Commissioners & Executive Staff Profiles
The Governor appoints the Chair and one other Commissioner of a different political party for a term beginning February 1st after each Gubernatorial Election. The Secretary of State, Attorney General, and State Controller each appoint one Commissioner for a term beginning February 1st after each Presidential Election.
Maintaining a Non-partisan Commission
No more than three members of the Commission can be from the same political party. In the event the Attorney General, the Secretary of State and the State Controller are all members of the same political party, the State Controller selects a Commissioner from a list provided by the chair of any other political party.
Current Commissioners
Adam E. Silver, Chair
Appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom
Term Expires on 1/31/2027
Chair Adam E. Silver Bio
Adam E. Silver was appointed as Chair of the Fair Political Practices Commission on March 8, 2024 by Governor Gavin Newsom.
Chair Silver has been Chief Counsel for the Legislative Ethics Committee in the California State Assembly since 2018. He served as Commission Counsel in the Legal Division of the Fair Political Practices Commission from 2017 to 2018 and was an Attorney at Olson Remcho LLP from 2016 to 2017. Chair Silver was Director of Operations and General Counsel at CitizenUP LLC from 2014 to 2016. He was Commission Counsel in the Enforcement Division of the Fair Political Practices Commission from 2013 to 2015 and served as an Executive Fellow there from 2012 to 2013. Chair Silver was a Law Clerk at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles and at the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Relations in 2011.
Chair Silver earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of California, Davis and a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles.
E. Dotson Wilson, Commissioner
Appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom
Term Expires on 1/31/2027
Commissioner E. Dotson Wilson Bio
E. Dotson Wilson, 68, of Elk Grove, has been reappointed commissioner of the Fair Political Practices Commission where he has served since 2019. Wilson is retired, having served as chief clerk and parliamentarian for the California Assembly from 1992 to 2019. He was deputy chief of staff to the Speaker of the California Assembly from 1988 to 1991. Wilson earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Wilson is registered without party preference.