Jerry Brown Appoints Interim Parks Chief in Wake of scandal

[LYIN' KING]

July 20, 2012

Jerry Brown appoints interim parks chief in wake of scandal



Gov. Jerry Brown has appointed Natural Resources Agency Undersecretary Janelle Beland acting interim director of the California Parks and Recreation Department, after officials learned the department sat on nearly $54 million in surplus money for as long as 12 years, even as state park closures were ordered.

State Parks Director Ruth Coleman resigned this morning, and her second in command, acting chief deputy director Michael Harris, was fired.

The Natural Resources Agency sought in a release to shift blame from the Brown administration, saying underreporting occurred "over the course of two prior gubernatorial administrations." It said the state Attorney General's Office is investigating, while Brown has ordered reviews be conducted by the Department of Finance and Natural Resources Agency John Laird.

"I welcome Governor Brown's swift action to address these hidden assets," Laird said in a prepared statement. "We will get to the bottom of this situation and work with the Attorney General, the Legislature and the Department of Finance to make sure nothing like this ever happens again."

He added, "We will also work with the Legislature to see how this money can be used to mitigate park closures."

Source: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalert...f-scandal.html

[LYIN' KING]

Janelle Beland, 41, of Sacramento, has been appointed undersecretary of the California Natural Resources Agency. Beland has been a senior advisor and caucus director for Senate President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg since 2009.

Previously, she served as chief of staff to Senator Leland Yee from 2006 to 2009. Beland served as principal consultant to and legislative director for Assemblymember Mike Gordon from 2004 to 2005 and Assembly Committee on Rules Chair Cindy Montanez from 2002 to 2004. She was a legislative and government affairs associate for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California from 2001 to 2002, a consultant to the Speaker’s Office of Member Services from 2000 to 2001, and a deputy press secretary for the California Department of Justice from 1999 to 2000. Beland was director of broadcast operations for the California Channel from 1992 to 2007. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the salary is $138,528. Beland is a Democrat.

Anthony Eggert, 39, of Davis, has been appointed to the California Energy Commission, where he served in 2010. Previously, he was a senior policy advisor at the California Air Resources Board from 2007 to 2010. Eggert was an energy policy advisor for the University of California, Office of the President in 2007 and an associate research director for the University of California, Davis from 2002 to 2006. He also worked for Ford Motor Company as a manager of the California Fuel Cell Partnership from 2001 to 2002 and as a project engineer from 1996 to 1999. This position requires Senate confirmation and the salary is $128,109. Eggert is registered decline-to-state.

Nanci Nishimura, 57, of San Mateo, has been appointed to the Commission on Judicial Performance. She is a partner at Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, where she has worked since 2002. Previously, Nishimura was in private practice in Los Angeles from 1990 to 2002. She was a legislative assistant for Senator Daniel Inouye in 1988 and was a law clerk to the Overseas Private Investment Corporation in 1988 and the U.S. International Trade Commission in 1987. Nishimura was a member of the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation from 2004 to 2008. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Nishimura is a Democrat.

Sandra Schubert, 48, of San Francisco, has been appointed undersecretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Schubert has provided political, legal, and strategic consulting services for clients as a self-employed consultant since 2009. She was an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center from 2009 to 2010. Schubert served as the director of government affairs for the Environmental Working Group from 2007 to 2009, counsel for Senator Harry Reid from 2005 to 2007 and legislative assistant for Senator Barbara Boxer from 2002 to 2005. She was legislative counsel for Earthjustice from 2001 to 2002 and environmental analyst at the Environmental Programs Division for the City of Santa Monica from 1999 to 2001. Schubert was also project director for Children’s Health Environmental Coalition from 1996 to 1998 and a program director for Beyond Pesticides from 1993 to 1996. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the salary is $126,588. Schubert is a Democrat.

Adam Torres, 47, of Riverside, has been appointed to the Commission on Judicial Performance. Torres is a managing director of business intelligence and investigations at Stroz Friedberg. Previously, he was the United States Marshal for the Central District of California from 2003 to 2010. At the Internal Revenue Service, Torres was a supervisory special agent from 2000 to 2003, a special agent from 1992 to 2000 and a revenue agent from 1986 to 1992. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Torres is registered decline-to-state.

Source: http://gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=17032

[fermentor]

And still no replacement for Daphne..................

[Bebe]

Originally Posted by fermentor

And still no replacement for Daphne..................

I believe she's still there?

[mannysouza]

Is this an improvement?

[UglyJeepThing]

Daphne's appointment as Deputy Director was terminated on December 15th, 2011 at which point she left the OHV Division of State Parks.

I attended all the budget and subcommittee meetings at the Capitol this year, and even though she had the opportunity, Ruth Coleman never spoke up and defended the OHV Trust Fund, nor did she defend the SVRA's.

Ruth Coleman was certainly aware of Daphne's dismissal, and did nothing to stop that from happening either.

We don't have enough information to know if it will be better, but all we can ask for is someone who is fair and honest, and understands the value of OHV recreation, and treats our community with respect.

It may be up to us to teach/convey to the new Acting Director how important the OHV Division is to recreation around the state, even no-motorized opportunities. I'll be contacting her office when the heat dies down a little, see about an appointment.

Amy

[aphantomduck]

Speaking for myself, I'm glad to see both Daphne and Ruth gone.

I'd say the "OHV Leadership" should be making an appointment with the interim parks chief to get her open to our issues. Next week would not be a bad idea.

[LYIN' KING]

http://www.linkedin.com/in/janellebeland

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/cali...ks-system.html

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article...cles/120729968

[UglyJeepThing]

Steve, you and I have disagreed many times on this issue, and everyone is not only entitled but encouraged to have their own opinions. However your statement will cause controversy on Pirate, so before that happens, I'll embrace your freedom of speech while speaking up for many others who I know agree with me.

I can think of no better result to come from all of this than to have Daphne back as Deputy Director. I not only admire her personally, but have great respect for her professionally. She has the support of the CORVA BOD, and we fought very hard this winter, and are still fighting, to have her brought back to that position.

What's most important is to have a strong OHV Division of State Parks that protects our opportunities around the state, helping to keep existing opportunities while opening additional parks and areas.

Amy

[aphantomduck]

Originally Posted by UglyJeepThing

Steve, you and I have disagreed many times on this issue, and everyone is not only entitled but encouraged to have their own opinions. However your statement will cause controversy on Pirate, so before that happens, I'll embrace your freedom of speech while speaking up for many others who I know agree with me.

I can think of no better result to come from all of this than to have Daphne back as Deputy Director. I not only admire her personally, but have great respect for her professionally. She has the support of the CORVA BOD, and we fought very hard this winter, and are still fighting, to have her brought back to that position.

What's most important is to have a strong OHV Division of State Parks that protects our opportunities around the state, helping to keep existing opportunities while opening additional parks and areas.

Amy

Agreed Amy, we have disagreed about this topic for quite some time.

I don't mind the controversy, on Pirate about this or any other issue.
Adults can have a lively exchange of ideas and positions on the issues and government officials.

I know full well your like of Daphne and would expect CORVA and other groups in the motorized recreation community to have like minds. I respect your opinion as you have respected mine in this topic.

I have expressed my rational for not wanting Ms. Greene in the position any longer - both privately and in public. The bottom line for me is she was unable or unwilling to make projects happen that could very well kept the legislature from taking nearly $ 160 million (plus the most recent take) from our OHV fund.

I'm not a Kool Aid drinker when it comes to both Ms. Coleman and Ms. Greene in their eyes. Perhaps that is why we don't see eye to eye.

Nonetheless, I have all the respect for you Amy and find you a real bright spot for motorized recreation access. I guess we will just agree to disagree on this subject.