Air Resources Chief Duffy Will Resign, Take Lobbyist Job

Gordon Duffy, state secretary of environmental affairs and chairman of the Air Resources Board, announced Wednesday that he will leave the Deukmejian Administration June 1 to become a lobbyist.

Duffy, 61, a former veteran Republican assemblyman whose work as a Cabinet secretary brought praise from environmental groups, said he told Gov. George Deukmejian months ago that he intended to leave. “The motivating factor is I want a challenge,” he said.

Deukmejian immediately named Jananne Sharpless, 40, Duffy’s chief deputy, to fill the job on an interim basis.

Duffy’s departure marks the first voluntary resignation of a Deukmejian Cabinet officer. Two others, Victor V. Veysey, director of industrial relations, and Michael Franchetti, director of finance, were denied Senate confirmation in separate partisan disputes.

In accepting Duffy’s resignation, Deukmejian praised him as “the best example of a dedicated and determined public servant.”

Although considered a Deukmejian loyalist, Duffy had differed with his boss on a number of issues, most recently over the Administration’s plan to control toxics with a new Department of Waste Management within the Health and Welfare Agency.

Early on, Duffy had recommended a major reorganization of agencies dealing with toxics and non-hazardous wastes, but proposed that they be placed under his jurisdiction. Duffy’s proposal was rejected.

Deukmejian’s plan is expected to be submitted to the Legislature this week, and it is likely to encounter tough opposition from Democratic leaders who have proposed their own reorganization plans.

Duffy said his decision to step down had nothing to do with the Administration’s stance, insisting that “the bottom line is that I am in full support of the governor’s reorganization plan.”

Duffy, an optometrist, represented a San Joaquin Valley farming district in the Assembly for 18 years and specialized in health and fiscal issues.

While he had little background in environmental matters when he was appointed by Deukmejian, environmental organizations said they found him to be the most open and accessible of all of the governor’s top-level administrators.

“He single-handedly kept up a modicum of contact with this Administration and environmental groups,” said David Roe, lobbyist for the Environmental Defense Fund.

Gerald Meral of the Planning and Conservation League, which has been highly critical of Deukmejian’s environmental record, said Duffy “generally tried to do the right thing . . . and we are sorry to see him go.”

Duffy said he will join lobbyist Paul Priolo, another former GOP lawmaker, in his Sacramento lobbying firm, which represents a variety of clients, including American Honda Motor Corp., National Medical Enterprises and the California Business Credit Political Action Committee.

In an aside, Duffy said his recent marriage to Assemblywoman Jean M. Duffy (D-Citrus Heights) might cause problems for him because of state laws governing the interaction between lobbyists and lawmakers. Among the restrictions is a $10 limit on the amount of money a lobbyist can spend monthly to entertain a legislator.

Duffy said he is seeking advice from the Fair Political Practices Commission. “One thing I’ve said is that to comply we won’t get a divorce,” he joked.