Drake Named to New State Recycling Panel

Gov. George Deukmejian Wednesday appointed former Ventura City Councilwoman Nan J. Drake to a $90,852-a-year post on a new state board created to promote recycling.

Her appointment is subject to confirmation by the state Senate.

Drake, who in 1989 lost her council seat as voters swept three environmental candidates into office, was Deukmejian’s second choice to fill the “nonprofit environmental protection” post on the new California Integrated Waste Management Board.

The governor had originally appointed John E. Gallagher of Orange to the post, but faced with environmentalists’ outrage and rejection by the state Senate, Deukmejian in August abandoned Gallagher’s nomination.

Drake, 51, who has been vice president of a leasing company owned by her husband, said she sought the appointment after Gallagher’s name was withdrawn.

“The governor believes she’s qualified because of her background outlined in the press release” announcing her nomination, said Anita MacKenzie, the governor’s assistant press secretary.

Among her accomplishments, Deukmejian cited Drake’s service in recent years as a member of the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, the Ventura Regional Sanitation District and the Ventura County Solid Waste Commission.

In an interview, Drake said “most of the things” she’s done in government involved waste reduction, landfills and other environmental issues. “I think I’m the right person for the job,” Drake said.

Among other things, she cited her role in helping to start a curbside-recycling program while she was on the Ventura City Council. “I’ve been there on the front lines. As a council member I fought diligently to get our city up and running with a recycling program,” Drake said.

Drake, who has a bachelor’s degree in history from Cal State Long Beach, said she has known Deukmejian and his wife, Gloria, for many years. She said she met the Deukmejians in Long Beach when she was a volunteer in a Deukmejian state Senate campaign.

Drake said she regards Gloria Deukmejian as a friend but has not talked to the couple about the appointment.

If approved by the Senate, Drake will sit on a new high-profile board established by the Legislature to cut the state’s solid-waste stream by 50% in 10 years.

Under the law, the governor was given the power to appoint four of its six members. But one of the nominees is required to be from a nonprofit environmental group “whose principal purpose is to promote recycling and the protection of air and water quality.”

Conservation groups pressured Deukmejian to withdraw Gallagher’s appointment because they said the retired can industry executive lacked the proper environmental credentials.

On Wednesday, they were taking a wait-and-see attitude toward Drake.

Corey Brown, general counsel of the Planning & Conservation League, a statewide coalition of 120 environmental groups, said he has an open mind about Drake’s appointment.

But, he cautioned: “We’re not aware of any affiliations she’s had with any nonprofit environmental groups as the statute requires. We’re interested in getting more information about her background.”