Will Coach Assemblyman on Parliamentary Matters : Robinson Takes Post as Aide

Former Assemblyman Richard Robinson, who gave up his central Orange County seat in an unsuccessful bid for Congress last November, has taken a $40,000-a-year job as a part-time aide to a Sacramento-area assemblyman.

Robinson, 43, will advise Democratic Assemblyman Phillip Isenberg on parliamentary matters and other issues.

Isenberg said Wednesday that he recruited his former colleague from Garden Grove for the job after being named to the Assembly leadership post of assistant Speaker pro tem, which will require Isenberg to conduct sessions when Speaker Pro Tem Mike Roos (D-Los Angeles) is away.

His new role will depend on “knowing the rules, intuition and an understanding of the personalities and the process,” Isenberg said. “You can avoid a lot of mistakes if somebody is around who’s a whole lot better than you to help you get over the rough spots.”

And Robinson, said Isenberg, is a “master” of the rules that can be crucial to legislative maneuvering. He said the two men have been friends since before Isenberg, a former mayor of Sacramento, joined the Assembly in 1982.

Although legislators often help former lawmakers gain employment in state government, or as consultants, lobbyists or agency staff members, it is unusual for someone of the stature of Robinson, a former Assembly Democratic Caucus chairman, to work as an aide.

Robinson said he plans to stay in the job as long as it takes Isenberg to become familiar with the rules.

“I’ll stay as long as I’m needed,” Robinson said. “I have a rather unique understanding of the rules and past precedents. If I do it thoroughly enough, I shouldn’t have to do it for too long.

“Phil is a very close friend, and when it starts not to work out, we’ll both know it.”

Robinson’s $40,000 salary for the part-time job is more than the $33,750 he made in his last year as a legislator, not counting about $18,000 in per diem expenses in Sacramento while the Legislature was in session. Even with raises that took effect in December, Robinson’s pay exceeds his new boss’s base salary of $37,105.

A former labor union official, Robinson represented the central Orange County Assembly district for 12 years, before giving up his seat to challenge Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove) last November. Robinson lost by a margin of 55% to 42%, his only defeat after nine successful contested elections.

A temperamental legislator known for shrewdness, Robinson, during his six terms in Sacramento, built a reputation as a lawmaker who knew how to use the legislative process to defeat bills he did not like, even when the odds were against him.

He often got his colleagues’ attention on the floor of the Assembly by declaring: “That bill is dead!”