Wanted: 2,240 Loyalists to Serve on Team Davis

SACRAMENTO — Act now! Don’t delay! The new governor is looking for a few good men and women, so here’s your chance to fulfill that long-dormant dream and serve the state of California.

Opportunities abound. You may not have what it takes to be top dog at the Department of Fish and Game, but how about the Board of Dental Examiners? The Office of the State Architect? The State Printer?

Or, if bugs are your bag, you could make a bid for the Structural Pest Control Board.

There is always turnover at the dawn of a new administration, but that’s especially true in Sacramento, after 16 years of Republican rule. Democrats are in charge, and Gov. Gray Davis is seeking a team of talented loyalists to help bring his policy pledges to life.

Davis began with more than 2,500 jobs to fill. They range from plum spots like agency secretaries--sorry, already taken!--to undersecretaries, department directors and dozens of mostly unpaid posts on commissions, boards and advisory committees.

Although some Pete Wilson-era appointees have been asked to stay on, Davis will, for the most part, do what other new governors do--clear out remnants of his predecessor’s regime and start fresh.

Davis has appointed about 260 people, leaving more than 2,240 posts up for grabs. Lately, he’s been getting heat about the pace of his appointments. (It’s slow, the pundits say.) That means now is a great time to polish the resume and drop him a line.

Tips for Landing a Spot on Team Davis

The competition, of course, is fierce. The governor’s office already has 4,000 applications in its database--and receives about 75 more each day. But spokesman Michael Bustamante insists “it’s a wide-open ballgame” and encourages California’s “best and brightest” to apply.

So how does one land a spot on Team Davis? Must you be a “friend of Gray” to get in the door? We asked those questions of various sources--official and unofficial--and got some strategies for success:

* Step one is to fill out an application. The form asks for the basic stuff--name, experience, references--as well as party affiliation. Being a Republican won’t exactly give you a leg up, but Davis aides say it won’t automatically disqualify you, either.

Question No. 2 asks for “position sought,” and insiders say be specific. Don’t offer up some wishy-washy promise to “work in whatever capacity the governor sees fit.” If you truly want to be a press secretary for the Integrated Waste Management Board, then say so!

One potential land mine lurks at Question 34: “Is there anything in your background which . . . would cause an embarrassment to you and/or the administration? If yes, please feel free to explain.”

This is where you confess to those 12 DUIs. Or, as Bustamante put it: “If you’ve been delinquent on child support payments for four years in two states, we’d kinda like to know.” (P.S. They’ll find out anyway when they do a background check, assuming you get that far.)

The last piece of the application--available online at https://www.ca.gov/s/governor--asks you to hold forth on why you want to serve in the Davis administration. Honesty is the best policy here, though it wouldn’t do to mention that you view the job as a springboard to, say, the White House.

“This question,” Bustamante said, “is kind of like that one on the college applications. It’s an opportunity for your individuality to shine.”

* A meaty resume helps, but be forewarned that embellishing your job record isn’t likely to fool these guys. Dan Schnur, a GOP strategist who once worked for Wilson, recalls one resume that included the description “coordinator for ground transportation for campaign leadership.”

Yeah, right. The guy was a driver.

* Although the application is important, remember that there are 3,999 others in the pile. So now’s the time to make a list of everyone you know and determine whether any of them have any connection to Davis, his political allies or donors (preferably ones with six figures by their names).

If so, get them to write letters or make a call. If not, don’t despair, but don’t quit your day job either.

In truth, political patronage does not come into play with every appointment. The big salary slots--like chairman of the Public Utilities Commission, who hauls in $106,272 a year--go to big fishes.

But “you can’t staff a government the size of California’s simply with people who are donors or friends or volunteers,” said Garry South, Davis’ campaign manager and one of his closest confidants.

And although many of the positions on unpaid state boards and commissions might seem unappealing, they can serve as resume boosters. A seat on the Alarm Company Operator Disciplinary Review Committee may not sound like a juicy appointment, but it offers some professional cachet if you run an alarm company.

So if you’re eyeing that vacancy on the California Acupuncture Committee, it might just be yours for the asking.

* Once your name is in the mix, it’s OK to place a follow-up call, but be subtle. “No one wants to have 10 phone messages on their answering machine from some eager applicant,” said Sean Walsh, press secretary under Wilson, “especially at the start of an administration, when there’s so much coming over the transom.”

In sum: A polite inquiry is fine, whining a no-no.

* When you get to the interview, remember that even if you’re the most skilled person on the planet in your particular field, your “political reliability” is just as important to your boss-to-be. Translation: You must agree to embrace the governor’s agenda and have no agenda of your own.

“Gray Davis knows that not every person he hires is going to be an exact replica of himself,” explained South. “But do they need to share his philosophy? Yes, absolutely.”

Appointments Unit Helps With Hiring

Staffing an administration is a daunting, delicate job. Davis could have the smartest policies in the world, but without loyal lieutenants spreading the gospel in the field, he wouldn’t get far.

Helping the governor with the massive hiring task is an appointments unit consisting of a top secretary and a half-dozen other staff members who sift through applications in search of gems.

Many appointees pop up that way, but key posts typically are filled by recruiting stand-outs in a given field. Bob White, former chief of staff to Wilson, said he often turned to head-hunters when the pool of known applicants didn’t yield an appealing candidate.

“Take Caltrans,” White said. “I had these lists [of applicants] but nobody had what it took to run this huge department with these huge responsibilities.”

So White brought in a head-hunter who sniffed out a retiring general in the Army Corps of Engineers. He became Wilson’s transportation secretary, James van Loben Sels.

In recruiting stars for his administration, Davis, like Wilson, has found the job difficult, in part because of the relatively low salaries paid by the state. Those who jump on the Davis bandwagon know it could be only a four-year deal, and many are reluctant to give up big salaries even for the privilege of serving the great state of California.

South acknowledged that “there are many people we wanted to bring into the Cabinet who just couldn’t do it for that level of money.”

That’s a pity, but it does clear the field for the rest of us.