Boards and Panels Add to Bureaucratic Framework

Just barely into its latest diet, the state is already backsliding.

A month after a task force appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recommended that 118 state boards and commissions be abolished, the state Legislature has approved the creation of a half-dozen panels and extended the life of 10 others by up to five years.

Assemblymen John Campbell (R-Irvine) and Ray Haynes (R-Murrieta) are keeping a tally.

“We are headed in exactly the opposite direction that the California Performance Review wants us to go,” said Haynes, referring to the governor’s reform group. “It is just creating new bureaucracy.”

There are already 339 state boards and commissions.

Bills recently approved by the state Legislature would create:

* An Ocean Protection Council to “carry out various programs relating to protection of the coastal waters and ocean ecosystems.”

* A 16-member state panel to study the deportation of some 2 million persons of Mexican descent between 1929 and 1944 and recommend a response.

* A State Water Quality Control Board task force to review proposals under a new coastal water quality grant program.

* A Commission on Latino/Latina Affairs, conceived by state Sen. Richard Alarcon (D-Sylmar) to advise state government on ways to give Latinos more access to “educational, economic, political and ownership opportunities.”

Alarcon said the panel members would not be paid, and the commission’s work would be funded by private contributions.

Haynes was unmoved. “There is a need for Latinos in the state to have a voice, but do we need to create a government commission to do that?” he asked.

Schwarzenegger will have the final say on these commissions, thanks to his veto power.

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Californians Bring West Coast Flair to RNC

California politicians and special-interest groups in New York City for the Republican National Convention brought a little West Coast flair with them last week, with fetes that included cosmic bowling amid trapeze artists and a pop concert on an aircraft carrier.

The latter event was aboard the Intrepid, which is a floating museum, and was hosted by defense industry types, including Northrop Grumman Corp.

Featuring the Pointer Sisters, the party was thrown to butter up -- er, honor -- Reps. Jerry Lewis of Redlands and Duncan Hunter of El Cajon, the chairmen of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense and the Armed Services Committee, respectively.

A deejay played California-themed music as Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle and former Gov. Pete Wilson schmoozed at a party at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Anaheim hosted the party to get Republican decision-makers to consider holding the 2008 GOP convention in that city.

Perhaps the wildest affair was a bash thrown by Rep. David Dreier of San Dimas, the convention parliamentarian.

Dreier invited 2,500 guests, including the entire California delegation, who packed three floors of a chic Greenwich Village bowling alley. Party-goers downed “Dreier Apple Martinis,” bowled under strobe lights and navigated around scantily clad women swinging from trapezes.

Dreier said his job as parliamentarian required him to make sure the convention went smoothly, but added, “Part of my role is to be the party animal.”

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The Governor Makes His Presence Known

Gov. Schwarzenegger was so hot with Republicans in New York City that he was announced as a guest even at parties he did not attend.

The Log Cabin Republicans, the Ohio and Tennessee delegations, and a fundraising party for Parkinson’s disease all announced the governor’s presence without the governor’s presence.

Two of those events took place before he had even arrived in New York.

When he did, Schwarzenegger revealed another aspect of his personality: He is a shopaholic.

He went shopping Wednesday and Thursday. During the Wednesday trip, he went into a pen store; Donald Trump, hearing of the commotion, came over to greet him.

One gubernatorial aide -- who never buys anything for himself -- grumbled that, if the Terminator weren’t his boss, he would call such behavior “girlie.”

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Romero Says ‘Battle of Glorias’ Isn’t in Plans

Fresh from playing a big role in the election of Don Perata as Senate president pro tem, Sen. Gloria Romero confirms that some supporters have urged her to take on Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina in the 2006 election.

Romero said a “battle of the Glorias” is not in her plans -- she is raising money for reelection to the Senate in 2006 -- but she would not rule out a run for Molina’s seat.

“I worked too hard to bring in a president pro tem to walk away from it,” Romero said. “That’s not my plan.”

But, she added, “I’ve learned never to say never.”

Romero said there are people who are looking for someone to challenge Molina because they do not think she spends enough time talking to constituents.

Molina was out of town on vacation last week, but spokeswoman Roxane Marquez said Molina intends to run for reelection. Marquez disputed the criticism that the supervisor spends too much time downtown. “The supervisor spends considerable time in the community,” she said.

If Romero or another union-friendly candidate emerges, they might find support with the County Federation of Labor. Miguel Contreras, the head of the federation, said union leaders are unhappy about how the Board of Supervisors has allowed contract disputes to drag out unresolved.

“I think the entire board knows we are disappointed with them,” he said. “There is still an opportunity for them to convince us they are our friends. If they convince us they are our friends, there is no reason to go to battle.”

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Points Taken

* Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich already has the snapshot he needs for his holiday card, thanks to some help from the First Family. The card will feature a photograph of Antonovich, his wife and his two small children posing with President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush. Antonovich had the photo taken in a hangar at Santa Monica Airport during the president’s recent visit to Southern California.

* Exercising one of the privileges of his position, Gov. Schwarzenegger has issued an executive order naming his wife, Maria Shriver, as honorary chairwoman of the California Service Corps, a program to recruit and mobilize citizens for volunteer service.

* In the category of “honesty in politics,” Mary Lozins of San Francisco gave an interesting occupation when contributing $100 to the Democratic National Committee. “Computer nerd” is how she is listed on the committee’s campaign finance report.

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You Can Quote Me

“And now, it is very important since we are over there, even though things are not going perfect, because in a war situation they never do -- very rarely, except when you can just go in and crush the place and it’s an island and then get out -- but that’s not the case over there.”

Gov. Schwarzenegger, commenting to reporters at the Republican National Convention on the war in Iraq.

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Contributing this week were Times staff writers Joe Mathews and Jean Pasco.