MILL VALLEY, Calif. — December 1, 2004 — Sam Chapman, chief of staff to U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer and a former member of the Napa County Board of Supervisors, today was named the new publisher of the Pacific Sun.
Chapman takes over for Steve McNamara, who sold the Sun to Palo Alto-based Embarcadero Publishing Co. in September after owning and operating the paper since 1966.
Chapman first went to work for Boxer 22 years ago when she was elected to the House of Representatives. He served as her press secretary, legislative director and as associate staff to the House Budget Committee prior to taking over as Chief of Staff in 1985.
In 1989, he and his family moved back to Marin. Since then, he has overseen 70 full-time Senate staff members in Washington and six California offices.
Prior to joining Boxer’s staff, Chapman served two terms on the Napa County Board of Supervisors and served on various regional boards, including the North Bay Health Systems Agency, Bay Area Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.
His first professional work was as a reporter and editor for the Napa Register, after which he received a law degree from Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law. After law school, he entered the VISTA program and worked as a volunteer attorney representing the poor and was also employed as a staff attorney for the Napa County Legal Assistance Agency. He then opened his own general practice law office prior to running for supervisor.
“Our top priority in recruiting a publisher was to find a person who lived in and loved Marin County and who clearly understood the role a newspaper can play in building and strengthening community, and being an advocate for progressive ideas,” said Embarcadero president Bill Johnson. “Sam was ready to turn his energies back to local issues and we were lucky enough to connect with each other. He will be a dynamic leader of the Sun.”
Former owner, editor and publisher Steve McNamara, who has known Chapman and his family for many years, said Chapman was “an inspired choice as the next publisher of the Pacific Sun.”
“He has an extraordinary varied background in journalism, law and politics, plus a longtime attachment to Marin County. What’s more, he is a terrific person with a marvelous family,” McNamara said.
“I am excited about the challenges and responsibility of leading this institution in my home community,” Chapman said. “I believe a newspaper’s job is to inform, entertain and be a force for good in the community. I look forward to carrying on the Sun’s independent tradition and to working to make it the best it can be.”
Chapman, who begins as publisher immediately, resides in Greenbrae with his wife Sarah and two daughters in high school, senior Allegra and freshman Sabina.
The Sun is published every Wednesday and circulates throughout Marin and southern Sonoma counties. Its current circulation is 36,000.
For more information contact:
Bill Johnson (650) 326-8210
Sam Chapman (415) 383-4500
