Free Republic

When Mike Genest's appointment as state finance director came before the Senate last year, I voted against his confirmation. Although I had supported both of his predecessors, Genest had already demonstrated a willingness to cook the state's books in a manner that we hadn't seen since the Davis years. In the time since his confirmation, he has produced the biggest single-year general fund deficit in California's history and employed accounting gimmickry that would make an Enron accountant blush. These qualities are on full display in his recent attack (Aug. 10, Page B-7) on Sen. Jeff Denham's courageous stand for a...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Thursday appointed longtime Republican budget adviser Michael C. Genest to serve as his third finance director in little more than two years. Genest, 58, spent five years as the head budget aide to Senate Republicans before joining Schwarzenegger's finance department in 2003 as chief deputy director. He has been the acting director of the Department of Finance since September. Assemblyman John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, chair of the Assembly Budget Committee, described Genest as a "a strong conservative with a pragmatic streak."

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday named veteran fiscal officer Mike Genest as the state's director of the Department of Finance, the second high-profile appointment the governor has made in as many days. Genest, 58, replaces Tom Campbell, who has returned to his post as dean of the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. Campbell had been on leave for several weeks before the Nov. 8 special election, traveling the state to promote Proposition 76. The spending cap initiative was one of four Schwarzenegger proposals rejected by voters. A Republican, Genest was a member...