This year marks the 10th Anniversary of Curt Pringle’s reign as Speaker of the Assembly. This was the first GOP Speaker in some time. (I don’t count the moderates kept in power by Democrats). They have a blog set up that you can see by clicking here.
There has been a lot of concern and anguish about the Governor’s appointment of Kennedy, now Nunez, and the lack of firing of Reiner etc… The Governor Appointments Secretary to the CRP executive Committee there were over a 1000 vacancies that needed to be filled.
Speaker Pringle did thing differently. I know because today marks the 10th Anniversary of my appointment by him to the California Library Services Board, now know as the Library of California Board. Please feel free to email me questions about how the transaction reimbursement rate on inter library loans is determined.
Upon taking the Speakership, Pringle and his staff immediately started recruiting people to fill slots that were open. I worked with John Nelson. Now the Library Board wasn’t the most powerful. But I got a call asking if I was available for a meeting at the end of the week and presto I was appointed along with former Assemblyman Nolan Frizelle. ( I was on the school board then.) Key was they weren’t going to let another policy meeting go by without their appointments. I replaced someone whose appointment had expired but had not been replaced…like Reiner.
BTW he got me in hot water at the first meeting when I voted against a program that it turned out the person I had replaced had worked years on. Thanks Curt! It was a blast.
Pringle didn’t always appoint Republicans, but they were loyal to his agenda.
The Governor could well apply these principles.