Senate Panel OKs Gov.’s Pick for Secretary of State

Despite misgivings among some Democrats, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s choice as California’s top election officer appears headed for confirmation by the Legislature after winning unanimous approval Wednesday from a Senate panel.

Schwarzenegger has nominated Bruce McPherson, a former Republican state senator from Santa Cruz, to replace Secretary of State Kevin Shelley. Shelley, a Democrat, resigned earlier this month amid several investigations into his fundraising and the way his office distributed federal money meant to improve the election process.

The choice has riled some Democrats, who fear that the appointment will make it easier for the GOP to hold onto the seat when it comes up for election next year. Although McPherson’s former colleagues in the Senate trust him, other Democrats are complaining that the transition team of advisors he picked shows a lack of independence from the governor and his allies, who are planning for a special election later this year, one that the secretary of state will administer.

The advisors include Steven A. Merksamer, whose law firm represents Citizens to Save California, a coalition of business groups and others who are underwriting efforts to place Schwarzenegger’s political agenda on the ballot in the special election. The team also includes several members of Schwarzenegger’s administration and the professional partner of Marty Wilson, the governor’s chief fundraiser.

“The advisory transition team is very disturbing to us,” said Steve Maviglio, spokesman for Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles). “There seems to be too close ties there to the governor’s office. You have to remember this is a separate constitutional office, not another member of his administration.”

Bob Mulholland, a campaign advisor for the California Democratic Party, said Schwarzenegger’s choice of a Republican was particularly inappropriate given that Shelley had been forced out of office amid allegations that he had used the position to help Democrats. Shelley has denied such accusations. Mulholland called McPherson “a partisan senator who is clearly working for Schwarzenegger and not the people of California.”

McPherson’s advisory team also includes Adan Ortega Jr., a former deputy secretary of state who is now a member of the lobbying firm that represents Diebold Election Systems. Last year Shelley banned the use of a Diebold voting machine that had been used in four counties, and in November the company agreed to pay $2.6 million to settle a lawsuit that accused it of misleading California officials about how secure its machines were from tampering.

McPherson defended all his transition team members as “top-notch people” with substantial elections experience.

The issue did not come up Wednesday in the Senate Rules Committee, which approved McPherson after gentle questioning. Among those voting for his confirmation was Sen. Debra Bowen (D-Marina del Rey), who has announced she is running for secretary of state.

The full Senate is expected to easily confirm McPherson today, and the Assembly Rules Committee will take up the nomination.

Nunez has told Schwarzenegger that he will ensure McPherson’s confirmation, but several Assembly officials said the speaker had had to vigorously lobby his own party members to go along with him.

Nonetheless, the full Assembly is expected to approve McPherson in two weeks, after lawmakers return from their spring break. It is a measure of the momentum McPherson has that lawmakers are reluctant to criticize his nomination publicly.

During his testimony in the Senate, McPherson attempted to persuade lawmakers that his positions on some election issues while in the Legislature would not affect his administration of voting laws. Democrats had questioned his doubts while in the Senate about permanent absentee ballots and his backing of measures that would have required voters to present identification at the polls -- positions that Democrats fear would make voting harder and intimidating.

“The administration of provisional voting rules can be complex and a burden to the smooth conduct of elections. That has caused me some concern as a policymaker,” McPherson said. “But as an administrator of election law, let me assure you that I fully appreciate the obligation I undertake to uphold all the laws of California and to give them full force and effect.”

Meanwhile, the Senate Elections Committee approved along party lines Wednesday a bill written by Bowen that would prohibit the secretary of state and any candidates for the office from endorsing or opposing any candidates or ballot measures. SB 11 would also prohibit voting equipment manufacturers or vendors from donating to candidates for public office.