National Welcomes Kevin Yamamura

I am very excited to announce that Kevin Yamamura is joining National to be our California-based editor overseeing coverage of the West.

Kevin most recently was a Politico deputy managing editor overseeing coverage of California, along with national education and cannabis issues. After starting there in 2018, he built Politico’s California team, hiring and running reporters who regularly broke news on the 2021 gubernatorial recall, explored how the pandemic shaped political decisions and scrutinized the California Department of Education as it suffered leadership problems. The team’s education coverage forced changes in state hiring practices and the resignation of a top official.

Before joining Politico, Kevin worked nearly six years as an editor at The Sacramento Bee, where he rose to become the assistant managing editor in charge of local news. His reporters held the University of California accountable and prompted the departure of a campus chancellor, as well as unearthed details from a 2016 fatal police shooting that led the city to adopt new transparency measures.

As a senior writer at The Sacramento Bee, Kevin covered nearly every facet of state government, including the Schwarzenegger administration, after early stints as a local government reporter, features writer and Oakland Athletics beat writer.