The Environmental Protection Agency’s top official in California was abruptly removed from office Wednesday. She has been deputy administrator since 2016. Before taking the regional administrator job, Stoker served as director of government affairs for UnitedAg, one of California’s largest agricultural associations. According to his EPA biography, he was also a member of Santa Barbara County’s Board of Supervisors from 1986-1994, chairman of the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board from 1995-2000, and California deputy secretary of state from 2000-2002. Stoker was a supporter of former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt before Pruitt resigned amid numerous controversies in 2018.

Source: Los Angeles Times February 06, 2020 04:52 UTC