Governor Names His First UC, Cal State Board Members

Making his first appointments to the governing boards of the state’s two public university systems, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger named an eclectic group Friday that included lawyers, academics, a film producer and the governor’s personal investment advisor.

The appointments -- two to the University of California’s Board of Regents and eight to the California State University’s Board of Trustees -- fill all open slots on the panels, which set policy for the universities. The Republican governor chose five Democrats, two Republicans and one new member -- his advisor -- who declined to state a party affiliation on his voter registration.

For the UC board, Schwarzenegger named his close friend and financial advisor Paul Wachter, a Los Angeles investment banker, and Frederick R. Ruiz, a San Joaquin Valley businessman who heads a multimillion-dollar Mexican-food manufacturer.

Wachter, 47, is president and chief executive of Main Street Advisors, an investment management firm, and is the governor’s longtime business advisor. He accompanied the governor on his Mideast trip in May, and has served on several boards, including that of the inner-city after-school program founded by Schwarzenegger in 1995.

Ruiz, 60, of the Central Valley town of Parlier, is chairman and co-founder of Ruiz Foods, which makes the El Monterey brand of frozen foods. He is a leader of the Hispanic College Fund and the UC Merced Foundation, which raises funds for UC’s newest campus, now under construction near Merced.

Both men were appointed to 12-year terms, filling posts that had been held by San Diego attorney John Davies and farm worker activist Dolores Huerta.

For the Cal State board, the governor chose San Francisco civil rights attorney Jeffrey L. Bleich, Los Angeles filmmaker Moctesuma Esparza, former California Chamber of Commerce President Raymond Holdsworth and Carol Chandler, a partner in Chandler Farms of Selma, who served on the governor’s transition team.

Bleich, a partner in the firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson, is an adjunct law professor at UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall. He helped defend remaining affirmative action laws in court after the passage of Proposition 209 and is involved in efforts to promote diversity in higher education.

Esparza, a pioneering Latino filmmaker in Hollywood, produced or co-produced “Selena,” “Gods and Generals” and “The Milagro Beanfield War,” among other films.

Others named were Herbert Carter of Los Angeles, a former acting president of Cal State Dominguez Hills; George Gowgani, a former associate dean of the agriculture college at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo; and attorney Melinda Guzman-Moore of Fair Oaks, who chairs the California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Corey Jackson, 22, of Rialto, a junior at Cal State San Bernardino, was appointed the new student trustee of the Cal State board. All appointments except Jackson’s must be confirmed by the state Senate.