Governor’s closest aide will be leaving post in January

Bonnie Reiss, a senior aide to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his closest friend in the administration, will be leaving her position in January, the governor’s office confirmed late Monday.

Her departure is the latest in a post-election shake-up of the governor’s staff.

Reiss is a confidant of Schwarzenegger who has known him for nearly 30 years. Within the governor’s staff, she is seen as the aide with the best read on his thinking.

Schwarzenegger’s office did not give a reason for her departure and would not make Reiss available for an interview. Friends said privately that Reiss was tired, missed her friends and was eager to return home to Malibu.

In a prepared statement, the governor indicated that even though Reiss was leaving his employ, he would continue to consult her.

Schwarzenegger said that his wife, Maria Shriver, “and I will miss the daily contributions that she makes to the administration. And while Bonnie will leave her office ... she will always have a seat at the table.”

A self-described liberal Democrat, Reiss moved to Sacramento from Malibu after Schwarzenegger won the 2003 recall election, and she has occupied an office down the hall from his ever since.

Her portfolio was education, though she had the clout to delve into myriad issues that were of interest to her and to the governor.

The friendship was obvious. When Schwarzenegger went out to lunch near the Capitol, he would often invite Reiss and a couple of other personal assistants he had known before he ran for governor.

Early in the administration, more-senior aides chafed at Reiss’ free access to Schwarzenegger, worrying that she might buck the chain of command and quietly persuade him to derail policy plans long in the making.

But others voiced admiration for her work ethic, along with her single-minded devotion to Schwarzenegger’s interests.

“The impression I had was that she was very close to the governor and he listened to her on a variety of issues, from social welfare to the environment,” said state Sen. Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica).

“She was definitely a progressive. I believe that she probably had quite an influence, though she never bragged about it.”

Reiss first met Schwarzenegger and Shriver in 1978, when she was working for Shriver’s uncle, U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass). She was a founding director of “Arnold’s All-Stars,” a Schwarzenegger nonprofit group devoted to after-school programs.

Since Schwarzenegger won reelection Nov. 7, several of his top officials have confirmed that they are leaving, including Legislative Secretary Richard Costigan; Press Secretary Margita Thompson; Education Secretary Alan Bersin; and Business, Transportation and Housing Secretary Sunne Wright McPeak.

Another official expected to leave is Fred Aguiar, the governor’s Cabinet secretary.

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peter.nicholas@latimes.com