Free Republic

Faced with a choice of saving between $2 million and $3 million a year, or preserving a potential and lucrative post-legislative retirement haven, Democratic lawmakers in both houses rejected bills today that would have abolished the state's Integrated Waste Management Board. Senate Bill 44, by Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Merced, was torpedoed by the Senate Environmental Quality Committee, while Assembly Bill 1150, by Assemblyman Ted Gaines, R-Roseville, was scuttled by the Assembly Natural Resources Committee. Neither bill received any votes from Democrats. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had sponsored the bills. They would have shifted the board's duties to other state agencies -...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger officially named San Francisco Democrat Carole Migden to a high-paying seat on the state's waste board on Friday. The job pays $132,178 per year. The first was ex-Assemblyman John Laird. Then came former Sen. Sheila Kuehl. All three are Democrats. All three also happened to be members of the LGBT caucus. A couple years back, she pressed the vote button of an Assembly Republican for her own legislation. Earlier this year, she paid a state record $350,000 fine for campaign finance violations. She pleaded no contest to misdemeanor reckless driving after a 30-mile drive in her state-owned...

For termed-out and defeated legislators or former high-ranking gubernatorial staffers in search of a soft landing, there is none softer than the California Integrated Waste Management Board. Appointees to the six-member board take home $132,000 a year, plus expenses and a car allowance. That's not bad for what amounts to four all-day meetings a month. Some them work hard between meetings; others don't. The waste board reeks of the government's stale status quo, a potent symbol of lawmakers who are out of touch. Even as California slips further into fiscal chaos, legislators and friends of the governor continue to enjoy...

The long tradition of political appointees landing high-paid slots on California's waste board continued Tuesday. Two termed-out Democratic state lawmakers – Assemblyman John Laird of Santa Cruz and Sen. Sheila Kuehl of Santa Monica – were appointed to posts on the Integrated Waste Management Board, courtesy of the Democratic legislative leaders. The jobs pay $132,178 a year. Both new recycling board commissioners will replace other well-connected members. Laird will replace Cheryl Peace, the wife of a former state legislator. Kuehl will replace former Democratic Sen. Wes Chesbro. Government watchdogs have criticized the board for its high proportion of highly paid...

Environmentalists are raising a stink about changes to the state's waste management board, which governs California's garbage collection and recycling system. Michael Paparian, a veteran Sierra Club leader in Sacramento, is out. Reportedly in is Scott Harvey, a one-time San Diego city councilman and former executive director of the San Diego County Disposal Association, a lobbying and education group funded by the region's trash haulers. "These decisions really tilted the balance of the board toward the industry and away from the environment," said Bill Magavern, legislative representative for the California Sierra Club in Sacramento. The Sierra Club yesterday issued a...

Former U.S. Treasurer and unsuccessful Senate candidate Rosario Marín was appointed Thursday to a $117,818-per-year state job by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Marín and Rosalie Mulé, a longtime waste official, were named to four-year terms on the California Integrated Waste Management Board. Senate confirmation is required for their positions on the six-member board overseeing waste management, removal and recycling programs. The waste board is one of several high-paying state programs that critics have labeled a bastion of political patronage in years past. Current members include former Assemblyman Carl Washington, D-Paramount, and Cheryl Peace, wife of Steve Peace, former senator and state...