Posted on 02/02/2005 6:32:54 PM PST by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO - Longtime Republican strategist Sean Walsh was appointed Wednesday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as director of the governor's Office of Planning and Research.
Walsh, 41, is a former member of Gov. Pete Wilson's staff who played a key role advising Schwarzenegger during the 2003 recall election. Most recently Walsh ran his own government relations firm in Oakland and worked for former Secretary of State Bill Jones in his unsuccessful 2004 U.S. Senate campaign.
The Office of Planning and Research advises the governor on land use and local government issues and provides support on research of legislative issues. The position pays $123,246 a year.
Walsh's activities came under scrutiny in a lawsuit filed by a woman who claimed during the recall campaign that Schwarzenegger had groped her on movie sets. On the same day she made the allegations, Walsh suggested in e-mails to reporters that the accuser, Rhonda Miller, had a record of prostitution, theft and drug-related crimes.
The records he cited were for a different woman with the same name, and Miller sued for defamation. The suit was dismissed when a judge ruled there was not enough evidence that Walsh deliberately misled reporters, or that Schwarzenegger knew about the e-mail. Schwarzenegger later abandoned a pledge to investigate claims that he sexually mistreated women.
A similar suit, brought by a British television host who also accused Schwarzenegger of groping her in 2000, continues. Last month, a judge declined to throw out Anna Richardson's suit against Walsh, Schwarzenegger and another campaign aide. Records filed Monday by the governor's campaign fund show it spent more than $500,000 on legal fees stemming from the two cases.
The Republican governor also announced the appointment of Robyn Boyer, 56, as deputy Cabinet secretary. Boyer, a Democrat, was once chief of staff to Democratic former Assemblywoman Virgina Strom-Martin, and most recently served as a consultant to the Assembly Select Committee on California's Nursing Shortage and the Future of California's Health. The job pays $93,000.
Boyer's new boss, Terry Tamminen, the governor's Cabinet secretary, is a former Santa Monica-based environmental activist and also a Democrat.
Primary job requirement: loyalty
Experience: none required
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