Davis Appoints Campaign Donor’s Father

Gov. Gray Davis on Thursday appointed A. John Shimmon, 79, father of one of Davis’ biggest campaign contributors, to a $114,191-a-year post on a state board that settles injury compensation disputes between workers and employers.

Shimmon, of the Bay Area city of Millbrae, was an employee of the tax-collecting Board of Equalization for 37 years, many of them as a deputy and political advisor to the late George Reilly, a Democrat who was elected a record 11 times.

Shimmon, a Democrat, ran unsuccessfully for the board in 1982 and 1994.

At his new post, Shimmon will serve on the quasi-judicial state Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, a powerful but obscure panel that rules on appeals of disputed cases brought by workers injured on the job and their employers.

The seven-member board is regarded as one of the choicest patronage positions in state government. Members must be confirmed by the state Senate.

Shimmon’s son, David, is a highly successful Silicon Valley entrepreneur and thoroughbred racehorse owner, who has contributed $550,000 to Davis’ reelection campaign over the last four years. In 1999, he was Davis’ largest individual contributor, at $200,000.

The elder Shimmon was unavailable for comment, but Davis spokesman Steve Maviglio said there was no connection between the son’s campaign donations and his father’s appointment. “The appointment was based on its own merits,” he said.

Asked about Shimmon’s qualifications to serve on the compensation appeals board, Maviglio said he was an “institution in Sacramento,” with more than three decades of experience in state government. Shimmon is well-respected by Democrats and Republicans, he said.

A veteran of World War II in the Pacific, he has served as commander of an American Legion post and president of the California Assn. of State Auditors.

In another action, Davis reappointed William Bianco, a Republican and partner of David Shimmon in a business that owns and breeds racehorses, to the California Horse Racing Board.

Bianco, 63, of Saratoga, does not make campaign contributions.