A state Senate committee on Wednesday unanimously approved the confirmation of three appointees to the UC Board of Regents, with senators noting the unusual circumstance that all three nominees are minorities.
The Senate Rules Committee voted 4 to 0 for the appointments of former Assembly Speaker John A. Perez; Eloy Ortiz Oakley, who is superintendent and president of Long Beach City College; and Gareth Elliott, Gov. Jerry Brown’s former legislative affairs secretary who is now working as a lobbyist. They were nominated by the governor.
Perez and Oakley are Latino and Elliott is black. Senate President Pro Tem Kevin De Leon (D-Los Angeles), who chaired the committee hearing, said the nomination of “three individuals of color” reflected changing demographics.