Gil Duran
American journalist and political operative (born 1976)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gil Duran (born 1976) is an American journalist, author, and political operative based in San Francisco.[1][2]
Gil Duran | |
|---|---|
| Former Press Secretary | |
| Governor | Jerry Brown |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1976 (age 49–50) |
| Party | Democratic Party |
| Education | DePauw University |
He began his career in journalism at the San Jose Mercury News in 1998.[3]
A Democrat, he has worked in political consulting for Jerry Brown, Dianne Feinstein, and Kamala Harris.[4][5][6]
Career
From 2008 to 2010, Duran was communications director for U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein. He was press secretary to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa from 2007 to 2008.[7] He then worked as press secretary for California governor Jerry Brown.[4]
In 2013, Duran was the communications director for Kamala Harris during her tenure as the California attorney general.[6]
In 2018, Duran became the California opinion editor for The Sacramento Bee and oversaw strategy for McClatchy's five California news organizations: The Sacramento Bee, The Fresno Bee, The Modesto Bee, The Merced Sun-Star and The Tribune in San Luis Obispo.[8] He has also served as the editorial page editor for the San Francisco Examiner.[3]
He writes the Nerd Reich newsletter, which documents anti-democracy extremism and authoritarian currents within Silicon Valley's tech community.[9] Duran also authored The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy, a book published in 2026, about regulatory capture and abuses of power perpetrated by big tech.[10]
Personal life
Duran was born in California to parents who were working-class Mexican immigrants.[10] He lived with his mother, and younger sister in Tulare, California, when he was a child.[11] After moving to Kentucky,[12] he attended Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Lexington.[citation needed] He later attended DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana.[13]