Senate Rejects Governor’s Choice for Teachers Pension Board to Protest Firing of 4 Nominees

The California Senate on Wednesday rejected Kathleen Smalley, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s nominee for the state teachers’ retirement board, to protest the governor’s firing of four other nominees.

Smalley and the others had been sitting on the board of the California State Teachers Retirement System while awaiting Senate confirmation. But in February, Schwarzenegger fired four of them after they voted to oppose his plan to replace public pensions with 401(k)-style accounts. The governor said they had inappropriately acted on policy decisions that were the province of elected officials.

The Democrats who control the Senate said Schwarzenegger’s actions were unwarranted because the trustees’ legal responsibility was to defend the teacher fund’s financial solvency, even if that meant taking political stands. They said that by rejecting Smalley, who had not gone along with the board’s criticism, they were applying the same standard as Schwarzenegger had.

“He established this particular vote as a litmus test for service on the board,” said Senate President Don Perata (D-Oakland). “Ms. Smalley’s ‘no’ vote on the motion to oppose the pension privatization measure put her in favor of decreased take-home pay and decreased benefits, and put her at odds with her duty to protect teachers and the retirement funds on which they depend.”

“The governor is very disappointed,” said Schwarzenegger spokeswoman Julie Soderlund. “The leadership of the Senate decided to cave to the special interests. Ms. Smalley was a well-qualified and talented board member with a grasp of the complex issues before the board.”