No surprise

Blog readers will recall that last fall, when the Regents came up with a tuition plan that challenged the governor, he appointed three new Regents to vacancies so as to have more allies on the Board. Such appointments eventually have to be confirmed by the state senate, but there was no doubt that they would be. Now it is happening:

A state Senate committee on Wednesday unanimously approved the confirmation of three appointees to the UC Board of Regents, with senators noting the unusual circumstance that all three nominees are minorities. The Senate Rules Committee voted 4 to 0 for the appointments of former Assembly Speaker John A. Perez; Eloy Ortiz Oakley, who is superintendent and president of Long Beach City College; and Gareth Elliott, Gov. Jerry Brown’s former legislative affairs secretary who is now working as a lobbyist. They were nominated by the governor. Perez and Oakley are Latino and Elliott is black. Senate President Pro Tem Kevin De Leon (D-Los Angeles), who chaired the committee hearing, said the nomination of “three individuals of color” reflected changing demographics. “It is a reflection of the rich diversity of the state of California,” he said. The three already have been serving on the board that governs the 10-campus UC system for months -- Perez and Oakley since November and Elliott since January -- and need to have their appointments approved by the state Senate within a year of their appointments or lose the position. After Wednesday’s vote, their confirmations by the full Senate seems certain as soon as next week...

Full story at http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-uc-regents-20150902-story.html