Thursday, May 12, 2011

Sacramento Bee: Governor's Appointments Toe Party Line

Jerry Brown's appointments toe the party line

Published: Thursday, May. 12, 2011 - 12:00 am | Page 1A
Gov. Jerry Brown often complains the Capitol is more partisan than when he was governor before.
But in one significant area, he has been more partisan than his predecessor.

Of the 102 appointments the Democratic governor has announced early in his third term, just nine are Republicans. Brown is choosing Democrats about 80 percent of the time.

Brown's dependence on members of his own party is a departure from recent practice that has not endeared him to the GOP lawmakers he is trying to engage in budget negotiations.

Any budget deal with Republican lawmakers may require Republican appointments, said Bill Whalen, a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution and former speechwriter for ex-Gov. Pete Wilson.

"If the governor really does want to work with the Republicans," Whalen said, appointments may be "part of the price of doing business."

Moreover, former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's relative parity in appointments – fellow Republicans made up about 55 percent of his appointees – was designed to bring diverse backgrounds and points of view into his administration.

Former press secretary Aaron McLear said "first and foremost was finding the most qualified individual," but added that Schwarzenegger also considered "ethnic diversity, regional diversity, and also, as much as possible, political affiliation."

Brown spokesman Gil Duran said Wednesday that Brown does not consider political affiliation and is "looking for the most qualified candidates, period."

"It's reasonable to assume that a Democratic administration is in contact with a lot of qualified Democratic candidates," Duran said.

If Brown is not conscious of political affiliation in his appointments, it would be uncharacteristic. He has tried various ways to endear himself to his Republican adversaries, including visiting with them at social gatherings and at his loft. He encouraged supporters last month to "hug a Republican."

For all that, Assembly Republican leader Connie Conway said, one might have expected more balance in Brown's fledgling administration.

"If you bill yourself as being bipartisan, then really, you know, then you ought to make sure that you are," she said.

When Brown was last governor, from 1975 to 1983, he was widely praised for expanding the presence of women and minorities in his administration.

Four months into his third term, his appointments have largely come without controversy. The exception was former state schools chief Louis "Bill" Honig, who was removed from office after being convicted in 1993 of conflict-of-interest charges. Honig withdrew his nomination to the State Board of Education.

Rachel Michelin, an organizer of the California Women's State Appointment Project, which recruits women to apply for appointments, said Brown's appointments secretary and adviser on appointments – two women, both Democrats – have been receptive to concerns about diversity.

Of the appointments Brown has announced, 62 are men and 40 are women.

Michelin said she was struck by the number of Democrats Brown has appointed. But his administration is so new she said she is "trying to cut him some slack."

The most recent Republican appointment Brown made was to a Cabinet-level position, secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Retired Maj. Gen. Peter James Gravett said he and Brown talked about his qualifications and ideas. His political affiliation, he said, "never came up."

Republican Assemblyman Cameron Smyth of Santa Clarita, who joined Brown for a budget forum in Smyth's hometown last month, said he is more concerned about Brown's budget proposals than the political makeup of his administration.

Smyth shrugged off any comparison with Schwarzenegger, a moderate.

"I think Governor Schwarzenegger was probably only 55 percent Republican anyway," he said.

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