Ag Alert Home | Ag Alert Ag Alert Archives: 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Chrisman named secretary of resources Issue Date: November 26, 2003
By Kate Campbell Assistant Editor
Mike Chrisman, 59, a fourth-generation Tulare County farmer and rancher, has been appointed California secretary of resources by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. In addition to a distinguished career in business and public service, Chrisman has been very active in Farm Bureau.
Chrisman is a former president of Tulare County Farm Bureau. He also served as a director of the California Farm Bureau Federation from 1984 to 1990 and has been active in issues affecting agriculture and the environment for more than 40 years.
"Mike's strong business and government management experience, coupled with his proven track record in resource conservation, will be invaluable to this administration," Schwarzenegger said. "The vast natural resources of our great state are a tremendous asset for all Californians and we must be responsible stewards of their use. I look forward to working with such a well-qualified individual to develop policies and programs to accomplish this."
The Resources Agency, through its various departments, boards, commissions and conservancies, is responsible for administering programs that conserve, preserve, restore and enhance the rich and diverse natural and cultural resources of California. The agency has 15,000 employees with an annual budget of more than $5 billion.
California Farm Bureau Federation President Bill Pauli said Chrisman's selection to head the state Resources Agency is an excellent choice based on his background and leadership in agriculture, combined with his experience in state service.
"Mike has demonstrated a high level of leadership and skill in serving in the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the state Resources Agency," Pauli said. "He has played an active role in protecting our state's precious resources. His background in agriculture, water and environmental issues will serve all Californians well in the future as part of Gov. Schwarzenegger's team to protect our environment and promote jobs."
In addition to ongoing involvement in his family's farming and ranching operations, Chrisman has served as Southern California Edison's region manager for the San Joaquin Valley since 1996. Prior to that, he "erved as undersecretary for CDFA and deputy secretary for operations and legislation for the California Resources Agency, which he will now lead.
"Although I've been a farmer and rancher all my life, my work in government has come out of the resource agencies," Chrisman said. "That includes the Department of Food and Agriculture and my experience on the Fish and Game Commission. I've had a life-long interest in the management of our natural resource base."
He said the agency will now need to set priorities and begin managing the state's natural resources in light of population growth and budget constraints.
"It's all interrelated and I look forward to working with A.G. Kawamura at CDFA and Terry Tamminen at the state's Environmental Protection Agency," Chrisman said. "Water is always a major issue in California because of the need to meet ever-increasing demand. It's an issue that needs to be viewed from a holistic standpoint."
Chrisman said the governor's environmental action plan will serve as a blueprint for the Resources Agency. He said agency priorities will include getting more engaged in the Cal-Fed Bay-Delta Program, focusing on energy and electricity, improving the business climate in California and increasing jobs.
Chrisman has served as a staff director for the Assembly Republican Caucus. In addition, and he served as chief of staff and advisor on agriculture, water and environmental issues to then-Assemblyman Bill Jones. Chrisman also has been a partner since 1966 in a family farming operation, producing stonefruit, walnuts, row crops and beef.
He has served as vice president of the California Fish and Game Commission, and is immediate past chairman of the Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks Foundation, chairman of the Great Valley Center and member of the board of directors of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
CFBF Administrator George Gomes said, "Mike served on CFBF's board of directors for six years and during that time he was always attentive to the issues. He gathered input from everyone before making a decision. That approach is important as he takes on this new job. He'll have a lot of pressure from different interests and he'll need to weigh those interests and make sound decisions based on facts and science."
Tulare County Farm Bureau President Nancy Pitigliano said, "Given that I know Mike personally and have worked with him for years, I'm thrilled at his appointment. Mike knows resources, forestry, water. He has all the background necessary to do a wonderful job. He's a great choice."
Pitigliano said Chrisman has always played an active role at Tulare County Farm Bureau. He has been involved on many committees, most recently helping organize an outreach program to educate those in urban areas about the role and practices of California agriculture.
"Mike is a statesman and we will miss his contributions to Tulare County Farm Bureau and this entire area," she said. "Mike is a great resource himself that now we're going to have to share."
CFBF Board Member Kerry Whitson, who is a Tulare County stonefruit and grape grower, said, "Mike is going to be a fantastic resources secretary. He has always been a voice of reason and has a very calming effect when contentious issues are being discussed. He researches issues and is knowledgeable about a subject before coming to conclusions. One of his greatest strengths is accessibility."
Farm Bureau endorses Schwarzenegger Issue Date: September 10, 2003
By Robyn Rominger Managing Editor
Gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger is greeted by California Farm Bureau Federation President Bill Pauli, as Schwarzenegger prepares to address enthusiastic supporters at a rally at the CFBF building in Sacramento. The California Farm Bureau Federation's board of directors, citing concerns about a depressed agricultural economy and an increasingly burdensome regulatory climate in the Golden State, has endorsed gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Oct. 7 special election.
The endorsement was formally announced last Saturday at a rally at the CFBF headquarters building in Sacramento, featuring the gubernatorial candidate and farmers and ranchers from across the state. About 200 enthusiastic supporters cheered several times during Schwarzenegger's remarks.
Western Growers Chairman Edwin Camp also announced that group's formal endorsement of Schwarzenegger at the rally.
"We believe that Arnold Schwarzenegger will ensure that California agriculture continues to provide safe, reliable, high-quality food through responsible stewardship of our natural resources for all Californians," said CFBF President Bill Pauli. "On the issues that matter to farmers and ranchers, this candidate understands that to restore economic health to the state, we need to support and encourage a healthy and economically viable agriculture, which provides food, jobs and environmental benefits."
The two major agricultural organizations say that significant issues facing the state's No. 1 industry include government regulations, excessive fees and taxes, and workers' compensation insurance costs. In introducing Schwarzenegger at the rally, Pauli and Camp said that the candidate will help rebuild a positive business environment for the state's important farming sector.
"It's about surviving, it's about providing an opportunity for the future, it's about providing the fruits, nuts, vegetables, flowers and forest products for our great state and the rest of our great nation," said Pauli, who grows pears and winegrapes in Mendocino County. "We need an opportunity to remain in business, to provide jobs and support the economy. The overlapping regulations in air and water cannot continue. We, like all other small businesses, cannot continue unless we can make a profit. The problems we face right now are created by government. They are taking away our opportunity."
Pauli made his remarks as he stood next to Schwarzenegger and Camp on a stage decorated with brightly colored fruits, vegetables and flowers.
"Arnold Schwarzenegger has announced a platform to revitalize California's economy and he has made it clear to us, the farmers of this state, that agriculture is fundamental to rebuilding a strong economy. This is not what we've seen with the current administration," said Camp, a third-generation farmer. "Instead of supporting our already overburdened industry, government is driving agriculture out of business with additional state costs, mandates and regulatory burdens. Arnold has told us that he plans to protect farmers and protect businesses."
Western Growers is an agricultural trade association based in Irvine whose members grow, pack and ship 90 percent of the fresh vegetables and approximately 70 percent of the fresh fruits and nuts in California and Arizona.
"My family and all the membership is proud to feed the country, but times have never been tougher," Camp added. "For ag, the best we can hope for in this state right now is that our Legislature doesn't continue to pass more heavy-handed burdens on us and drive us out of business. And we need to have a governor who is willing to veto unjust, unfair and unconstitutional legislation. We believe Arnold Schwarzenegger would be that type of governor."
The rally was held in an oak grove adjacent to the CFBF building.
"To get this endorsement here today is really going to give me the energy that I need for this campaign," Schwarzenegger said. "These are two powerful organizations that represent 88,000 farmers in this state. This is an industry that is extremely important. It is one of the most powerful industries that help not only to feed California and America, but to feed the world-that is the key thing. And it is an industry that we have to take care of. We must do everything possible to help our farmers.
"The first thing I want to do when I go into this office and become governor is to turn the economy around, to bring it back and make it again the Golden State that it once was," Schwarzenegger said. "Agriculture will be a crucial part to turn our economy around. This is why it's so great to work now with the farmers, to get together. One of the first things I will do when I go into office is to get together and start working on the problems that the farmers face. And there's an endless amount of problems."
The increased cost of workers' compensation insurance was one of the issues he mentioned.
"The first thing you hear out of everyone's mouth is 'workers' compensation,'" Schwarzenegger said. "This is terrible to pay those fees, those increases, and then the benefits are so little for the workers. Someone is creaming off the top and we have to have workers' compensation reform when I get into office."
He said government regulations are causing California companies to leave the state to conduct business elsewhere. "This is embarrassing what is happening here to this state," Schwarzenegger said. "The jobs are leaving, too. Last month alone, half of the people that lost their jobs in America lost their jobs right here in California. We've got to bring businesses back to this state. We've got to bring our workers back."
He touched on the issue of international trade.
"We cannot get our products into countries even though they send their products to our country," Schwarzenegger said. "This is unfair and we have to take care of that."
Air quality was another issue he cited.
"Of course we are all worried about that," Schwarzenegger said. "Of course we want our children to grow up healthy. But at the same time, we don't need overregulation, we don't need to have the federal government come down on farmers, the state government come down and start overlapping and overregulating, overburdening the businesses, overtaxing the farmers-we should not do that. Because the only way that we can continue with this business and continue feeding everybody is by helping the farmers, help understand their problems. This is the kind of governor I want to be. grew up in Austria in a rural area in the middle of farms, so I know what it is like to be a farmer. I milked the cows every morning."
He explained why he is running for governor. "I owe it to California," Schwarzenegger said. "It is my duty to run for governor of this great state because I can no longer stand by and watch the politicians neglect the people and run this state down, run the economy down. I am sick and tired of politicians saying, 'We can't do this, we can't do that.' I want to be the kind of governor that believes in the things that the state can do. I want to bring the economy back. I want to help California. So I don't care what I give up with the (acting) career because everything that I have today, everything that I have accomplished in this state is because of California and I want to make it again the state of opportunity. You can make your dream come true. That is what my governorship is about. I want to be the governor of the people."
Schwarzenegger told farm leaders that he needs support from California agriculture to win on Election Day. He called on farmers and ranchers to make sure all of their friends and relatives are registered to vote and that they all vote on Oct. 7.
"We are highly motivated to ensure California's farmers and ranchers help to get out the vote in every county throughout the state," said Pauli.
Several legislators attended the rally, including U.S. Rep. Doug Ose, R-Sacramento; Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa, R-Redding; State Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Modesto; and Assemblyman Greg Aghazarian, R-Stockton.