Matthew Hargrove has worked in and around the California State Capitol since 1992. In December 2021, he was named the President and CEO of the California Business Properties Association.
Hargrove replaced the retiring Rex S. Hime after Hime’s 37 years of service.
Hargrove worked for over 15 years as CBPA’s Sr. Vice President of Government Affairs, managing all aspects of the organization’s governmental affairs program including legislative and political issues in the State Capitol as well as responding to the actions of state and federal agencies that have regulatory oversight on issues affecting the industry. He also managed CBPA’s external communication and legislative grassroots advocacy programs.
Hargrove joined CBPA with more than fifteen years of experience in political, local government, legislative, and regulatory arenas in both California and Washington D.C.
Prior to joining CBPA, Hargrove worked for fifteen years in the public sector, including positions as a key staff member for a state Assemblymember Brooks Firestone, on statewide and Congressional campaigns, and with the University of California’s State Governmental Relations Office. He spent the eight years just prior to joining CBPA as the Director of Government Relations and Advocacy Programs at the University of California, Davis, his alma mater.
At UC Davis, Hargrove managed all aspects of the campus’ legislative and advocacy programs, which covered a wide range of issues including land-use planning, construction financing, labor, and environmental issues during a period of unprecedented growth. Hargrove launched the campus grassroots advocacy program that advanced issues at all levels of government. In 2003, Hargrove received national recognition from the National Association of Land Grant Colleges and Universities for his innovation and accomplishments in the profession.
Hargrove lives in West Sacramento, where he grew up, with his wife Darcy and two children.
