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Labor Leader Keeps Fish, Game Board Seat

Posted on: Friday, 31 March 2006, 18:00 CST

By Lisa Vorderbrueggen, Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif.

Mar. 31--National labor leader Jim Kellogg of Discovery Bay has won reappointment to the California Fish and Game Commission despite complaints from environmentalists who say he is overly sympathetic to people who fish and hunt.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger also this week reappointed Contra Costa County Sheriff Warren Rupf to the Boating and Waterways Commission. Rupf, a Republican, has served on the board since 1997.

Kellogg, 62, was appointed to the commission by former Gov. Gray Davis in 2002 after the labor leader left the California Transportation Commission. Kellogg, a Democrat, was one of Davis' closest advisors.

The lifelong outdoorsman said he wanted to dedicate his time to a policy arena close to his heart.

While he often sides with environmentalists, Kellogg angered some groups over votes related to the herring fishery and the use of lead bullets in areas accessible to endangered condors. They are particularly concerned because the Fish and Game Commission later this year will debate the designation of marine reserves intended to revive lagging fisheries.

The environmentalists' public opposition was not only unsuccessful, but it opened a rift with labor that will take time to heal. The two groups have forged alliances in recent years on issues such as suburban sprawl.

Kellogg has been a fixture in California labor for four decades. He is the international representative of the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industries of the United States and Canada.

He is also the secretary and treasurer of the California State Building and Construction Trades Association, member of the California Waterfowl Association, Ducks Unlimited and the Outdoor Sportsmen's Coalition of California.

Both appointments require Senate confirmation and pay $100 per diem.

Lisa Vorderbrueggen covers politics. Reach her at 925-945-4773 or lvorderbrueggen@cctimes.com.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, Calif.)

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