SACRAMENTO, Calif.—The state Senate on Thursday squashed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's nominee to the state Board of Education, with those opposed to her appointment saying her current job makes for an "irreconcilable" conflict of interest.
It was just the third time over the last five years that the Senate had rejected a gubernatorial appointee.
The Senate voted 17-11 on a strict party-line vote to reject Jeannie Oropeza. Democrats said her regular job as Schwarzenegger's education expert in the Department of Finance would prevent her from being an independent voice on the board.
She has worked for the state for 20 years.
"We all respect her work ethic and her knowledge of the issues," said Sen. President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento. "But I see an irreconcilable conflict between her day job and the role of Board of Education member."
California law prohibits individuals from holding two public offices that are incompatible due to circumstances such as one office having hiring or firing power over members of the second office.
In her role at the finance department, Oropeza would be in a position to make Board of Education appointment recommendations to the governor, while simultaneously serving on that board, Steinberg said. He also noted her