Senate Rejects Wilson’s Choice for UC Regent

For the first time in the University of California’s 125-year history, the state Senate has rejected an appointment to the 26-member UC Board of Regents.

In a setback Thursday for Gov. Pete Wilson, the Senate turned down his choice of Lester H. Lee, a Saratoga businessman and the first Chinese American to be a member of the governing body.

Until this week, the only gubernatorial choice for the board to fail to win confirmation was railroad magnate and politician Leland Stanford, who in 1883 withdrew from consideration in the face of Democratic opposition. No regent had been rejected by legislative action, according to legislative and university officials.

Democrats said they opposed Lee because of his willingness to go along with steep increases in student fees. But the decision was made against a continuing debate about the diversity of those who serve on the board.

Wilson has been criticized for appointing friends and wealthy campaign contributors to the board. Democrats, who have demanded more racial and ethnic diversity, were criticized Thursday for blocking an Asian American from serving.

Lee, 62, voiced disappointment “because I was trying to do an honest job” and said he was surprised to have run into a partisan roadblock.

“The Senate voted along party lines,” Lee said in a prepared statement, “rather than naming the most qualified” and a minority representative “who can offer independent judgment and fiscal responsibility without regard to political consequences.”

The decision suggests that new Senate President Pro Tem Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward) may set a tougher, more partisan tone in his dealings with Republicans than his predecessor, Sen. David A. Roberti (D-Van Nuys).

The Senate had one year to act on Lee’s nomination. The clock ran out Thursday when the upper chamber refused to overturn a decision by the Rules Committee, which had rejected Lee on Monday on a 3-2 vote along party lines.

Democrats cited Lee’s willingness to accept large increases in student fees, which have jumped 113% to $3,400 a year since 1990, as well as raises for administrators. They contrasted his low-key style with another Wilson appointee, African American businessman Ward Connerly of Sacramento, whose nomination was approved Monday. Regents serve 12-year terms.

“The contrast was fairly dramatic,” Lockyer said. “They were both Republican contributors, friends of Pete Wilson, but Connerly is willing to be critical of the university as an institution and Mr. Lee seems not to be willing to do that.”

Lockyer added, “If there is any change that this vote represents (it) is that we do not intend to routinely rubber-stamp any governor’s nominations, that we expect to offer some independent judgment about these appointments.”

The decision was a victory of sorts for Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica), who for the past year has urged his colleagues to make the regents more accountable for their actions.

Hayden and other critics have said the board was stacked with wealthy white men appointed by Republican governors. Hayden last year championed the opposition to the appointment of John Davies, Wilson’s personal lawyer, to the regents.

Davies was confirmed but the debate over his nomination probably set the stage for the showdown over Lee.

Thursday’s vote--technically on a procedural question--was a tough one for some Senate Democrats who face campaigns this year in districts with heavy concentrations of Asian American voters. The upper chamber voted 19 to 15 to reject a request by Republican Leader Ken Maddy of Fresno to withdraw Lee’s name from the Rules Committee so the appointment could be considered by the full Senate.

Lee, an immigrant, was named to the board a year ago and was allowed to serve for the full year without Senate approval. He earned a doctorate in mechanical engineering from Stanford, and in 1970 started his own company.

Opposition surfaced last month when the California Federation of Teachers announced its opposition, maintaining that middle-class Californians might soon be unable to afford to send their children to UC schools.

The strength of the opposition apparently caught Republican legislators off-guard and prompted Lee to rally support among Asian American groups.

Lee defended his support of a student fee increase, saying it was “for the best interest of the university.”

University spokesman Mike Lassiter said Chinese Americans make up about 9% of the student population in the UC system. At least one other Asian American is a member of the governing body.

Maddy voiced disappointment that Lee must step down from the board. During a lively Senate floor debate, he hailed Lee as a superbly qualified appointee.