Embattled Appointee Wins Senate OK as DMV Chief

SACRAMENTO — Del Pierce, Gov. George Deukmejian’s embattled appointee as director of the Department of Motor Vehicles, was confirmed today by the state Senate on the final day of a constitutional deadline.

Pierce, who had been opposed by groups representing gays and Latinos, was approved 28 to 4 in a bipartisan vote. The governor appointed Pierce to the position a year ago, and today was the final day on which the Senate could act upon Pierce’s confirmation.

“He’s done a tremendous job,” said Sen. Daniel Boatwright (D-Concord), the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Sen. Jim Nielsen, the Republican leader of the upper house, called Pierce “a respected administrator” who was the target of a “vendetta . . . to besmirch the reputation of a fine individual.”

Nielsen was apparently referring to Mark Guerra, former director of the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, who testified against Pierce at a stormy Senate Rules Committee hearing. Guerra, Pierce’s main accuser, resigned his position earlier this week but denied that his resignation was connected to the Pierce confirmation.

Guerra testified that during a 1983 meeting at the Consumer Services Agency, where Pierce then served as an undersecretary, Pierce facetiously said that a machine gun or submachine gun could be used on gays, referring to AB1, a gay rights bill that was then pending in the Legislature. Pierce denied making the statement.

Latino representatives also testified that Pierce had harassed Latino employees.