Voss Confirmed as Agriculture Chief : Appointment: The state Senate narrowly approves the governor’s choice. He is not expected to hold the post in the next Administration.

SACRAMENTO —  Henry Voss narrowly won Senate confirmation Thursday as the state’s top agriculture official despite protests about aerial pesticide spraying to combat the Mediterranean fruit fly in Southern California.

The former California Farm Bureau president and Central Valley peach farmer appointed by Republican Gov. George Deukmejian last May was confirmed on a 22-7 vote--only one vote more than the 21 needed.

The vote reflected a desire by Republicans not to oppose the governor, and a desire by rural Democrats not to oppose farmers. Seven Democrats, most from the Los Angeles area, voted against confirmation.

Voss is not expected to serve much beyond January, when Deukmejian retires and a new governor takes his place. Even the likely Republican gubernatorial nominee, U.S. Sen. Pete Wilson, has said he wants to take responsibility for pesticide control from the Department of Food and Agriculture and place it with a new environmental agency.

But Sen. Art Torres (D-Los Angeles), one of Voss’ most vigorous opponents, said his immediate ouster was important, to send a message to Deukmejian and to protect the health of farm workers and residents in areas where malathion is sprayed to fight the crop-destroying Medfly.

Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti, another Los Angeles Democrat, said he hoped Voss’ narrow confirmation vote will send a message to the agriculture community that it must come up with an alternative to malathion spraying, which is criticized as an annoyance and a potential health hazard.

Senate Republican leader Ken Maddy of Fresno during floor debate agreed that pesticide control measures “need to come into the current day.”

But Maddy argued that Voss is “as receptive as anyone we can find” to accomplish that.

He said Voss understands the state’s $15-billion-a-year agriculture industry and added that much of the criticism of his department stems from incidents that occurred before his appointment.

But Senate Democratic leader Barry Keene of Benicia disagrees, charging that putting Voss in charge of pesticide control is “like putting John Hinckley (who attempted to assassinate former President Reagan) in charge of the Secret Service.”

Keene also said that the Farm Bureau, Voss’ former employer, is a highly conservative organization with ties to the chemical industry and said it has not even served farmers well.