Davis Names Feinstein’s Billionaire Husband to the UC Board of Regents

Gov. Gray Davis on Tuesday named investment advisor Richard C. Blum, a billionaire San Francisco investor married to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, as a member of the University of California Board of Regents.

Blum, 66, is chairman of Blum Capital Partners L.P., a member of the advisory board of the business school at UC Berkeley, and a major political donor to Davis.

Blum and his companies have contributed more than $75,000 to Davis over the past two years, including $15,000 in October.

Davis spokesman Alex Traverso said neither Blum’s political donations nor his marriage to Feinstein would “have anything to do with the job he is going to do as a regent.”

“This is a coveted appointment,” Traverso said. “Richard is a good appointment. His involvement at UC Berkeley and on the board of the UC business school has been very valuable.”

But Republican political consultant Sean Walsh, who worked for Davis’ predecessor, Pete Wilson, said Blum’s appointment, which requires state Senate confirmation, “deserves a great deal of scrutiny.”

“Blum is a businessman used to making deals, and Gray Davis is a governor who prides himself on pay-to-play government,” he added. “I would like to know what Dick Blum is getting from this deal.”

Blum’s financial entanglements have at times proved nettlesome for his wife. Critics have questioned whether his business portfolio represents a conflict of interest for Feinstein. For example, Feinstein is a vocal proponent of increased China trade, while Blum has had extensive investments there. In 1997, Blum vowed to turn over any profits from his China investments to charity.

Historically, there has been bad blood between Feinstein and Davis, who compared her to wealthy tax evader Leona Helmsley in the 1992 U.S. Senate race--which Feinstein won.

“I can easily imagine the young activists at UC Berkeley demonstrating and staging sit-ins at regents meetings over Blum’s investments and relations with oppressive foreign governments,” Walsh said.