By Benjamin Parke
Daily Bruin Contributor
SAN FRANCISCO ““ Union representatives attacked the
university after reports surfaced that Regent Gerald Parsky used
his position to secure a contract for an investment company after
the firm gave large donations to George W. Bush’s
presidential campaign.
The representatives’ statements were met with varying
responses from the regents, some of whom defended the decision to
give the firm the contract, while others questioned its
validity.
Parsky denied the allegations originally reported in the San
Francisco Examiner’s article, stating that he was unaware of
the donation.
“You are taking our money out of our pockets, and
you’re using it for political gain,” said Karen MacLeod
of the Union of Professional and Technical.
Her comments, along with those of Mary Higgins of the Coalition
of University Employees, the union representing clerical workers
throughout the university, prompted regents S. Sue Johnson and
Judith Hopkinson to release a joint statement on the matter at
midday Wednesday.
“Safety of the pension funds are the uppermost concern of
the regents, and it will continue to be,” the statement read.
“Safety was a major impetus in deciding to undertake a
comprehensive review of investment policies.”
It went on to stress that Wilshire Associates “is a firm
of international repute,” consulting for other public
funds.
Parsky, a director of Bush’s California presidential
campaign, used his influence to secure a consulting contract with
Wilshire Associates, after the firm gave large donations to the
Bush campaign, the Examiner reported.
After the donation was given, Parsky used his influence on the
board to ensure the contract was given to Wilshire Associates
instead of putting it out to bid, the Examiner reported.
Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, who had voted at an earlier meeting
against extending the Wilshire Associates contract, without putting
it to a bid, said after the meeting his vote was made on procedural
grounds.
“Maybe we should go out to bid again,” Bustamante
said. “It provides more integrity to the system, it takes
away from the second guessing.”
With reports from Daily Bruin wire services.