Two members of California’s Board of Parole Hearings quietly lost their positions this summer after approving the release of convicted sex offenders touched off public outrage, a move that has drawn sharp criticism from criminal justice reform advocates.
Commissioners Patricia Cassady and Teal Kozel, who had served on the board for nine and three years respectively, were not reappointed after Senate President Pro Tem Monique Limón declined to bring their nominations forward for a vote. The decision came after both women signed off on the release of men who had committed sexual crimes against children in the Sacramento area during the 1990s — David Funston and Gregory Vogelsang, both of whom were serving life sentences.
Local law enforcement in Sacramento strongly opposed the releases and urged residents to speak out at subsequent hearings. The backlash also reached the state Capitol, where Republican lawmakers in both the Assembly and Senate introduced legislation seeking greater transparency in parole board decisions and reforms to California’s elderly parole program, which allows certain inmates over 50 to petition for release.
Rather than subject Cassady and Kozel to a public confirmation vote, Limón — who chairs the Senate Rules Committee — chose to bypass their nominations altogether when the committee reviewed appointments for five other, less contentious commissioners. Sens. Caroline Menjivar and John Laird confirmed the maneuver to CalMatters.
The approach spared Democratic senators from having to cast politically risky votes on the two commissioners in public, while also denying Republicans an opening to use the controversy for political gain — a tactic the GOP has employed on similar issues in recent years.
California’s parole board, made up of 21 members appointed by the governor to three-year terms, is tasked with determining whether incarcerated individuals are ready to safely return to their communities under state supervision.
Cassady has since retired from state service, while Kozel has returned to her previous role as a senior psychologist supervisor within the department. Both told CalMatters they believed they deserved the same public hearing process afforded to the five commissioners who were ultimately confirmed.
“At least we would have been able to answer their questions and get some of our part out there,” Cassady said in a phone interview.
Cassady spent 31 years with the agency in various capacities. She was first appointed to the board by then-Gov. Jerry Brown in 2016 and was reappointed multiple times since. Kozel, who spent 16 years working in prison psychology before joining the board, declined to elaborate further when reached by phone.
Gov. Gavin Newsom had reappointed both women, along with five colleagues, to new terms in August 2025 — before the controversial decisions were made. Because their reappointments required Senate confirmation within a year, Cassady said she learned from the governor’s office in June that the Rules Committee had opted not to take up her case.
By choosing not to act, Senate Democrats effectively let the two commissioners’ appointments lapse without ever holding a public vote.
Limón’s office did not respond to a request for comment. However, during the Rules Committee hearing where the other five commissioners were confirmed, she alluded to the controversy, referencing “high-profile cases” that had drawn public attention.
“I think we all can agree that we share the goal of reassuring the public while respecting the constitutional and civil rights of everyone during these difficult decisions,” Limón said at the hearing.
Keith Wattley, executive director of the advocacy group UnCommon Law, said parole commissioners are supposed to base their rulings on public safety and legal standards — not political pressure.
“It communicates to parole commissioners and other decisionmakers that if you do something that is not popular, even if it’s the right decision, even if it’s consistent with the law, even if it protects public safety, then there are costs to you in your career,” Wattley said.
Heidi Rummel, a University of Southern California law professor and director of the Post-Conviction Justice Project, echoed those concerns.
“I predict that we will lose many of our most experienced and conscientious commissioners to the politicization of the process, at the expense of public safety,” she said in a written statement.
Although Newsom did not move to withdraw Cassady’s and Kozel’s nominations himself, Wattley said it would be surprising if lawmakers acted without at least tacit approval from the governor’s office. Newsom had publicly disagreed with the board’s decision to release Funston back in February, sending the case back for further review. The board ultimately upheld its original ruling, though both Funston and Vogelsang remain in custody. The governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment from CalMatters.
Laird, a Santa Cruz Democrat, defended Limón’s handling of the situation, saying it eased tensions within the caucus.
“I think she was trying to balance a lot of concern in the caucus with the actual situation, and it was a very tough balance. And I think she did her best in that circumstance,” he said.
Original source: CalMatters
