Cabinet secretary quits his post

Dan Dunmoyer, a former insurance industry lobbyist who has been a top advisor to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for nearly three years, has resigned as cabinet secretary, the administration announced Wednesday.

He will be replaced by Victoria Bradshaw, now secretary of the state’s Labor and Workforce Development Agency. She was cabinet secretary for the state’s last Republican governor, Pete Wilson.

The cabinet secretary is the liaison between the governor’s office and the heads of other state agencies and is typically influential in the governor’s decision-making.

Dunmoyer, 46, was known as a conservative voice in the governor’s office who was close to business interests, which riled some consumer advocates.

He was chief administrative officer for the Republican state Assembly caucus in the 1980s and later president of the Personal Insurance Federation of California, an industry group. He joined the Schwarzenegger administration in December 2005 as deputy chief of staff and senior advisor for policy and became cabinet secretary at the end of 2006.

His departure date and future plans have not been determined, according to Aaron McLear, the governor’s spokesman.

Bradshaw, 59, who will take a pay cut from $175,000 a year to $147,900, also has a background in business and government. She once was an executive for a department store operator, Batus Retail Group.

Besides cabinet secretary for Wilson, her state posts have included labor commissioner, director of the Employment Development Department and member of the Occupational and Health Standards Board.

-- Michael Rothfeld