08-20-2007

Kate Howard, a fixture in the judiciary's state lobbying corps for 14 years, will leave the Administrative Office of the Courts this fall, AOC director Bill Vickrey announced Friday.

Howard described her three years as head of the Office of Governmental Affairs in Sacramento as "fun and interesting and exciting" but said she wants to explore new opportunities after the Legislature recesses in September.

"I'm leaving on 100 percent positive terms" with judiciary leaders, Howard said Friday.

The AOC hired Howard as a consultant in 1990 to implement changes recommended to discourage gender bias in the courts. She joined the AOC's lobbying wing three years later and took the reins from director Ray LeBov in late 2004.

"In all of her contributions to the AOC, Kate has demonstrated enthusiasm, determination, personal integrity and a commitment to excellence," Chief Justice Ronald George said in a prepared statement.

Last year, Howard was part of a lobbying effort that won an 8.5 percent pay raise for judges. She also helped secure legislation authorizing 50 new trial court judgeships despite weeks of squabbling between lawmakers and the governor's office.

"That was particularly big because of the dire need in certain geographic parts of the state," LeBov said. "And as anybody who followed the issue knows, it was a very delicate and complex issue."

During Howard's tenure as director, the judiciary has tried increasingly to exert its independence from the governor and the Legislature even as term limits have forced some of its closest and most court-knowledgeable allies from office. State budget shortfalls and labor unions have also thwarted recent judicial efforts to boost judges' pensions, place a courthouse construction bond measure on the ballot, and make constitutional changes to give the judiciary more power.

Drew Liebert, chief counsel to the Assembly Judiciary Committee, called Howard "a consummate advocate for the courts" who "always stays calm amid the chaos."

"It can be a pressure cooker, and Kate Howard has certainly been at the fulcrum of it," Liebert said.

Donna Hershkowitz, currently the assistant director of the Office of Governmental Affairs, will serve as acting director after Howard leaves, Vickrey said.