Maddy Named Leader of GOP in State Senate

Sen. Ken Maddy of Fresno, ousted almost four years ago as a member of the Senate Republican hierarchy, was returned to power Thursday as the GOP began trying to rebuild after suffering a major special election setback.

As expected, Maddy, 52, replaced Sen. James W. Nielsen of Rohnert Park as the minority party’s floor leader at a closed-door meeting, while Sen. John Doolittle of Rocklin succeeded Sen. John Seymour of Anaheim as GOP caucus chairman, the No. 2 leadership position.

Nielsen and Seymour were targeted for dismissal immediately after the March 17 primary election in which the Republican candidate, Assemblyman Wayne Grisham of Norwalk, unexpectedly finished second to Democrat Cecil Green in a southeast Los Angeles County-northwest Orange County district. In the runoff election on Tuesday, Green won handily.

Easy GOP Win Expected

Heading into the primary, Republicans and even some Democrats expected an easy GOP win. When Grisham failed to win, some Senate Republicans blamed Nielsen and Seymour and moved to strip them of their leadership posts.

One day after the primary, Seymour said he would step down after Tuesday’s runoff. Nielsen, however, stood his ground, insisting that he had the necessary eight votes in the 15-member GOP caucus to keep his job.

But on Thursday, Maddy, a boyish-faced attorney and avid tennis player, and Nielsen, 42, a former farmer with a penchant for Western wear, emerged from the private meeting of Republicans to announce that Nielsen had abandoned his fight. On Nielsen’s motion, Maddy was elected unanimously.

Appearing tired and strained, Nielsen told reporters that “obviously” he didn’t have the votes to keep his post but added, “I have no regrets whatsoever.”

Maddy, insisting that Republicans were united behind him and Doolittle, conceded that “we are coming off a day, Tuesday, that was not the best for us. (But) we are going to come back stronger than ever.”

Critically Important

The special election was critically important to both Democrats and Republicans because the party in power in the early 1990s will write new legislative and congressional district lines. Historically, the ruling party draws lines that will benefit it for the next decade.

Gov. George Deukmejian campaigned hard for Grisham and testily told reporters Thursday: “They won and we lost. What else do you want to know?”

The new Senate lineup keeps the Democrats firmly in control with 24 members. Republicans total 15 and there is one independent.

Doolittle, 36, is known as a “political street fighter” and an ultraconservative. To the astonishment of Democrats, he defeated venerable Sen. Albert S. Rodda (D-Sacramento) in his first campaign in 1980.

In 1984, he defeated Sen. Ray Johnson (Ind.-Chico) in a bitterly fought contest that ultimately cost him a $3,000 fine for playing a political dirty trick. The Fair Political Practices Commission levied the fine on grounds that Doolittle failed to disclose that he financed a last-minute mailer on behalf of the little-known Democratic candidate in an effort to siphon away votes from Johnson, his chief opponent.

May Divide Duties

Traditionally, the Republican caucus chairman has the duty of raising money for Republican Senate candidates and overseeing election and campaign strategy. Maddy indicated that those duties may be divided between himself and Doolittle.

Maddy was caucus chairman when he was ousted in July of 1983, along with GOP floor leader William Campbell of Hacienda Heights, by a faction of conservative Republicans led by Sen. H. L. Richardson of Glendora. Campbell and Maddy are considered moderates.

At the time, some Republicans grumbled that Campbell and Maddy refused to share power with other GOP senators, excluded them from decision-making and failed to communicate with them.

The rupture between the conservatives and moderates remained deep until a few months ago, sources said, when talk began circulating that for the Republicans to be effective as a bloc they must unite. Thus a coalition was fashioned with the moderate Maddy as the floor leader and the conservative Doolittle as caucus chairman.

Seeds for Revolt

Although the seeds for a revolt took root in the special election primary, Maddy told The Times that other grievances also played a part. “I think members of the caucus felt left out,” Maddy said.

“The Nielsen-Seymour situation was much the same as Campbell and myself 3 1/2 years ago,” he said. “We were perceived as not being strong enough, not being able to deal with the governor’s office or the Democrats and that we kept things too close to ourselves.”

To be more effective and to win elections, Maddy said it was generally agreed among senators that “you have to form a coalition. . . . We can’t stay split all the time.”