FORMER CALPERS LEADER JOINING CITY PENSION COMMISSION.Byline: Dan Laidman Staff Writer A union leader who drew national attention for his corporate reform efforts while presiding over California's employee pension fund was among a half-dozen of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's commission nominees who won City Council approval Wednesday. Sean Harrigan, former president of the California Public Employees Retirement System, was unanimously confirmed to sit on the Board of Fire and Police Pension Commissioners. ``He is well-qualified, particularly in the area of protecting the police and fire pension funds,'' said Councilman Bernard Parks, a former LAPD 1. LAPD - Link Access Procedure on the D channel. 2. LAPD - Los Angeles Police Department. chief who heads the Budget and Finance Committee. A top regional official with the United Food and Commercial Workers The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union is a labor union representing approximately 1.4 million workers in the United States and Canada in many industries, including agriculture, health care, meatpacking, poultry and food processing, manufacturing, textile and Union, Harrigan became president of CalPERS, the nation's largest pension fund, in 2003. Under Harrigan's leadership the fund took up the cause of corporate governance Corporate Governance The relationship between all the stakeholders in a company. This includes the shareholders, directors, and management of a company, as defined by the corporate charter, bylaws, formal policy, and rule of law. reform, picking high-profile targets including Disney, Safeway and the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. . Harrigan was ousted from his CalPERS post in late 2004. He blamed business interests and Republicans such as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (German pronunciation (IPA): [ˈaɐ̯nɔlt ˈaloɪ̯s ˈʃvaɐ̯ʦənˌʔɛɡɐ] , while critics accused Harrigan of misguided activism and of having a conflict in targeting Safeway because of his position with the grocery union. Harrigan did not attend Wednesday's council meeting, and the panel did not discuss his confirmation beyond Parks' brief statement. Council members gave the lengthiest hearing to west San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. resident Tsilah Burman, head of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust, who was confirmed to sit on the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners. Burman ran unsuccessfully for the City Council in 2001. The winner of that race, Councilman Dennis Zine, said he hopes Burman and her colleagues will work to reduce infighting in·fight·ing n. 1. Contentious rivalry or disagreement among members of a group or organization: infighting on the President's staff. 2. Fighting or boxing at close range. among neighborhood groups. Council members also said they want the neighborhood councils to become more involved in city business. ``I'm very excited about working on those broader policy issues,'' Burman said. Other appointees confirmed Wednesday were Marie Atake, head of an animal-rescue nonprofit organization Nonprofit Organization An association that is given tax-free status. Donations to a non-profit organization are often tax deductible as well. Notes: Examples of non-profit organizations are charities, hospitals and schools. , to the Board of Animal Services Commissioners; lawyer Anita Castellanos to the Police Permit Review Panel; real estate professional Shelby Kaplan-Sloan to the Board of Zoo Commissioners; lawyer and activist Misty Sanford to the Environmental Affairs Commission; and Tunua Thrash of the West Angeles Community Development Corp. to the Convention and Exhibition Center Authority. Dan Laidman, (213) 978-0390 dan.laidman(at)dailynews.com |
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