Pierce Voted DMV Director Despite Debate

Adelbert A. Pierce was overwhelmingly confirmed by the Senate on Friday as state director of motor vehicles despite a Democratic charge that Gov. George Deukmejian has established a “pattern” of appointing officials who make derogatory remarks about racial and other minorities.

“There is something rotten in the state of California in this appointment process,” asserted Senate Democratic floor leader Barry Keene of Benicia in debate over the confirmation of Pierce. However, he voted for Pierce.

Pierce’s troubles stemmed from testimony at Senate Rules Committee hearings concerning remarks that he allegedly made to other top level Administration officials in December of 1983 at a meeting called to discuss legislation banning employment discrimination against homosexuals.

“Just give me a submachine gun and I’ll take care of the problem,” some witnesses quoted Pierce as saying. Other sworn witnesses testified that they heard him make the statement, but characterized it as apparently off-handed and in jest.

Pierce, who swore under oath that he never made any such statement, drew opposition from homosexual, Latino and veterans organizations that charged that the 20-year veteran of government had demonstrated insensitivity to their interests.

However, he received both Republican and Democratic support in the full Senate, winning confirmation on a 28-4 vote, seven more than the majority required. He has been director of the vast department without confirmation for one year and would have lost the $78,206-a-year post Friday if he had been turned down.

The “no” votes were cast by Democratic Sens. David A. Roberti and Art Torres, both of Los Angeles, Milton Marks of San Francisco and Quentin Kopp (Ind.-San Francisco). The Rules Committee last month refused to approve Pierce for confirmation but reversed itself Monday and agreed to let the full Senate vote on the issue.

While the Republican governor has repeatedly taken strong public positions in favor of human rights, some of his appointees have run into trouble over offensive racial and ethnic remarks. In at least two cases, Deukmejian withdrew their nominations while others resigned either before or after Senate confirmation.

Keene, the Senate Democratic point man on partisan issues, ticked off a list of several Deukmejian appointees who had been accused of making derogatory racial remarks and charged that they demonstrated a pattern that he found “deeply disturbing.”

“Something is wrong with (the appointment) screening process or with the pool of appointees,” Keene said. “The governor’s office ought to take a long, hard look at what they are doing. It’s a pattern.”

But Deukmejian spokesman Kevin Brett dismissed Keene’s charges as “another hatchet job.” Brett said of the 4,168 appointments the governor has made since taking office in 1983 only a “very small fraction have been charged with making derogatory comments and in virtually all cases they denied those remarks.”

He said of those requiring Senate confirmation, 568 won approval while three were rejected in the early days of the Administration for “partisan political reasons.”

After the vote, Pierce, who has occupied a variety of posts in state government, including special agent in charge of the state Bureau of Investigation and Narcotic Enforcement, told reporters that the charge against him “did the public and the community a terrible disservice.”

Pierce was appointed to direct the troubled Department of Motor Vehicles a year ago after the agency drew months of heavy criticism from the public and legislators for a variety of bureaucratic foul-ups, including an enormous backlog of unfinished work, reports of motorists being unable to make appointments by telephone and aggravatingly long lines at DMV offices.

“It was a disaster,” Sen. Daniel E. Boatwright (D-Concord) recalled. He credited Pierce with “cleaning up” the situation.

Senate Republican floor leader James W. Nielsen of Rohnert Park said Pierce “put the department back on track” but was the victim of a “vendetta by one individual who had his own agenda.”

Nielsen did not publicly identify the individual but an aide said later that he was referring to William Garcia, a former deputy director of the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, who is appealing a demotion and was Pierce’s No. 1 accuser.