A. Alan Post, legislative analyst, dies

A. Alan Post, a longtime legislative analyst who watched over the budgets of California governors from Earl Warren to Jerry Brown, has died. He was 96.

Post, who also was a well-regarded artist, died March 26 of natural causes at his home in Sacramento, Calif., said his son, David.

The legislative analyst's office provides lawmakers with nonpartisan counsel on fiscal issues.

Most years, Post drew his biggest headlines for his recommendations about the state budget. "Our mission is primarily a cold-blooded one . . . trying to get down to what the state can afford," he told the California Journal in 1970.

He earned a bachelor's degree from Occidental College in 1938 in economics and art after having to leave college for three years to work at a bank in downtown Los Angeles to help support his family. He also earned a degree from what was then called the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles.

Post was asked to become the state's finance director shortly after Ronald Reagan was elected governor in 1966. He declined.

In addition to his son David, Post is survived by three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.