Congratulations, I guess.
After a messy in-house squabble, Assemblyman John Perez of Los Angeles was anointed Thursday as the next speaker by his fellow Democrats. Although the formal vote on the Assembly floor isn’t anticipated until January, it’s expected to be a mere formality, with no Republican votes needed
So Perez, who’s been in office less than a year, now gets to step into what historically has been one of the most important posts in California after a landmark win for a young politician.
He should be careful what he wishes for. Just ask Karen Bass.
Bass, who’s also from Los Angeles, was sworn in as speaker in May 2008. During her first two terms, Bass pushed hard to make life better for California foster children, provide health insurance for California young people and make improvements in her district.
But since becoming speaker, Bass’ thankless job has been all budget, all the time. With California’s economy crashing around her, she’s spent the past year playing defense, desperately trying to round up enough votes in the splintered Assembly to hang on to social service programs built up over decades.
It’s been a depressing time for anyone who came to Sacramento with plans to use government to improve people’s lives, as Darrell Steinberg, the Democratic leader of the state Senate, recognized in a statement praising Bass’ work as speaker.
Bass, who will be termed out of the Assembly next year, “worked tirelessly to protect California’s most vulnerable citizens,’’ he said. “She helped stave off massive cuts and even the complete elimination of the very programs we came to Sacramento to defend, protect and expand.”
It’s not news to even a rookie legislator like Perez that California’s finances aren’t going to get better anytime soon. The state is facing a budget shortfall next year estimated at north of $20 billion and it’s no secret that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is looking at program cuts, layoffs and other drastic reductions in an effort to balance the budget.
Not to mention that the speakership isn’t what it used to be back in the days when Willie Brown could dub himself “the Ayatollah of the Assembly” for the power he had over the house, its members and the legislative work that was done.
But in those pre-term limit days, Brown not only spent nearly 15 years as speaker, but also served in the Assembly for 16 years before that. He knew how the Assembly worked, where the political bodies were buried and how best to deal with members who knew they could have to work with Brown for years.
As a first-term legislator, Perez is looking at the possibility of spending nearly five years as speaker, which would be a record in the term limits era.
But that also means he’s spent less than a year in the Assembly, learning who’s who and how the Legislature works. A former union organizer, his Assembly victory last year was his first try for office, so he’s light on elective political experience. And as other recent speakers have discovered, it’s tough to push legislators when they know that regardless of how an issue turns out, they’re gone in six years.
The behind-the-scenes intrigue surrounding Perez’s selection as speaker also could come back to haunt him. A cousin of Los Angeles Mayor – and former Assembly speaker – Antonio Villaraigosa, Perez won the majority support of the Democratic caucus over Los Angeles Assemblyman Kevin de Leon, a boyhood friend and protégé of Fabian Nunez, another former speaker.
Although Perez and de Leon appeared arm-in-arm Thursday, casually dismissing any suggestion of lingering ill feelings, politicians typically have elephant-like memories for any real or perceived slights. They also operate on the “Don’t get mad, get even” theory of political payback, so it remains to be seen what happens next.
The decision by Perez to hang onto his Assembly seat and seek the speakership also opened another political can of worms. Until last month, Perez had been expected to seek Gil Cedillo’s East Los Angeles state Senate seat in 2010, when Cedillo would be termed out.
That would have allowed Cedillo to run for Perez’s vacant Assembly seat in a typical term limits shuffle (see Torlakson, Tom, and DeSaulnier, Mark). But with Perez staying put, Cedillo was looking at a future of political unemployment.
But Cedillo already was unhappy with Perez for backing eventual winner Judy Chu over him in a special congressional election last July. Cedillo, whose vocal support of drivers’ licenses for undocumented residents has given him a huge following in the Latino community, vowed last week to challenge Perez in the June primary.
If Cedillo follows through with his threat, that’s another major distraction for the new speaker, who’s going to have plenty of other work on his plate as he tries both to keep California afloat financially and Democratic legislators and party supporters happy.
So good luck, soon-to-be-Speaker Perez. You’re going to need it.
John Wildermuth is a longtime writer on California politics.