Lawmakers Confirm Hayes as Treasurer

Heeding appeals to set partisanship aside, the Legislature voted overwhelmingly Thursday to confirm Auditor General Thomas W. Hayes as state treasurer, breaking a political stalemate that had kept the office vacant since August, 1987.

The vote was 34 to 0 in the Senate, where Rep. Daniel E. Lungren of Long Beach, Republican Gov. George Deukmejian’s first choice for the job, was rejected early last year. In the Assembly, where some top Democrats had launched a partisan attack on Hayes, Deukmejian’s nominee was confirmed by a vote of 65 to 0.

Hayes, 42, will be sworn into office today, taking the place of Democrat Jesse M. Unruh, who had occupied the seat for more than a dozen years until his death almost 18 months ago.

After the vote, Hayes told reporters that he was “delighted” by the outcome, adding: “I think the Legislature acted fairly. I was glad to see the bipartisan support.”

The confirmation was a victory for Deukmejian, who praised Hayes as “a man of great integrity.” The support Hayes received in both houses, Deukmejian said, “represents a vote for fiscal integrity and responsibility.”

Governor’s Announcement

The victory was overshadowed, however, by the governor’s own announcement several hours later that he would not seek a third term. It also was muted by a sense that Deukmejian, unable to win confirmation for Republican Lungren, had no choice but to give in and accommodate the Legislature’s Democratic majority by nominating a non-partisan individual such as Hayes.

Not only has Hayes never run for office, he has never even belonged to a political party. He promised Deukmejian, however, that, if confirmed, he would register as a Republican and run for treasurer in 1990, forcing him to embark on an effort for which he has little experience.

Hayes acknowledged that in an interview Thursday, but said he will move swiftly to put together a credible campaign organization and begin raising money so he can hold the seat for the GOP.

“I’m a financial manager, not a politician,” Hayes said. “What voters are going to have is a choice between a financial manager with no political experience or a politician with no financial management experience. I feel confident they will pick a financial manager. After all, it’s their money.”

Kathleen Brown, a member of the Los Angeles Board of Public Works and the sister of former Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr., is among Democrats expected to run for the seat. Brown, an attorney, who has scheduled three fund-raisers in the next month, said she sees Hayes as “a technocrat” and herself as someone with a “corporate finance and public finance background.”

“It’s going to be an interesting contest,” she said.

Acting Treasurer Elizabeth Whitney, who had hoped to block Hayes’ confirmation so she could run for the office as an incumbent Democrat, issued a statement after the vote pledging to cooperate in a “smooth transition,” but did not say whether she still intends to run for the office.

In voting to confirm Hayes, Democrats in the Legislature made it clear the real political fight is yet to come.

“Be prepared for a very feisty campaign in 1990, Mr. Hayes,” Sen. Art Torres (D-Los Angeles) cautioned Hayes before the vote on the Senate floor.

Hayes, a soft-spoken professional who has carefully cultivated his non-partisan image, has worked for the Legislature for the last 10 years, directing a staff of auditors who investigate mismanagement and inefficiency in state departments and agencies.

While his nomination at first was lauded by most lawmakers, more recently some influential Democrats began to worry that their support for his confirmation might imply an endorsement when he runs for the office in 1990.

In praising Hayes during Thursday’s debate, Democrats such as Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti of Los Angeles were careful to draw that distinction.

“We all have in one way or the other voted to confirm Mr. Hayes as our auditor general,” Roberti said. “He has performed admirably in that role. I think he will perform very, very well in the position of treasurer. . . . We reserve every right to support our candidate in November.”

But Sen. John Garamendi (D-Walnut Grove), who abstained from voting, said there is no way to separate the partisan politics from the question of Hayes’ qualifications. “Have you ever tried to unscramble an egg?” Garamendi asked.

In the Assembly, where Hayes was expected to face vocal opposition from some Democrats, Speaker Pro Tem Mike Roos of Los Angeles was the only legislator to speak against his confirmation.

Roos praised Hayes as a “perfect technocrat,” but then resurrected an old quote from Republican leader Ross Johnson (R-La Habra) in which Johnson described Deukmejian’s choice as a “world-class bonehead decision.” Many Republicans were caught off guard and angered by the governor’s decision to appoint non-partisan Hayes rather than a Republican.

Roos accused Assembly Republicans of “laying down and rolling over for the governor” by voting to confirm Hayes. Ultimately, Roos left the chamber before the vote was taken, telling a reporter later that “I felt the breath of the steam engine” pushing for Hayes’ nomination.

Although some Republicans were still miffed by the governor’s actions, they called for unity and asked that Hayes be considered on his merits.

“Do you want him good-looking and charming . . . or do you want someone who has the experience, the integrity and the ability to get the job done?” William P. Baker (R-Danville) asked. “Yes, it’s a bonehead decision because he doesn’t have the charm and wit of a (Sen.) Ken Maddy or the fund-raising ability of a Bill Baker. But I didn’t name Hayes, the governor did.”