December 7, 2010

Jerry Brown makes first appointments

(Updated at 3:10 p.m. and 3:45 p.m.): Ana Matosantos stepped down Monday as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's finance director and joined Gov.-elect Jerry Brown's transition team Tuesday, according to Finance spokesman H.D. Palmer. Schwarzenegger has appointed chief deputy finance director Cynthia Bryant to replace Matosantos during the rest of his term. Bryant is one of the few aides who has served in his administration since he took office in 2003.

Gov.-elect Jerry Brown today announced his first two appointments, retaining Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's finance director, Ana Matosantos, and naming a former appointee secretary of the Health and Human Services Agency.

Diana Dooley, president of the California Children's Hospital Association, was Brown's legislative secretary and special assistant when he was first governor.

Brown, confronting a massive budget deficit, has worked closely with Matosantos, and her appointment was widely expected.

"Ana has what it takes to manage the Department of Finance during this period of fiscal crisis," Brown said in a prepared statement released by his office.

In that same statement, Matosantos was quoted as saying she is honored to continue in her post.

"As California confronts a multi-billion dollar structural deficit, I will do everything in my power to manage the budget process in a thoughtful and inclusive way," she said.

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