Republican Steve Poizner spent more than $7 million dollars in a losing race for the state Assembly. And much of it was the Silicon Valley's tech executive's own money.

That was the end of the story, until now.

Governor Schwarzenegger has just announced that on January 1st, he will appoint the 47-year-old Poizner to the state Public Utilities Commission. The PUC has been, and will continue to be, at the epicenter of battles over the state's energy policy.

The resume for Poizner released by the governor's office is long on accomplishments in the high-tech industry, but virtually silent on Poizner's experience in energy policy, or knowledge of California's ongoing energy problems.

In contrast, Schwarzenegger also announced the appointment of Democrat Dian Grueneich of Berkeley, who is described as having 25 years of experience in "energy efficiency and environmental policy and law."

Critics will likely raise questions as to whether it's coincidence that one of the GOP legislative candidates the governor campaigned for the hardest is now being given a political appointment.