Mr. Spagnole was formerly the assistant secretary for the Office of Military Base Retention and Reuse and special assistant to the secretary at the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA). Prior to this assignment in 1999, he was director of communications at CalEPA. Mr. Spagnole was in private practice as an attorney-at-law from 1993 to 1998, and during this period served as president and CEO of Cityscapes, a realty development company, and as president of Patriot Products.

Mr. Spagnole also has 10 years of experience in the federal government. From 1989 to 1993 he served at the Department of the Interior as acting assistant secretary, principal deputy assistant secretary, director of the Office of Congressional and Legislative affairs, and legislative counsel. Mr. Spagnole was on the staff of the Secretary of the Navy in 1989, and director of the Reserve Policy Branch for the Chief of Naval Operations from 1983 to 1988. He worked as an attorney from 1975 to 1983, and retired from the U.S. Naval Reserve with the rank of captain. He is a member of the California State Bar, the California Supreme Court Bar, and the U.S. District Court and Supreme Court Bars. Mr. Spagnole received his law degree from the University of the Pacific and his Bachelor's degree from the University of San Francisco.