Davis Choice Defies Senate

Bruce Thiesen, whose appointment by Gov. Gray Davis as chief of the state Department of Veterans Affairs was rejected by the California Senate, will return to the department as a top executive, administration officials said Thursday.

Thiesen, a member of Davis’ first-term administration, served as the secretary of veterans affairs without Senate confirmation for a year. He was forced to leave the post, which pays $131,412 a year, Nov. 20.

But administration officials confirmed Thursday that Davis, who was angered by the Senate’s refusal to approve Thiesen, has now named him to the No. 3 job at the agency. In that post, deputy director of operations, Thiesen will make $101,472 a year and will supervise the home loan program as well as other veterans services.

As a farm labor contractor in the San Joaquin Valley, Thiesen was active in Davis’ first gubernatorial campaign, helping to recruit members of the American Legion to support the governor.

Once elected, Davis promoted him to acting secretary in 2000 after the forced resignation of Secretary Tomas Alvarado. In 2001, Davis nominated Thiesen as permanent secretary.

But Senate President Pro Tem John L. Burton (D-San Francisco) and several other lawmakers urged Davis to withdraw the nomination only a few weeks after Thiesen was appointed to the cabinet-level post. They charged that during Thiesen’s time as acting secretary, the department’s problems persisted and in some cases worsened.

The department in recent years has weathered a string of problems. Among them, the nursing home license at the agency’s Barstow facility was temporarily revoked after a patient there choked to death. The department also lost millions of dollars in federal funds and has been accused of mismanaging its multibillion-dollar home loan program for veterans.

Many of those were problems before Thiesen took over, and Davis resisted calls to withdraw the nomination. But the Senate stood fast and adjourned last summer without acting on Thiesen’s confirmation.

His term as an unconfirmed appointee expired last month.

Thiesen’s defenders argued that because the agency was already facing troubles before he took over, it was unfair to hold him responsible. They blamed the Senate for not giving him a full hearing to present his case.

Thiesen’s appointment to his current post is not subject to Senate confirmation. But Burton said he was dismayed by Davis’ choice of Thiesen as the chief manager of the mortgage program and county services for veterans.

“He certainly had problems being No. 1, and he’d have problems being No. 3,” Burton said. The Senate leader added that although Thiesen is beyond the upper house’s confirmation at his new post, “maybe we’ll take a look at the department’s budget.”

Thiesen could not be reached for comment.

In a statement, Davis said he was disappointed that Thiesen was not confirmed. But he noted that during Thiesen’s tenure as department head the Barstow home regained its license and plans were adopted with the Legislature for the construction of five veterans homes.