SAN FRANCISCO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has chosen to replace California's outgoing finance director Michael Genest with one of his chief deputies, Ana Matosantos. The governor made the appointment Monday.
Matosantos, 34, has been chief deputy director for budget since 2008. She has served the Schwarzenegger administration in various posts since 2004.
Prior to that, she was a consultant for the state Senate's Committee on Health and Human Services, and the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review.
Matosantos will have the lead role in preparing the governor's fiscal 2011 budget proposal in January. The plan will have to confront a structural deficit in excess of $20 billion for the combined 2010 and 2011 fiscal years, according to the state's legislative analyst.
Genest announced in early November that he would retire at the end of the year.
Matosantos' new position will require Senate confirmation, and may not last much longer than a year, because a new governor will take over after Schwarzenegger's term expires following the 2010 election.
