After withdrawing two appointments, Gov. Brown tries another

Hours after withdrawing two appointments to a panel that sets his salary, Gov. Jerry Brown announced late Wednesday that he is appointing another person to the California Citizens Compensation Commission.

The appointment of Nancy C. Miller, 60, of Sacramento on the eve of the commission’s meeting improves the chances there will be enough votes to provide pay raises to Brown, state lawmakers and other state officials.

Until Wednesday there had been two vacancies on the seven-member commission, making it difficult to secure the four votes required to raise pay.

Miller, a Democrat, is president and shareholder of the firm Miller & Owen.

Earlier in the day, Brown announced that he was appointing LeRoy Chatfield and Nora Vargas to fill the vacancies, but his office later withdrew those appointments, saying the individuals were not eligible to serve on the commission because they had previously worked for the state.

The single appointment made later means the panel has three members appointed by Brown, a Democrat, and three members appointed by former Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Schwarzenegger appointees had won a 23% pay cut for state officials during the last four years.

This is not the first time Brown intervened at the eleventh hour to try to alter the commission.

In April 2011, on the eve of the commission’s annual meeting for that year, Brown replaced Charles Murrary as chairman with his own appointee, Thomas Dalzell.

Murray was appointed by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and led the charge in recent years to reduce the pay of elected officials.

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patrick.mcgreevy@latimes.com