Prison Plan Loses in Senate 3rd Time

Senate Democrats, hoisting the banner of “equal protection” for Latino residents, chose to remain on a collision course with Republican Gov. George Deukmejian on Tuesday by rejecting for the third time his plan to build a prison on Los Angeles’ Eastside.

The governor’s proposal, amended into a Senate bill and approved last week by the Assembly, was defeated on a 12-14 vote of the Senate, nine short of the 21-vote majority needed for passage. A third of the senate--13 members--either refused to vote or did not show up for the session.

Sen. President Pro Tem David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles), who has led the fight against the governor’s bill--calling it a “vendetta” against the Latino and Democratic voters of the Eastside--held out hope that “at some point not too distant” a compromise will be found.

But as the Senate recessed until Oct. 3, it was clear that both sides were as far apart as ever and there was widespread speculation that the issue would remain unresolved until after the November elections.

Shortly after the vote, Deukmejian accused Senate Democrats of producing “nothing except broken commitments and overblown rhetoric.”

“The responsibility for the two-year failure to approve the Los Angeles prison . . . lies directly on Sen. Roberti’s doorstep,” the governor said.

Deukmejian earlier in the day told reporters at a press conference that “we are the ones who have compromised and I’ve compromised as far as I can go.”

The governor called the Legislature into special session Sept. 8 to resolve the thorny dispute. Although expressing little optimism that a solution will be found, Deukmejian declined to say what action he would take if the the stalemate continues. “You’ll have to stay tuned,” he said.

Deukmejian has already shown his intent to make the deadlock a major campaign issue both in his reelection bid and in the campaigns of Senate Democrats who have defied him and opposed his plan or cast no vote at all.

It was clear that the tactic had taken its toll on at least one Democrat, Sen. Leroy Greene of Carmichael. Greene, who is in a tough fight for reelection, had previously declined to vote on the plan but reversed himself Tuesday and supported the governor.

“I for one have had enough and will vote for any bill to put a prison in Los Angeles,” Greene declared.

On Monday night, Deukmejian attended a fund-raiser for Greene’s Republican opponent, Sacramento County Supervisor Sandy Smoley, where he accused the Democratic senator of “putting politics above public safety.”

More United

Despite Deukmejian’s electioneering attacks, the Democratic caucus appeared more united than ever, and Greene was the only member of his party to support the governor.

Two other Democrats who had voted for the governor’s plan on previous occasions, Sen. Ruben Ayala of Chino and Sen. Robert Presley of Riverside, switched and supported Democratic leader Roberti in Tuesday’s vote.

Ayala said he did so because the Assembly had eliminated provisions in the bill that would keep a prison in his district from being expanded. A spokesman for Presley, who previously has carried the Los Angeles prison bill for the governor, said he joined the opposition because he continued to hold out hope that a compromise will be found.

Deukmejian has steadfastly insisted that a prison be built on the site of an abandoned bus-building yard about two miles southeast of the Civic Center and directly across the river from the heavily Latino community of Boyle Heights. He also has refused to compromise on his demands that the prison property be purchased without first completing a full environmental impact report, contending that to do otherwise would result in extraordinarily long delays.

Environmental Review

Democrats led by Roberti have insisted on a full environmental review before purchase and more recently have said they would agree to the Eastside location so long as Deukmejian agrees to build a second prison in a rural and largely Republican area of the county.

Citing the fact that environmental reviews were ordered before purchase of property for prisons elsewhere in the state, Roberti asked, “What should I tell the people who live in Lincoln Heights and Boyle Heights, that everyone is being treated the same?

“No issue of prison siting is as important as the message we send our citizens that everyone must be treated the same in our country under the law.”

Deukmejian, however, told reporters that no prison authorized by the Legislature has had a full environmental impact report and accused Roberti of acting out of partisan political motives.

“This is not a business-as-usual situation,” the governor said, citing overcrowding at existing state prisons.

During floor debate, Sen Diane Watson (D-Los Angeles) and other Senate opponents pointedly questioned why Deukmejian has insisted on the Eastside site, even though its urban location makes it the most expensive prison property ever proposed for purchase by the state.

“This stinks to high heaven,” she said.

Property Owner

Later, Sen. Bill Greene (D-Los Angeles) suggested that the Senate launch its own investigation into connections between the property owner and the Deukmejian Administration.

At issue is the fact that the property once was owned by Jack L. Courtemanche, a former top Republican Party official. It was sold later to Llewellyn Werner, a former official in the administration of Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr., and Southern California businessman Richard J. Nathan.

A major unresolved question is the fate of two nearly completed prisons, in San Diego and Stockton, that under a 1982 law may not be occupied until a prison is authorized in Los Angeles County.

Neither prison is scheduled to receive its first inmates until the last week of November. While Deukmejian has warned of dangers that overcrowded prisons pose, opponents of the Eastside prison point out that the Legislature begins its new session in early December and could simply vote at that time to open both prisons.