. . . and the Pay’s Terrible

Gov. Gray Davis relishes his ironfisted control over the job appointments process. But the matter of appointing San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, the former Assembly speaker, to a state job looked more like the gang that couldn’t shoot straight. Did Davis appoint Brown to a commission or not? Well, yes, no and yes again.

In January, Davis indicated he was naming Brown to the board of the state employees pension fund. Last Tuesday, Brown displayed the appointment document, dated Feb. 9, duly signed by Davis and Secretary of State Bill Jones.

Wednesday, a Davis aide said it was “a terrible mistake” on the part of some unidentified clerk, that Davis’ signature had been produced by an automatic pen and that no appointment had been made. Jones said it had been. Perhaps some hesitation because Mayor Brown’s office records had just been subpoenaed in a corruption probe? No, Davis just hadn’t had time to discuss the nonpaying job with Brown. A quick trip by Davis to San Francisco and an evening press release fixed that. The appointment was on again, supposedly for good. But Davis press secretary Michael Bustamante decreed that Brown, as all appointees, must represent Davis’ views and not his own, adding, “They are not free agents.”

If the independent, outspoken Brown had any response to that, it was not recorded. If he did, it probably wasn’t printable anyway.