A Gabfest of Ex-Governors at Taping of TV Show

Can they all get along? Evidently, yes.

A televised class reunion round table among the state’s present and former governors -- absent only Ronald Reagan -- was more amiable than one might think, given the tenor of recent politics.

In off-camera moments after the taping at Los Angeles PBS station KCET, the gubernatorial quartet of Jerry Brown, Gray Davis, George Deukmejian and Pete Wilson seemed to enjoy themselves. (Arnold Schwarzenegger cut out after his taped interview and, surrounded by his security posse, leaped into his black SUV and took off.)

The four exes sat patiently for a group photo. “You have ‘the Three Tenors.’ Now we have ‘the Four Governors,’ ” Deukmejian offered. And Wilson appended sardonically, “Guess who will get better ratings?”

All four had submitted to the makeup drill -- Brown having his bald spots de-shined -- and as they watched the tape of Schwarzenegger’s interview to comment on it afterward, Deukmejian fidgeted, clasping and unclasping his hands, shifting in his seat, adjusting the lay of his suit jacket.

Later, Davis assessed Schwarzenegger: “He has good instincts and if he gets lucky, he’ll be a good governor.” Davis was the last to leave the reception, but Brown, on his way out, bumped into his former chief of staff. “Are you coming north at all?” Brown asked. Davis began, “We have no immediate plans ...” and Brown cut him off. “You should. We’ll take you to dinner in North Beach. Then you should take Sharon to Tuscany.”

How about it, Mrs. D -- does Brown’s suggestion have your vote?

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Hahn Faces Decisions About Glamorous Events

Is it business? Is it pleasure? Is it just one long line for the restroom?

With all the glam events in Los Angeles, most of them atwinkle with celebrities, and all of them seen the world over, the question for civic leaders and their ethical gurus is, who pays for the tickets to such shindigs?

Mayor Jim Hahn thinks putting in an appearance at the Oscars, the NBA All-Star game, the Grammys and the like are just part of the job -- but the city’s ethics czar, LeeAnn Pelham, has said: Don’t go renting that tux just yet.

An attorney for Hahn put the question to the Ethics Commission, contending that Hahn’s presence as part of his job as a “visible champion” for L.A. means he should be able to use his political officeholder account to pay for the tickets.

Freebies are pretty much out of the question. A couple of years ago, the state’s political practices group at first said Grammy tickets have no market value and weren’t gifts, so Hahn took three of them from the Grammy folks, thank you, and sat there with the regular folks. But once someone decided that the market value of the tickets could be fixed -- and at $350 each -- Hahn had to write a check. No wonder he skipped the Emmys.

But now Pelham says that seeing Hahn at such events could help him get reelected, so if he wants to buy the tickets, and he doesn’t want to pay for them himself, he has to use money from his campaign, not his political officeholder account.

So.... Hahn has paid for his Grammy and All-Star game tickets, but hasn’t decided yet whether he can -- or maybe can afford to -- go to the Oscars.

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Assemblywoman May Be Own Toughest Opponent

Technically, Rebecca Cohn is unopposed in the primary, unless her toughest opponent turns out to be ... Rebecca Cohn. This Space recently mentioned the celeb-style cover story in San Jose Magazine about the Saratoga Democratic assemblywoman, headlined “Haute Stuff,” showing Cohn in a leopard-print dress.

The photo shoot is one reason an Assembly committee is investigating complaints by five of her staffers about what is reported as an “uncomfortable” and “sexually charged” office atmosphere. Two of them reportedly complained that they had to handle the boss’ clothes -- including her undies -- for the shoot. One of them, a former TV reporter, said that on another occasion, Cohn was confiding details of her sex life at dinner, which made the aide “so upset that she excused herself from the table and went to the bathroom, where she threw up,” according to the San Jose Mercury News.

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Southland Lawmakers Join D.C. Airport Debate

West Coast legislators can only return home from D.C. by slogging out to Dulles Airport in Virginia to catch a nonstop -- or by trading the short drive to Washington Reagan National Airport in town with having to change planes in mid-nation to finish the trek.

U.S. Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein already have asked the Transportation secretary, Norman Mineta, who flew this route himself in Congress, to restore California nonstops out of Reagan National. Now 18 Southern California members of Congress have sent their own letter asking for the same thing -- nonstops, DCA to LAX, ASAP.

Signatories Maxine Waters and Jane Harman have been just as vigorous in trying to develop regional airports in Southern California to unburden LAX.

About 18 months ago, Waters introduced three bills to stop LAX expansion, and a few weeks after that Harman got a $1.5-million grant for plans that would make it possible to cap LAX at 78 million passengers a year -- maybe not counting members of Congress.

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Points Taken

* You wouldn’t know it from the other’s press release, but WISH List, a national fundraising group for Republican women, endorsed both women in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate. Toni Casey and Rosario Marin both sent out news releases proudly accepting the endorsement, without mentioning that the honors were shared, and selectively quoting the group’s president, Pat Carpenter, without noting that she also said, “The WISH List is pleased to endorse both of these women candidates.”

* Is this goodbye, or just au revoir? Democrats are ditching their usual election night Southern California hangout, the Regal Biltmore in downtown L.A., for the Wilshire Grand. The event expects Sen. Barbara Boxer and presidential candidates yet to be named.

* The California Voter Foundation celebrates its one-decade anniversary with a public guide to the March 2 election at www.calvoter.org.

* Bill Simon Jr., who ran for governor against Gray Davis in the regularly scheduled election in 2002 and briefly in last year’s recall sweepstakes, is forming a committee with an eye -- or maybe both eyes -- to running for state treasurer in 2006.

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You Can Quote Me

“It is possible to keep cannabis out of the hands of street dealers and away from children if we tax and regulate it.”

Dale Gieringer, of the Oakland Civil Liberties Alliance and a past president of NORML, the marijuana legalization group ... with a notion that could wipe out the budget deficit in less than a month. Quoted in the Oakland Tribune.

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Patt Morrison’s columns appear Mondays and Tuesdays. Her e-mail address is patt.morrison@latimes.com. Her earlier columns can be read at www.latimes.com/morrison. This week’s contributors include Times staff writers Jia-Rui Chong, Patrick McGreevy and Jennifer Oldham.