SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments:
Charles Callahan, 56, of Blythe, has been appointed warden at Chuckawalla Valley State Prison, where he has been acting warden since 2017 and served as chief deputy warden from 2013 to 2016. Callahan was associate warden at Valley State Prison for Women from from 2008 to 2013, where he served as correctional business manager from 2005 to 2007. He held several positions at Centinela State Prison from 2007 to 2008 and from 1995 to 2005, including associate warden, correctional business manager, procurement and services officer and vocational instructor. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $149,808. Callahan is a Democrat.
John Garza, 47, of Bakersfield, has been appointed warden at California City Correctional Facility, where he has been acting warden since 2017. Garza served in several positions at California Correctional Institution from 2016 to 2017 and from 1998 to 2004, including acting warden, chief deputy warden and sergeant. He was associate warden at Wasco State Prison from 2015 to 2016 and from 2013 to 2015 and acting chief deputy warden at Deuel Vocational Institution in 2015. Garza was facility captain at Kern Valley State Prison from 2009 to 2013, where he was a lieutenant from 2005 to 2009. He was a lieutenant at Chuckawalla Valley State Prison from 2004 to 2005 and a correctional officer at North Kern State Prison from 1994 to 1998. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $149,808. Garza is a Republican.
Roy Wesley, 63, of Carmichael, has been appointed Inspector General, responsible for overseeing various activities specified in statute at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Wesley has been chief deputy inspector general at the Office of the Inspector General since 2007. He was a partner at Pursley, Rush and Wesley LLP from 2002 to 2007 and at Hanna, Brophy, MacLean, McAleer and Jensen from 1991 to 2002. Wesley was an associate at Mastagni, Holstedt and Chiurazzi from 1988 to 1991. He was an officer in the U.S. Air Force from 1978 to 1988 and an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve from 1990 to 2005. Wesley earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $171,494. Wesley is registered without party preference.