Darn. I was thinking of Elle McPherson! 
Posted on 02/11/2005 10:35:11 AM PST by areafiftyone
(02-11) 10:01 PST SACRAMENTO, (AP) --
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to name a longtime former Santa Cruz legislator, Bruce McPherson, as California's 29th secretary of state Friday, sources told the San Jose Mercury News.
McPherson, 61, who left the state Senate last year after 11 years in the Legislature, would replace Kevin Shelley, who resigned last Friday while facing numerous investigations into his conduct in office. Shelley's resignation takes effect March 1.
The governor's office scheduled an 11 a.m. announcement on the appointment.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Well. a liberal republican is as good as we can hope for in the situation, I guess.
I'm in the liberal hell hole of NYC so I have no idea how ARRRRRNOLD is doing. What do you think of the job he is doing?
I was hoping for Ross Johnson.
McPherson's just another RINO with higher aspirations.
as well as can be expected, considering what he is up against.
he didn't do himself or the taxpayers of california any favors by rolling over for the dems and borrowing billions to keep the social program funding flowing, imo.. some say , he had no choice. it was the only thing to do..
But we'll just have to let things play out and see what emerges after the battles ahead are fought.
Seems like NY and California are one in the same when it comes to politicians. Except for Reagan of course.
McP is a good choice.
at least he can't grab any guns in this position or support gays... or can he?
Darn. I was thinking of Elle McPherson!
Bruce McPherson is a gun-grabbing liberal RINO!!!
I have since wondered how this has affected Bruce's stance on guns?
*ping* CA
Ah-nold appoints liberal "bidness as usual" RINO to Sec of State seat, film at 11.
So is he supposed to stand for election in 2006? Or are we running someone else, then?
It's no wonder the 'Rats will quickly confirm him. One has to remember he was one of the RINO wunderkind who ran in '02 and lost in a landslide to Lt. Gov. Bustamante. The 'Rats will effortlessly take this seat back without breaking a sweat. :-(
Though a RINO, McPherson is an acceptable choice. A conservative probably couldn't get confirmed by the legislature.
However, I'm miffed at McPherson for not running against Congressman Sam Farr last year. He had a real chance of winning.
At least the gun-grabbing RINO isn't appointed to something more critical like Attorney General.
SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger named Republican former lawmaker Bruce McPherson of Santa Cruz as California's 29th secretary of state Friday, filling the post being vacated by Democrat Kevin Shelley, who resigned last Friday.
McPherson, 61, a former newspaper editor, served 11 years in the state Legislature as a moderate Republican in a Democratic district where he appealed to both environmentalists and business interests. If confirmed by the Legislature, he will fill the remainder of Shelley's term, which expires in January 2007.
Shelley's resignation takes effect March 1.
"I looked for someone with strong experience, unimpeachable integrity, and someone who is widely respected, and that is exactly what Bruce brings with him to the job," Schwarzenegger said Friday. "I look forward to working with the Legislature to quickly confirm Bruce to insure a smooth transition of leadership for this important office."
McPherson has been a Schwarzenegger ally since the two met in 2002 when Schwarzenegger was pushing an initiative campaign to support after-school programs for children, Proposition 49. The then-actor and bodybuilder hosted an Orange County fund-raiser for McPherson during his unsuccessful 2002 campaign for lieutenant governor.
McPherson was among the first to sponsor legislation seeking to put political contributions and lobbying information online through the secretary of state's office, and supports redistricting of state legislative and congressional districts, a key Schwarzenegger goal.
In McPherson, Schwarzenegger picked a nominee who has experience in state politics, elections issues and is a proven fund-raiser in statewide campaigns. In 2002, he campaigned as a moderate who backed education and environmental conservation. In a state with a large Democratic majority, McPherson lost by only 564,000 votes to current Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante.
The longtime editor of the Santa Cruz Sentinel before winning an Assembly seat in 1993 in a Democratic district, McPherson won election to the Senate three years later. He will take over a secretary of state's office wracked by turmoil over allegations it mishandled millions of dollars in federal elections funds and politicized their use by hiring consultants who went to partisan events and promoted Shelley.
McPherson will also oversee a widespread move by counties toward touch-screen voting, which has attracted controversy because of concerns over tampering and potential fraud.
Shelley resigned amid a host of state and federal investigations into his handling of the election money, his allegedly abusive treatment of staff in the 450-peson office, allegedly improper hiring practices and acceptance of questionable campaign contributions.
McPherson is expected to be quickly confirmed by the state Senate, where he sometimes bucked his party's more conservative positions.
Upon his retirement last year due to term limits, a Senate official called him a "TR Republican," a comparison to Republican former President Theodore Roosevelt, an ardent conservationist.
State lawmakers have 90 days to act on the nomination, and either the Senate or Assembly could block it with a negative vote of the Democratic majority. If neither house takes action or one house approves his nomination and the other does nothing, his confirmation will take effect.
In picking McPherson, Schwarzenegger passed over several other names that were actively mentioned as possible Shelley replacements including former Republican state Sen. Ross Johnson of Irvine, businessman Gary Mendoza, State and Consumer Services Agency Secretary Fred Aguiar and former U.S. Senate candidate and Huntington Park Mayor Rosario Marin.
Hugh is going to be sooooo disappointed.
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