It looks like Arnold has appointed Jerome Horton to fill Judy Chu’s seat on the Board of Equalization, now that she’s in Congress.  But the L.A. Times piece warns that liberal Democrats may not be so happy about this.

Q: Horton’s a Democrat. And there’s nothing wrong with being a moderate. So what’s the big deal?

A: In tax policy circles, “moderate” is code for business-friendly, which changes the balance on the five-member board. The state is divided into four districts: 1st (representing the entire California coast, from Oregon to Santa Barbara; automatically a Democratic seat); 2nd (cow counties, tax revolt counties, the desert portion of L.A. county: Republican seat); 3rd (San Diego, Orange, Inland Empire; in other words, Republican seat); and 4th (the non-desert portions of L.A. County. Democrat). The tie is broken by the state controller, who is Democrat John Chiang. But Horton would be expected to mix things up by voting, sometimes, with the Republicans. And those tax policy votes will make a far bigger difference to California, in the short run at least, than anything Chu could possibly do in Congress.

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Q: Is Horton going to be confirmed by the Legislature?

A: Not without a lot of angst and political saber-rattling. If he’s not confirmed, and no follow-up appointment is confirmed, a former Chu staffer will fill in until the BOE election next year. Bet you can hardly wait.

So what do you guys think about Horton?