Lottery vet wins state agency's top post again
By Associated Press (From the Los Angeles Daily News, Article Published: Thursday, December 02, 2004 - 7:27:27 PM PST )
SACRAMENTO -- Veteran state official Chon Gutierrez, who helped lead Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's California Performance Review study, was named Thursday as interim director of the California State Lottery.
Gutierrez, 60, had been serving as the interim director of the Department of Motor Vehicles for the past year. During that time, he was also co-director of the California Performance Review, the governor's plan to reorganize and streamline state government.
The appointment is Gutierrez's second stint at the lottery. He also served as lottery head from 1986 under the Deukmejian administration until 1991, when former Gov. Pete Wilson made a change in an effort to improve sagging sales.
Lottery operations may come under increased review again, as the Performance Review that Gutierrez helped oversee includes a number of recommendations aimed at improving profits from the games. One idea is for California to enter into a multistate lottery.
Ashley Snee, a spokeswoman for the governor, said Schwarzenegger has made no decision about which of the pending recommendations from the Performance Review he wants to implement.
Gutierrez, a resident of Sacramento and a Democrat, has worked for the state since 1973. He has also served as chief assistant secretary of state; chief financial officer of the Department of Business, Transportation & Housing; and the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency.
The lottery post pays $123,240.