Improbably, I find myself living in the midst of the most interesting State Senate race in California. The Pasadena contest between Democrat Anthony Portantino and Republican Mike Antonovich.
It’s not an easy choice. I know, like and respect both men. Portantino has been a reform-minded legislator, a good local mayor, and a very friendly accessible presence in the district. I’ve literally seen him dozens of times in my own community in recent years.
And Antonovich is a giant. As a kid growing up in the Pasadena area, it felt like half of our parks and trails had been put there by Antonovich (and that was back in the 1980s and early 90s). Antonovich for decades was a strong effective member of L.A. County’s Board of Supervisors, a bipartisan group that has long done a very good job of managing the county and its budget.
I’d be happy to have either man represent me. So making a choice is actually quite tricky. I lean slightly to the older Antonovich on the theory that the western San Gabriel Valley could get a bit more of out of him before he retires; Portantino, a generation younger, might then replace him.
But I could vote for Portantino too. In fact, I’d be quick to cast a ballot for him if I knew the answer to the following question: what would legislative Democrats if they got two-thirds control of the state legislature?
Two-thirds is a big deal in supermajority mad California. It could allow for the big systemic changes we need in governance in the state. With two-thirds, you could put constitutional amendments on the ballot to simplify our budget system. With two-thirds, you could pass major tax reforms the state desperately needs. With two thirds, you could ask voters to call a constitutional convention, to give the state the modern, shorter governing document it lacks.
But will they do those things? If Democrats have an agenda for a two-thirds legislature, I haven’t heard it and can’t find it.
Why not? Probably some combination of laziness and political caution. But now is not the right time for either. The state badly needs big constitutional-tax-budget restructuring. And they should be building a constituency for big change.
Democrats already missed an opportunity when they went into their last period of two-thirds control without an agenda. They failed to move on big reforms, then lost two thirds prematurely when three state senators got into legal trouble.
It’s time for a clear agenda and plan of action. And it’s what Democrats owe voters. Whether they can gain two-thirds control is the central question of the legislative elections. Please tell us what they’d do with it.