Governor Schwarzenegger has filled three of the four Commissioner vacancies on the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board. Two of the three were filled by the reappointment of current members, Frank Bass and James Cuneo. Deidra Lowe was the third appointment.
Lowe, 57, has been on both sides of the fence and is generally given high marks by both the applicant and defense community. She resides in Hillsborough and since 1985 has served as associate and partner with the defense firm Hanna, Brophy, MacLean, McAleer & Jensen. Earlier she worked with longtime applicants' lobbyist Don Green at Green and Azevedo. She graduated from McGeorge School of Law and UC Davis. She's most recently been a member of the Workers' Compensation Section of the State Bar and the Northern California Defense Attorneys Association.
Frank Brass, 76, of San Francisco, has served as a WCAB Commissioner since 2001 and has more than 40 years experience as a workers' compensation attorney, most recently with the defense firms Parente & Christopher in 2001 and as a partner at Brass & Zuckerman before that. He's a graduate of UC San Francisco School of Law and USF.
James Cuneo, 68, of Carmichael, has also served as a Commissioner since 2001. Before then, he was founder and president of the defense firm, Cuneo Black Ward & Missler. He also worked as a partner at Hanna, Brophy, MacLean, McAleer & Jensen and staff tax counsel for the California State Department of Employment (now the EDD). He graduated from Golden Gate University School of Law and the University of Notre Dame.
All three appointments require Senate confirmation and Commissioners are paid $128,109 annually.
As expected, the makeup of the Board is now quite clearly defense oriented.
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