California Governor Gray Davis proved again that amazing returns can be realized by contributing to his war chest, making three appointments to the Board of Forestry that are sure to have the logging industry laughing all the way to the bank. These appointments continue to give the industry a solid majority on the Board, and Davis made it obvious that he is willing to make liquidation logging even easier-for a price.

On January 29, 2001, Davis announced the reappointment to the Board of Tharon O'Dell, who was originally appointed under the Wilson Administration and is currently a top-level executive at Simpson Timber Company. Davis also appointed Paula Ross, a lobbyist who has fought for years to roll-back environmental protection laws, and Norman Waters, a 75 year old former politician who is now an active member of the Farm Bureau and Cattlemen's Association.

Davis has lagged in making appointments to the Board since taking office, and three of the nine seats sat empty for well over a year. A few months after a fundraiser that Sierra Pacific Industries held for the Governor in 1999, Davis appointed one of the company's executives, Mark Bosetti. This fundraiser netted $129,000 from Sierra Pacific, Simpson Timber and other logging companies.

Campaign contribution reports just released show the logging industry paid up again in July and August of last year. In addition to earlier contributions, the California Forestry Association, Sierra Pacific and Maxxam/Pacific Lumber gave nearly $120,000 to the Governor's coffers at that time. Since taking office, Davis has raised more than $25 million in campaign contributions, more than any other California governor.