Governor Pledges Common-Sense Court

In colorful ceremonies on the steps of the state Capitol, Gov. George Deukmejian took the oath of office for a second term Monday, promising to create a “common sense” California Supreme Court, not to increase “general” taxes and to adhere to the conservative doctrine of limited government.

Under clear skies, but in nippy 51-degree, overcoat weather, Deukmejian echoed the strong view of another former California governor--Ronald Reagan--that people should not “rely on Washington and Sacramento to meet every need.” Rather, he said, they should use “the initiative, talent and spirit of free citizens standing on their own.”

That philosophy fits well with the state’s present deteriorating fiscal situation. Deukmejian, just before Christmas, ordered a 2% cut in state administrative costs in hopes of controlling a $900-million budget shortage. He followed that with a 10% reduction in rates paid to doctors and hospitals for the outpatient medical care of poor people.

But there was little talk of specifics, let alone fiscal gloom, in Deukmejian’s inaugural address to an estimated 3,000 fellow officeholders, political supporters and invited guests. The Republican governor touched only briefly on some second-term programs that he intends to sketch in more detail during a State of the State message on Wednesday, and his budget proposal on Thursday.

One such new program, the governor said, would “substantially” improve California’s highways. “If you think traffic is bad today, in just 15 years we will be sharing the road with 15 million additional cars and trucks,” he noted. But spokesman Larry Thomas later said that the governor will continue to oppose any gas tax increase to pay for highway construction.

Statement on Taxes

And just in case there was any doubt, Deukmejian in his speech also vowed that there will be “no general tax increases on the people or on business.” Deukmejian’s definition of a “general” tax is an income or sales tax--levies that basically hit taxpayers across the board. But while the governor did not raise “general” taxes in his first term, he did sign a lot of “loophole closures” and “equity measures” that raised tax revenues by $2.4 billion.

There was another new program that Deukmejian mentioned in passing on Monday. He called it “a children’s initiative to protect young people from disease, disability, criminal exploitation and drugs.” Thomas said the governor will propose spending new money for this project but declined to give any details on how it would work.

However, one giant spending obstacle that Deukmejian and the Democratic-controlled Legislature face is that the state for the first time is bumping up against an expenditure lid imposed by voters in 1979. Deukmejian has pledged to try to live within the limit, which was sponsored by anti-tax crusader Paul Gann and restricts spending increases to the percentage of population and inflation growth.

Such nitty-gritty problems were set aside on Monday, however, as inaugural celebrants huddled against the cold on folding chairs in Capitol Park, listening to high school bands and watching military honor guards march against the backdrop of a dressed-up Capitol draped with giant American and California flags. Many also ponied up $625 apiece to attend a reception for the governor in the Capitol rotunda, and Monday night went to an inaugural ball.

Deukmejian, with one hand placed on a 486-year-old French Bible held by his wife, Gloria, took the oath on the Capitol steps from the man he has chosen to be California’s next chief justice, Malcolm M. Lucas, a former law partner and a current associate justice of the state Supreme Court.

Rejection of Bird

Referring to the voters’ overwhelming rejection last November of then-Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird, and Justices Cruz Reynoso and Joseph R. Grodin, Deukmejian asserted in his inaugural address that the “citizens exercised their constitutional rights and charged us with a solemn task: to restore stature and credibility to the state Supreme Court.”

He added, “I can assure the people that their message was heard and that all of my appointees to our courts will be common-sense judges who embody the qualities of experience, fairness, integrity and intelligence.” And alluding to the Bird court’s overturning of death penalty sentences for murderers, Deukmejian declared that the voters “told us again . . . that life is sacred and that we must do everything we can to protect the lives of innocent citizens.”

Elsewhere around the Capitol on Monday other state officeholders also were sworn in for four-year terms, including three Democrats who clearly would like to run for Deukmejian’s job in four years: Atty. Gen. John K. Van de Kamp, Lt. Gov. Leo T. McCarthy and new Controller Gray Davis.

However, Deukmejian, 58, who last November defeated Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley in the biggest landslide victory of a California gubernatorial candidate in 36 years, has held open the possibility of himself running for a third term in 1990.

Bipartisan Cooperation

Van de Kamp, beginning his second term as attorney general, pledged bipartisan cooperation with Deukmejian, despite their political differences. “For those who look forward to four years of sniping between an attorney general of one party and a governor of another,” he said, “they will be sorely disappointed, as they have been for the past four years.”

Davis, who forged his political career as chief deputy and image maker to Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr., took office in a ceremony dominated by symbols. He was sworn in during an hourlong program led by his wife, Sharon, with help from the state’s highest ranking Asian judge, a leading Latino legislator, a Los Angeles rabbi, a Fresno disabled veteran and a San Diego minister who is an advocate for the homeless. A chorus of children in international dress sung patriotic songs.

McCarthy, in a post-inaugural interview, said he is considering running for the U.S. Senate against Republican incumbent Pete Wilson in 1988. If he does not enter that race, the lieutenant governor indicated, he probably will run for governor in 1990. A decision about a Senate campaign will be made by June, he said.

Democrat March Fong Eu, sworn in for a fourth term as secretary of state, all but announced her candidacy for the Senate in 1988. Uncharacteristically, she emphasized foreign affairs in her inaugural address, calling for an end to the arms race and a foreign policy based on “candor rather than cover-up.”

Recovered From Beating

Eu, 64, proclaimed herself “recovered” from a beating she took at the hands of a hatchet-wielding robber shortly after her reelection.

Veteran Democrat Jesse Unruh was sworn in for a fourth term as state treasurer. The 64-year-old Unruh, who recently confirmed reports that he still is undergoing treatment for prostate cancer, did his best--despite a stiff walk--to dispel rumors that he is gravely ill. At one point he introduced his new wife, Chris, and her mother and cracked: “To anybody who says, ‘What’s with Unruh’s health?’ I just took on this beauteous new bride back here and this beauteous new mother-in-law.”

Bill Honig, who used to be a Democrat but now is registered as “declined to state” because his office is nonpartisan, was sworn in for a second term as state superintendent of public instruction. Declaring that California needs to spend more money on its public schools, Honig announced that he will sponsor a constitutional amendment on the 1988 ballot to modify the Gann spending limit.

Deukmejian indirectly addressed that issue in his inaugural speech. “Our fundamental quest must be to assist our children to be the best, not our government to be the biggest,” the governor said. “We can spend all the money in the world on our schools, but if parents don’t ensure that children do their homework, if children don’t want to learn, or if a teacher is mediocre, then students will not receive a good education.”

Gubernatorial spokesman Larry Thomas, however, said that education will continue to be Deukmejian’s highest spending priority.

Contributing to this story were Times staff writers Paul Jacobs, Richard C. Paddock, Doug Shuit, Leo Wolinsky and Tillie Fong.

Deukmejian text on Page 16