Governor's appointee quits over Web postings

An appointee of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger resigned abruptly Thursday after the Governor's Office learned that he had reprinted an image of a faux illegal-immigrant driver's license that Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata called "hate speech."

Sam Wakim, also a candidate for the state Assembly in 2008, was appointed by the governor to the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board last November. He posted the mock license on his personal Web site operated under the pseudonym "Abu David" in 2005.

"I think it's appalling for someone who's supposed to represent the public as a board member of a public agency to be engaging in hate speech," Perata said in a statement. "Mr. Wakim's Web postings clearly cross the boundaries of acceptable public discourse."

Wakim tendered his resignation to the Schwarzenegger administration in the afternoon after The Bee made inquiries about the nominee's Internet postings.

Adam Mendelsohn, the governor's communications director, said the administration was "not aware of the images" before The Bee's inquiry. He called them "unacceptable and inappropriate."

Mendelsohn declined to say whether the Governor's Office requested Wakim's resignation. "I can't comment on personnel matters," he said.

The posted license features a caricature-like photo of a Latino with an oversized sombrero, with "Mexifornia" replacing "California" on the license and "MUCHO," instead of male or female, listed under sex. Wakim did not create the image, which has floated around on various Web sites.

On Thursday morning, Wakim, who was facing a confirmation hearing next week, had said, "I am confident that I am going to get a fair hearing."

But by late afternoon, he had resigned "with mixed feelings," according to his resignation letter.

"I am running for office, and preparing for this confirmation hearing has taken up a lot of my time," Wakim said after his resignation. "I just decided earlier today that enough's enough."

Perata welcomed the resignation, saying, "State appointees represent all of California. There's no place for people who indulge in that level of hate speech."

A Yreka dentist and Republican candidate for Assembly, Wakim is chair of the Siskiyou County Republican Central Committee and was county chairman for Schwarzenegger's re-election campaign in 2006.

The image creating a stir was posted in May 2005 alongside a story about legislation by Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, to provide driver's licenses to illegal immigrants in California.

"It is a bad idea that compromises our national security and it cheapens the licenses we carry in California," Wakim wrote at the time.

The image wasn't the only controversy surrounding Wakim's appointment.

The Karuk Tribe of California, for whom Wakim once served as a dentist, accused the water board member of insensitivity after tribal members said he belittled their holiest of holidays and accused them of doctoring photos of toxic algae in the Klamath River submitted as scientific evidence.

At a March board meeting, Wakim had referred to the tribe's annual religious ceremony as "a festival down by Weitchpec or something like that," according to a transcript provided to The Bee by the Sierra Club of California. He later apologized.

"I was truly apologetic," said Wakim. "I was not familiar with their ceremonies."

At the same meeting, Wakim had asked whether a "polarizing filter" was used by the tribe to take the pictures of the algae bloom.

"The comments he made, I think, demonstrate to us a certain level of bias toward the tribe," said tribal Vice Chairman Leaf Hillman, who had planned to send a representative to the Senate hearing opposing Wakim.

Wakim said he later met with tribal members to examine the algae in person.

He said he has had a long relationship with the tribe -- and was given "medicine man" necklaces while serving as the tribe's dentist.

The North Coast water board, one of nine regional boards in the state, regulates many of the rivers, lakes and streams in Northern California, including the Klamath.

The Karuk Tribe is lobbying to remove four dams on the river, arguing the stagnant water created by the dams has led to toxic algae blooms.

The Sierra Club of California also opposed Wakim's appointment.

Early Thursday, Wakim said he was being "unfairly targeted" by his opponents -- "my history as county chairman of the Republican Party might have something to do with it," he speculated -- but he resigned within hours, citing the demands of family and the campaign trail.

Wakim said he plans to continue his bid to replace termed-out Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa, R-Oroville, for which he has raised more than $230,000, including $100,000 of his own money.

The district includes parts of Yolo and all of Sutter County, and stretches north to the Oregon border, including Yuba City, Redding and Red Bluff.

"I needed to focus my energies and my time and on fundraising and traveling around the district and hearing everyone's concerns about state government," Wakim said.

About the writer:

• The Bee's Shane Goldmacher can be reached at (916) 326-5544 or sgoldmacher@sacbee.com.