Appointees Who Lie Would Be Removed Under Proposed Law

The chairwoman of the California State University trustees, who has admitted to claiming a false community college degree, could be removed from her post under legislation introduced Thursday to make sure governmental appointees tell the truth about their credentials.

Sen. Gary Hart (D-Santa Barbara), chairman of the Senate Education Committee, said he wrote the proposed law in response to revelations last month that CSU Chairwoman Marianthi K. Lansdale incorrectly claimed a 1959 associate of arts degree from Long Beach City College when selected by Gov. George Deukmejian and confirmed by the Senate for a spot on the board. Lansdale publicly apologized for the claim after she acknowledged in a Times article that she never received the community college degree.

Under Hart’s bill--which would apply retroactively to Lansdale and other gubernatorial appointees--anyone chosen for a job that requires Senate confirmation can be removed if the appointee is found to have “knowingly (given) false information” during the confirmation hearings. Those hearings usually are low-keyed meetings that rubber-stamp the governor’s selection.

The bill also includes a provision that would require gubernatorial appointees to submit to the Senate an accurate record of their educational background--in writing and under penalty of perjury.

Hart said that he believes Lansdale should resign her post if she cannot come up with a “compelling case” why she falsely claimed the degree. “I think she should step down or else it sends the wrong message to the students,” he said.

Lansdale and her husband, Long Beach developer William (Bit) Lansdale, are longtime supporters of Deukmejian and gave the governor more than $100,000 in donations and the use of a corporate airplane during his 1982 campaign, records show. She could not be reached for comment Thursday.