story by Laurie McLaughlin
From his window at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., Scott Gudes can see where his bosses work at the U.S. Capitol.
"I have a pretty good office space," he understates, and he has a big job to go with it. In 2005, he was appointed the Republican staff director of the Senate Budget Committee, which oversees the $2.6 trillion federal budget and is in charge of drafting the annual budget resolution.
In 1978, Gudes earned a master's in public administration at Cal State Fullerton, and with the encouragement of Alan Salzstein, chair and professor of political science, he packed his car and moved east as part of the first class of President Management interns, where he worked for the Secretary of Defense.
"I didn't think I'd be here this long," says Gudes, who grew up in Fullerton, but he's never left.
Gudes has worked in both the executive and legislative branches of government, and from 1998 to 2003, he was a deputy undersecretary for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and received the Presidential Award, the highest honor bestowed on a civil servant. He was then called to the Senate as the staff director of the Commerce, Justice, State, Judiciary and Related Agencies Subcommittee before heading to the Budget Committee.
In each of these positions, he's gained an appreciation for how government works (he's served both Republicans and Democrats), and his current position is no exception. "The key thing I've learned in the years I've worked in Congress is that democracy works a whole lot better than the average person at home realizes," he says. "One person really can have an impact, and Congress members are listening and responsive and taking on constituent issues."
But, even with a front-row seat to the most powerful legislative body on earth, Gudes is still an Orange County native at heart. When asked what's next for him, Gudes replies, "Actually, I'd really like to go fishing in Dana Point."
