Monday, March 2, 2009

Those perky Republicans

Williams & Cruz spending big taxpayer bucks in beauteous & delightful Sacramento

You’ll recall that Saddleback College’s new President, Tod Burnett, previously served as deputy appointments secretary for Governor Schwarzenegger. (You can see why Chancellor Mathur wanted him so badly.) 

According to a district press release, “[Burnett] advised the Governor on making appointments to hundreds of positions in state government.”

I guess Mr. Goo thinks Burnett will eventually make a few calls for 'em.  You know, open some doors. (It's all about the students, you understand.)

Burnett’s Sacramento successor (or, at any rate, the guy who has the job now) is Republican John Cruz who resides in San Clemente.

That's quite a commute.

According to OC Weekly's Matt Coker (John Cruz Snared),

John Cruz … is the appointments secretary for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The LA Times caught Cruz's hand in the state taxpayer cookie jar in the Sunday piece "California Paid for Top Officials' Free Rides."

Cruz, who earns $133,728 a year to head the staff charged with scrutinizing candidates for California's many boards and commissions, has charged taxpayers for his flights and for hotel bills of up to $382 a night on regular trips between his home and Sacramento, according to reporter Michael Rothford's examination of state disclosure records….

The Times reports: Cruz has spent as much as $4,196 traveling in one month; taxpayers have reimbursed him for hotel bills more than four times as high as the allowable state rate of $84 after he stayed two nights at the Hyatt in Sacramento for $383 each; and he did not obtain the required prior permission to pay that much.

Referring to Cruz and various others on the Governor's staff & cabinet, the Times reports:

State law allows employees to charge taxpayers only for activities on behalf of the public, which do not include commuting or events related to their personal lives.

"Is anybody at the wheel here?" said Michael Josephson, president of the nonprofit Josephson Institute of Ethics in Los Angeles.

"The best possible case for this, which is still not a good case, is [that] nobody is providing oversight. . . . The worst case is that you have some people who are knowingly taking advantage." (Free rides)

Gosh, this Cruz fella reminds me of someone in our midst. Hmmm.

(Near as I can tell, Tod Burnett, albeit woefully inexperienced as a college administrator, seems to be a good guy and a hard worker. Plus he seems to have an independent streak. Just maybe Raghu miscalculated this time.)

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Roy, I know you like to get things right: It's TOD (one "d") Burnett.

Let's hope he can survive and thrive at Saddleback--not an easy task for a college prez in our wonderful district.

Anonymous said...

The Goo is not happy!

Roy Bauer said...

Well, at least I got the two Ts right.

Roy's obituary in LA Times and Register: "we were lucky to have you while we did"

  This ran in the Sunday December 24, 2023 edition of the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register : July 14, 1955 - November 20, 2...