UC officials wait for Davis to appoint regents

Tuesday, November 24, 1998

UC officials wait for Davis to appoint regents

REPUBLICAN: Decision by governor may shift partisanship of
board

By Edina Lekovic

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

The state Senate has left Gov.-elect Gray Davis with some
pivotal decisions when he takes office Jan. 4.

In August, the Senate failed to approve three Wilson appointed
regents, leaving Davis with the power to change the sway of the
board.

The affected regents – all in attendance at their final meeting
last week – include Carol Chandler, John Hotchkis and Ralph
Ochoa.

Senate president pro tem John Burton has said this move was
calculated to hinder Gov. Pete Wilson from making "eleventh-hour"
decisions which could affect the board beyond the next governor’s
term. Regents are appointed for 12 years, four years longer than
the term of a governor.

This slight came as a surprise because appointees have
historically received Senate approval without much debate.

"The action taken was done by the opposite party (Democrats) in
order to hold us until after the elections to see whether they
would fill those spots with people of the opposite party," said
Chandler, one of the three regents who attended their final meeting
last week at UCLA.

Chandler, who is the only board member from the Central Valley
region, believed the legislature’s decision was based only on their
political affiliation and not their personal views.

"I would always hope that appointees would be qualified no
matter what their party," she said. "In a perfect world, the
legislature would look beyond the party to the person."

Like her colleagues, Chandler spent the majority of her term
focusing on a few key issues. She chose to emphasize the
development of UC Merced and increasing transfer rates.

"I feel most heartened by the fact that I’ve been able to keep
the planning of the tenth campus of UC Merced on track," Chandler
said. "I think it’s important to have one or two regents from the
Central Valley who can speak for the people here who have been
historically underserved."

UCLA alumnus Ochoa, however, attributed the Senate’s move as a
necessary part of the political game.

"We should do collectively – regents, lawyers, friends of the
university – as much as we can to minimize the amount of politics
that bears on the university," he said. "It’s not bad – obviously
the governor, whoever that may be, has a certain point of view to
implement and that’s the lay of the land."

While Ochoa backed Proposition 209, he continues to support
diversity.

"I was lucky to bring my own life experience as a person who was
born and raised in east L.A., with parents who had a third and
sixth-grade educations," said Ochoa, who served as an alumni member
of the board before his appointment by Wilson.

"That gives me a particular notion to diversity. Even though I
opposed Prop. 209, it still doesn’t prevent me from supporting
diversity."

Ochoa has been a leader of the board’s outreach efforts since
the passage of the state initiative which eliminated preferences in
admissions.

"If it hadn’t been for my hammering and taking on the
administrators, the outreach efforts would not have progressed this
far. I have not hesitated to put that issue on the table and be
repetitive," Ochoa said.

Ochoa had also been mentioned in a Los Angeles Times series
detailing backdoor admissions requests from UC officials.

Documents released at the time showed Ochoa had made over 65
requests over the years.

The loss of Chandler, Hotchkis and Ochoa will most likely mean a
departure from the current sway of the board. Despite their
Republican make-up, the board has often been caught in disputes
over the future of the University of California, as in heated
debates preceding moves to eliminate affirmative action and support
domestic partnership benefits.

Similar to the current situation, two other regents were
appointed by Wilson for one-year terms earlier this year. Regents
Russell Gould and Joanne Kozberg can serve on the board for one
year without Senate confirmation, according to UC spokesperson Brad
Hayward.

"Their position would become open if that year passes and they
have not been confirmed," said Hayward.

"Appointments on the Board of Regents are a matter between the
governor and the state Senate," he added. "That’s why the
university really doesn’t get involved."

Because the governor has no deadline to make the appointments,
UC officials have no indication as to when the board will again be
full.

However, both Regents Chandler and Ochoa are committed to
remaining involved in educational issues even after their term runs
out next month.

"I won’t be far away – I have a good relationship with the
chancellors," Ochoa said. "They know I’m not about rhetoric."

Ochoa also fully supports Davis’ belief in academic outreach and
the repair of K-12 education.

"I have confidence in Gray Davis. I’m confident he will appoint
persons who are moderate in their political voices and are really
committed in the fashion and passion that I am."

University of California regent Ralph M. Ochoa

University of California regent John F. Hotchkis

UC Regent File Photos

University of California regent Carol Chandler

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