Associated Press

SACRAMENTO — S. Kimberly Belshe, a former official in Gov. Pete Wilson’s administration, was appointed Friday as health and human services secretary by Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Belshe, 43, served as Wilson’s director of the California Department of Health Services and later as deputy secretary for the California Health and Welfare Agency.

“Kimberly is a leader in the health care field, and I am confident that her public sector and philanthropic experience with issues affecting the health and well being Californians will be an asset to my administration,” said Schwarzenegger in a statement.

But some social advocates criticize Belshe for her performance in the Wilson administration. “She did everything she could to cut eligibility for disabled and poor children,” said Jamie Court, executive director of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights.

The incoming governor also appointed Paul H. Dobson as his chief deputy legal affairs secretary.

Dobson, 57, is a veteran of the attorney general’s office. He has also worked at the Sacramento firm of Neilsen, Merksamer, Parrinello, Mueller & Naylor.