He is a former California State Assemblyman who represented the San Francisco Bay Area's 20th Assembly District from 1978 to 1986.

[1] Shortly after leaving the Assembly at the end of his term in 1986, Naylor was elected Chairman of the California Republican Party, serving from 1987 to 1989.

[1][4] He was also Chairman of the Association for California Tort Reform and a founding member of the board of directors of Calnet Business Bank, headquartered in Sacramento.

[4] He currently serves as Vice Chair of the Leland Stanford Mansion Foundation[2][6] and as Co-Chair of Californians for an Effective Legislature.

[8][9] Naylor resides in the Encino area of Los Angeles with his wife, Linda Kasem.