 to 2003);
Member, California State Water Resources Control Board (1999 to 2003)
Birthday: April 20, 1962
Hometown: Born in Argentina, raised in Queens, New York
Alma Mater: Cornell University; Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government
Spouse: N/A
Office:
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Path to Power
Sutley was born in Argentina and raised in Queens, N.Y. She received her undergraduate degree in government from Cornell University and master's in public policy from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.
Clinton EPA
During the Clinton years, she was a senior policy adviser to the regional administrator for the EPA's Region 9 office in San Francisco, as well as a special assistant to then-EPA administrator Browner. She has also served as the policy director for the National Independent Energy Producers and as an industry economist for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
After her time at the EPA, Sutley went on to serve from 1999 to 2003 as the deputy secretary for policy and intergovernmental relations at the California Environmental Protection Agency (DEP). In that role, she advised the state on water-and- air-pollution policy and lobbied both federal agencies and Congress. She also helped establish agency budget and legislative priorities. From 2002 to 2003, she was served as an energy adviser to former California Gov. Gray Davis (D).
California Energy Crisis
As energy adviser to Davis, who was voted out in a 2003 recall election, Sutley played a crucial role in the electricity deregulation crisis of the 1990s. Some criticized her for not doing more to avoid the crisis, though others who were working within the state government at the time argue that she was one of the stronger voices on the issue.
Sutley, they say, was among those raising questions about the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s oversight of electricity markets in the state, and it was Sutley who coordinated the government's response to the crisis. Her former California EPA boss Winston Hickox says she was, in fact, "part of the cleanup crew," and others say that it would have been more of a disaster had Sutley not been on board.
Following her time at California’s DEP, Sutley was tapped to serve as a member of the California State Water Resources Control Board, where she served until 2005. The five-member board is a full-time post in California, and its mission is meant to "ensure the highest reasonable quality for waters of the State, while allocating those waters to achieve the optimum balance of beneficial uses." On the board, she helped develop water- protection plans and water-quality standards, and oversaw the implementation of state and federal water-quality laws.
Deputy L.A. Mayor
In 2005, Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa named her deputy mayor for energy and environment. In 2006, the mayor also appointed her as his representative to the board of directors for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, a consortium of 26 cities and water districts that oversees drinking water for the 18-million residents of the state's six southern counties. On the board, she was the chair of the Water Planning and Stewardship Committee and a member of the Executive Committee, the Special Committee on Bay-Delta and the Communications and Legislation Committee.
President Obama’s announcement of Sutley’s CEQ appointment produced cheers from the environmental community and disappointment from the fossil-fuel industries. Institute for Energy Research President Thomas J. Pyle issued a press release noting that he "had hoped [Obama] would use the CEQ appointment to send a signal to the country and the world that securing our nation’s energy future will be a top priority of his administration."
The Issues
Perhaps Sutley’s biggest accomplishment as Los Angeles deputy mayor was pushing through a plan to clean up diesel trucks at the Port of Los Angeles, the country's largest seaport.
In March 2008, the Port of Los Angeles Commission adopted a plan requiring that, by 2012, all of the trucks that operate in the port must have clean-burning diesel engines. Beginning on Oct. 1, 2008, truck models older than 1989 were banned from the port -- which cut an estimated 50 percent of emissions in a single day -- and by 2012, only trucks that meet or exceed 2007 emissions standards will be allowed entry. The plan also requires all trucking companies that operate there to buy and maintain new, modernized rigs and to employ truckers, thus replacing the old system through which most truckers at the port were independent contractors. The city also approved an $800-million grant program to help subsidize the purchase of cleaner trucks, which can cost up to $125,000. The plan is expected to cut emissions at the port 85 percent in five years.
While that agreement represented a big win for the region's environmentalists, unions and the residents around the ports, it was not without its opponents. The American Trucking Association sought an injunction to block the plan, and is expected to sue the state over the new rules. The Federal Maritime Commission has also sought to block it. But the changes were huge news for a port that serves as the entry point for 40 percent of U.S. consumer goods.
Energy
Sutley has also been a key player in writing Los Angeles’ solar-energy plan, which aims to draw 10 percent of the city's energy from the sun by 2020. It's part of Villaraigosa's efforts to make L.A. a hub of the solar-energy industry while reducing the city's reliance on coal and natural gas.
The mayor's office is also using redevelopment funds to draw clean-tech companies to the city, and intends to invest city pension dollars in environmentally- friendly companies. Overall, L.A. plans to pull 20 percent of its energy from renewables by 2010 and 35 percent by 2020.
in April 2008, Sutley was a key figure as L.A. adopted the first mandatory green-building standards for any large U.S. city. The new rules require that any new commercial and residential structures of more than 50,000-square-feet be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified by the U.S. Green Building Council.
Million Trees Program
Sutley has also supervised the Million Trees program, which is Villaraigosa's effort to transform L.A. "to a green, sustainable city" by planting one million trees over the next several years. The program did encounter some turbulence in 2007 when urban tree advocates complained that the program focuses too much on giving away seedlings that don't tend to survive.
The Network
Sutley was a
Hillary Rodham Clinton supporter during the Democratic primary, and was a member of her lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender steering committee. She was tapped to serve as a member of the
Obama transition team reviewing the Environmental Protection Agency.
During the Clinton years, Sutley was a special assistant to then-EPA administrator
Browner; thus, the two of them have a storied history of collaboration. Browner was a member of the transition's advisory board, and headed up the transition energy and environment policy working group.
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