Brown's appointment of Carter to CSU board fails to win Senate confirmation Reporting from Sacramento and Los Angeles -- Gov. Jerry Brown's appointment of Herbert L. Carter to the California State University Board of Trustees failed to win state Senate confirmation Monday, the last opportunity for action. Democratic leaders canceled a vote after Republicans said they would not provide the two "ayes" needed for the required two-thirds majority approval. Republicans objected that Carter, as board chairman, had participated last year in raising student fees by 12% while giving the president of the San Diego campus a $400,000 pay package. The Republicans locked down. I think it's unfortunate," said Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento). I know that Herb Carter has all the background, the passion and the history with California's higher education system to continue to be an excellent chair. He cast one vote that was controversial. GOP lawmakers said they were exercising their power to register disapproval of the way the board is running the system, which serves 427,000 students. "Today the Senate sent a clear message to the students, parents and taxpayers that we deserve better from higher education than skyrocketing tuition, poor planning and little oversight," said Sen. Joel Anderson (R-San Diego). Brown noted that Carter was first appointed to the board in 2004 by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. "It is unfortunate that a small group of Republican senators refused to confirm this appointment," Brown said in a statement. On behalf of all Californians and the students he served, I thank Dr. Carter for his commitment and dedication. It was not just Republicans who had doubts about Carter. State Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) said he might have voted no - requiring one more GOP yes. Carter was "part of the mess going on at the CSU, where top executives have been getting $300,000, $400,000," Yee said. The board's recent decision to cap future executive raises at 10% "was not enough," Yee said after Monday's Senate session, adding that he had been open to persuasion. The governor reappointed Carter to the board in 2011, but the administrator needs Senate confirmation within a year. The 365th day is Wednesday, and the Senate does not plan more sessions before then, Steinberg said. So Carter must step down. Brown said last week that he was prepared to make another appointment if Carter was not confirmed. "He's a good man," Brown said then. But, of course, the reserve of good appointments is very large. The board's vice chairman, Bob Linscheid, will assume Carter's chair post, said Cal State spokesman Mike Uhlenkamp, and trustees will probably schedule a meeting to choose a new vice chairman. Carter declined to comment Monday. But CSU Chancellor Charles Reed said the senators' move was a loss for the system. "To deny the confirmation of a person that has done so much on behalf of the CSU is incomprehensible," Reed said. Carter's confirmation was the first to come up since Brown took office. The appointment of trustee Steven Glazer, a close political advisor to the governor, must receive the Senate's blessing by the end of April. The terms of trustees Carol Chandler and Melinda Guzman will also end this year unless they are reappointed. Glazer and Guzman voted against the San Diego president's salary, Chandler in favor.