Friday, October 7, 2005
Page 1
Andrea Hoch Named Governor’s Legal Affairs Secretary
By KENNETH OFGANG, Staff Writer/Appellate Courts
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger yesterday named Andrea Hoch, a former top deputy to Attorney General Bill Lockyer, as his legal affairs secretary.
“Andrea is a well-respected legal mind with the knowledge, experience, integrity and character to serve as my legal affairs secretary,” the governor said in a statement. “She is a talented attorney who shares my vision for the future of California and I look forward to working with her.”
Hoch, whose first day of work is scheduled to be Oct. 17, succeeds Peter Siggins, who is serving as acting chief of staff for the governor while Patricia Clarey is away working on the campaign in favor of four initiatives that Schwarzenegger is backing in the Nov. 8 special election.
Clarey is due to return to the administration the day after the election. Schwarzenegger is expected to then appoint Siggins to another position, likely a judgeship, sources said.
Hoch has served as administrative director of the Division of Workers’ Compensation since last year, and was with the Attorney General’s Office for 12 years before that. She headed the Civil Law Division under Lockyer from 2002 to 2004, was senior assistant attorney general in the Government Law section in 2002, supervising deputy attorney general of the Energy Task Force from 2001 to 2002, and supervising deputy attorney general in the Government Law Section from 1999 to 2001.
Between 1992 and 1999, she served in the Government Law Section, Tobacco Litigation Section, and Health, Education and Welfare Section. Before joining the Department of Justice, Hoch was legal advisor to the Public Employment Relations Board from 1988 to 1992 and staff counsel to the Agricultural Relations Board from 1987 to 1988. She was an attorney in private practice from 1985 to 1987.
“I am honored Governor Schwarzenegger has asked me to serve in this important role and to continue working alongside him brining positive change to our great state,” Hoch said in a press release distributed by the Governor’s Office.
Hoch, 45, earned her law degree from University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law and has an undergraduate degree from Stanford University. The legal affairs secretary position, which as structured under Schwarzenegger includes shared responsibility for judicial appointments, does not require Senate confirmation and pays $123,255.
Lockyer, a Democrat, issued a statement praising the appointment of Hoch, a Republican.
“Governor Schwarzenegger has made an excellent choice in tapping Andrea Hoch as his Legal Affairs Secretary,” the attorney general said. “ During her tenure in my office, Andrea handled some of the most challenging and important legal assignments. Andrea successfully confronted each of those duties with the same intellect, work ethic, knowledge of state government and people skills that will serve her well in the Governor’s Office.”
Copyright 2005, Metropolitan News Company