Davis Appoints Three More to Administration

Gov.-elect Gray Davis named a veteran California political organizer and two former union leaders from the Los Angeles Police Department to his incoming administration Monday.

Susan Kennedy, 38, was chosen as secretary to the cabinet, essentially the governor’s point person for state agency secretaries and department directors.

“I am very pleased that Susan has agreed to accept my offer to be the cabinet secretary in my administration,” Davis said in a statement. “I am confident that she will work well with the cabinet and serve me and the people of California well.”

With his swearing-in and inaugural address scheduled for Monday, Davis is expected to wrap up most major appointments this week. Since Dec. 1, he has named 28 members of his administration, including most of his inner circle of advisors and the cabinet.

Kennedy served most recently as director of the state Democratic Party’s grass-roots campaign effort for the last election. She oversaw a multimillion-dollar program to coordinate the party’s resources from statewide, legislative and congressional campaigns on its key races.

The result was a significant boost for Democrats, who took back the governor’s office after 16 years and increased their numbers in Sacramento and Washington.

Previously, Kennedy served in Washington for three years as communications director to Democratic U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, and was executive director of the state Democratic Party from 1991 to 1994. Kennedy was executive director of the California Abortion Rights Action League for six years.

“This administration will shape California well into the next century,” Kennedy said in a statement. “It is a great honor to be a part of that.”

Davis named two former Los Angeles law enforcement officers to head a pair of state regulatory offices. Frank J. Grimes, 62, will serve as director of the governor’s Office of Criminal Justice and Planning. The office oversees a variety of anti-crime programs, including help with victims’ rights, domestic abuse, drug addiction prevention, child abuse and pornography laws, and anti-gang violence programs.

For the last three years, Grimes worked in the lieutenant governor’s office as the liaison between Davis and the law enforcement community. He had worked at the LAPD for 32 years, and served from 1981 to 1993 on the Board of Directors for the Los Angeles Police Protective League.

“Frank has spent his entire career working to make California a safer place to live,” Davis said. “His work to strengthen peace officer relationships with their communities and increase cooperation and communication between law enforcement officers and agencies will enable him to make OCJP a more effective office.”

Ted Hunt, 51, is a former president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League. Hunt will serve in Sacramento as head of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Appeals Board.

Hunt is a 20-year veteran of the LAPD, including 10 years as a uniformed officer. Since 1985, he has worked as a police trainer, including a course on Alcohol and Beverage Control law for new recruits.

“Ted Hunt brings expertise and experience to the Alcohol Beverage and Control Appeals Board that is vital,” Davis said.