George Vinson

hen the California Highway Patrol began setting up a state anti-terrorism information center shortly after 9/11, George Vinson got the call. "I basically went down to help," said Vinson, a veteran law officer who spent 10 years with the state patrol in his native California before serving 24 years in the Federal Bureau of Investigation. "I had the state background and the federal background," said Vinson, who worked mainly in counter-terrorism during his FBI years. "I spoke both languages."

Former California Gov. Gray Davis soon asked Vinson to serve as his adviser on homeland security. Vinson's reputation and credentials equipped him to ease some of the jurisdictional conflicts and turf battles that arose as the governor's office began spending $553 million in newly allocated homeland-security funds. And Davis eventually created a gubernatorial office of homeland security, with Vinson as director. "We built a California strategy," said Vinson, 59, who earned a bachelor's degree from California State University. "My first year was just really trying to coordinate and facilitate, get a funding plan together for that homeland-security money and send it out and get equipment, get planning, get risk assessments done, the whole nine yards."

Newly elected Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger kept the director on, though Vinson began easing out of his position with plans to leave after two years. "The 16-hour days, seven days a week, get to you," Vinson said. Before leaving his post on November 10, 2003, Vinson handed off a homeland-security strategy, or "way-forward" plan. And he told the governor's office that he will remain available informally.

As of December, Rick Martinez, Vinson's chief deputy director, was serving as acting director of homeland security under Schwarzenegger, whose office continued to consult with Vinson about his possible successor and other issues.