Wrathful Brown Makes San Jose Reporter Taboo

Assembly Speaker Willie Brown was so eager to have his State of the Assembly speech televised around the state Wednesday that he took unprecedented revenge against a newspaper reporter he believed had influenced one TV station not to carry the address.

During a closed-door caucus meeting of Assembly Democrats on Monday, Brown issued a strong directive ordering all 45 of his Democratic colleagues not to grant interviews or have any other professional dealings with David Willman, a Capitol correspondent for the San Jose Mercury News.

Brown of San Francisco has long been irritated by Willman’s critical articles on how the Speaker runs the Assembly and on his relation ships with private law clients. Brown has been stepping up his verbal attacks on the press in the wake of disclosures about an ongoing investigation that has linked several Democratic lawmakers to political corruption figure W. Patrick Moriarty.

Legislative sources, who would speak only on the condition that they not be identified, said the latest flare-up came after an article by Willman reported Senate criticism of Brown’s plans to upstage Gov. George Deukmejian’s State of the State address by making his own speech 24 hours before the governor’s. More importantly, sources said, Brown was convinced that Willman indirectly had persuaded a Salinas television station not to carry the speech live.

“Caucus members were encouraged to be very careful in their dealings with Willman,” one legislative source said. “Willie felt Willman had taken an active role in the Salinas station not carrying the broadcast.”

But a spokeswoman for the station said the allegation is “absurd.” Teresa Burgess, programing manager for NBC affiliate station KSBW-TV in Salinas, said Willman had contacted her in preparation for writing an article on Brown’s speech but “no way did he attempt to influence what our programming is.”

Brown’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Willman denied that he had attempted to influence the television station’s decision to broadcast the speech. He added that while he was refused an interview by Assemblyman John Vasconcellos, a loyal Brown ally who is from Willman’s own home county of Santa Clara, two other Democrats had ignored Brown’s directive and spoken to him.