Doilies and Tea? Probably Not at the Committee of Two

Not on the menu?

Jerry Brown in 2009 when he was state attorney general:

"Compromise... is not achieved by doilies and tea."*

Gov. Brown and UC prez Napolitano are - at Brown's request at the November Regents meeting - forming a committee of two to look at Brown's favorite cost-saving ideas.  Presumably, they will also be negotiating over the Regents' tuition/funding plan. The news media are likely to argue that such meetings should be open. There is a hint of that demand in the LA Times' current story on the committee of two.** Open meetings are unlikely to happen given the governor's quoted sentiment above (and the realities of such negotiations). However, an interesting question is who on both sides will be the technical backups. Presumably, there will be folks from the Dept. of Finance on the governor's side and folks from UCOP on the other. It would be nice if the Academic Senate could have some representation at the second tier. Possibly, some political representation at the second tier (from the legislature and the governor's staff) might be involved. [This blog has suggested that Anne Gust Brown's involvement might be helpful.]  It will be interesting to hear what is said about the committee of two at the upcoming Regents meeting.  Right now, everyone is playing nice:

"UC regent George Kieffer said he thought the study would be 'a constructive exercise' and would help resolve differences with Brown."

We shall see. Maybe there could be tea without the doilies:

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*Brown was responding to a request he intervene in a dispute between Gov. Schwarzenegger and the legislature. See http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/10/jerry-brown-says-its-not-up-to-him-to-weigh-in-on-governors-veto-threat.html
**http://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-uc-study-20150118-story.html