Gray Davis Maxxam Coonnection

by Lynda McClure

One of the first acts of governor-elect Gray Davis was to appoint Barry Munitz to head his transition team. In that capacity, Munitz will be key in the appointment of more than 100 new gubernatorial staff and advise on allocations in the state budget. As former California State University Chancellor, and current CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust, he has some impressive education and financial management credentials. However, there is more to Barry Munitz' work history. He served for nine years as vice chairman of Maxxam Corporation, parent company of Pacific Lumber, which owns Headwaters Forest. He is co-respondent in federal Justice Department hearings with Maxxam president Charles Hurwitz over the crash of a Texas savings and loan, which invested in junk bonds to finance Maxxam's unfriendly takeover of Pacific Lumber. Munitz is charged with unsafe and unsound banking practices and certain regulatory violations associated with the failed SandL.

During his time as CSU's chancellor there were substantial student fee hikes, enrollment reduction, and phasing out of affirmative action. Allegations of corporatizing the CSU campuses are based, in part, on deals with high-tech companies to provide money or technology to the university in exchange for product monopoly or property rights on the campuses. GTE, Hughes Communication, Fijitsu, and Microsoft were some of the companies involved with these unprecedented corporate/CSU deals. Strong opposition by the California Faculty Association took some of the support from this policy.

It will be wise to keep a close eye on the governor's appointments which are made at the recommendation of Barry Munitz, and on the course a governor who would seek his counsel will chart.

Material for this article is excerpted from the Sonoma County Independent, Vol. 29, No. 29, Dec. 10-16, 1998; "To The Maxx by Cecily Barnes."

Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 1999
Permission granted to excerpt or use this article if source is cited


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