CalPERS president should be replaced

OC Register ^ | 12/1/04 | Op/Ed

[NormsRevenge]

Published reports on Tuesday suggest that the California Personnel Board may remove President Sean Harrigan from the board of CalPERS when his term expires next year. Mr. Harrigan blames efforts by the governor's office and top corporate players. If removed, however, Mr. Harrigan will have no one to blame but himself.

Mr. Harrigan is an international vice president and executive director with the Food and Commercial Workers International, and has used his position at the helm of America's largest public pension fund to promote a far-left political agenda rather than to mainly assure the health of the fund's sizable investments.

The CalPERS board, dominated by union members, is a case study on the dangers of allowing government to have too much power in investment decisions. Because of the enormous size of the state's government work force, CalPERS manages $177 billion in investments.

When CalPERS officials talk, corporate America must listen.

So the liberal activists who control the board are intent on using it to impose their own agenda on corporate America. As the Los Angeles Times reported, Harrigan and the CalPERS board led efforts to oust Disney CEO Michael Eisner and attempted to oust the CEO of Safeway. Is it the place of retirementboard officials to pick and choose corporate executives?

--snip--

Thomas J. Donahue, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, argued in a San Francisco Chronicle article earlier this year, that "Harrigan and CalPERS' board took a leading role in a very public attack, through proxy ballots, against Safeway's board." Consider that Mr. Harrigan organized rallies against the grocery chain at the time of the strike.

Last week, Mr. Harrigan and State Controller Steve Westly called for CalPERS to pressure U.S. automakers to stop any fight against California's anti-global-warming regulations.

--snip--

[NormsRevenge]

Better yet, Flush the whole damn board of 'directors'.

[steenkeenbadges]

Whatever happend to our Antitrust laws? The fox is in bed with the chickens here.

[cake_crumb]

So he's a whacked out leftist wingnut, abusing his position to push his warped agenda down the throats of the public, but as usual, it's all the Republicans' fault when he gets - or finds out he's going to be - fired.

[cake_crumb]

"Whatever happend to our Antitrust laws?"

Darned good question. Sure looks like the whole board is violating them.