Rehabilitation Chief Named by Governor

Gov. Pete Wilson on Wednesday appointed Bill Tainter, a polio victim and leader of a national movement to develop independent living skills for the disabled, director of the state Department of Rehabilitation.

To demonstrate his commitment to disabled Californians, the governor also indicated that he will try to protect the department from the substantial cuts he said must be made to help state government overcome its budget crisis.

Wilson told a press conference that even though California is “in a time of considerable financial constraint,” budget reductions should be made selectively. He said the Department of Rehabilitation “is an area in which I think we should seek very hard to avoid cuts.”

The governor’s pledge was greeted with a round of applause from a roomful of Tainter supporters, some of whom reportedly demonstrated last year in the office of then-Gov. George Deukmejian against his budget cuts.

Currently, the department’s budget totals about $255 million, most of it in federal funds. The agency served more than 133,000 Californians last year. Among other things, it provides assistance in job training and placement, aid to the blind and disabled, vocational counseling and other services needed to obtain and keep employment.

Tainter, 48, a Republican from San Diego, contracted polio as a teen-ager and, though he walks without aid, requires the use of a portable respirator to help him breathe. He came to Wilson’s attention 15 years ago when he successfully lobbied the San Diego City Council to support establishment of an independent living center for the disabled. At the time, Wilson was mayor of the city.