Martin appointment political, but hardly indictable
Advertisement
Martin appointment political, but hardly indictable
<p>In 1964 Pierre Salinger was running for the U.S. Senate seat in California then held by Clair Engle, who was retiring. A few days after Salinger defeated Alan Cranston in the Democratic primary, Engle died. Salinger and Governor Pat Brown attended Engle's funeral.</p>
<p>"After the rites, I flew to the state capital with Governor Brown," Salinger later wrote. "He told me it was his intention to appoint me immediately as Engle's successor. There was a brief debate among my advisors over whether I should accept."</p>
<p>His advisors worried that a carpetbagging issue (Salinger had returned to California after being in Washington for several years) would be revived and his eligibility to take the seat challenged.</p>
<p>"Their [concerns] had a certain validity, but the counter-arguments were more persuasive. If the governor did not appoint me, it would suggest that he, too, questioned my eligibility to serve. It might also appear that his endorsement after the battle with Cranston was not exactly sincere. But apart from such considerations, I was the obvious appointee. Engle was a Democrat and California Democratic voters had chosen me as their nominee to succeed him."</p>
<p>I was reminded of this incident when some objections were raised last week to Governor Guinn's appointment of Steve Martin, the only Republican candidate for Nevada controller, to replace controller Kathy Augustine following her death.</p>
<p>It is past the filing deadline for running for public office, so no other candidates can get into the race now. Those critical of the governor's appointment of Martin presumably wanted a caretaker appointed, and as it happens there was a candidate available -- chief deputy controller Bill Reinhard. But that could create an awkward situation in the controller's office. Reinhard would have been promoted to controller for six months, then would have to return to his old job under a new controller (if the new controller decided to retain him). Guinn, a corporate manager before he became governor, may well have been sensitive to this issue.</p>
<p>But even if the appointment is straight politics, it's hardly an indictable offense. One Nevada governor idealistically made caretaker appointments specifically to avoid giving his party an advantage, and he and his party came to regret it. In 1962, Governor Grant Sawyer, a Democrat, was faced with vacancies in the offices of lieutenant governor and attorney general.</p>
<p>He appointed Assemblywoman Maude Frazier to be lieutenant governor. She was in her 80s and would not run for re-election. And he appointed Charles Springer as attorney general after eliciting a pledge from Springer that he would not run for re-election. Both were Democrats. (Last Sunday was the 44th anniversary of Springer's appointment and of Frazier's resignation from the Assembly.)</p>
<p>"The governor requested that I not seek a full term. And I abided by his request," Springer told me in 1973. "Since he had made the appointment, I felt that I was bound to honor his request."</p>
<p>But Democrats were angry at Sawyer for squandering the appointments, and the arrangement did not improve relations between Sawyer and Springer, who ended up running against each other in 1966.</p>
<p>Guinn was faced with a choice similar to that of Pat Brown -- if he had failed to appoint Martin it would have suggested that he did not support him. The only Democrat running for controller, Kim Wallin, could have made Guinn's failure to appoint Martin an issue. Instead, Wallin now says Guinn's choice is "a very political appointment that's not really allowing the voters to decide who should be controller."</p>
<p>Maybe. But maybe not -- Pierre Salinger served as a senator for just five months because he was defeated in the general election.</p>
07/19/2006
11
