Legislators’ Shabby Display

The Orange County Republican delegation to the state Assembly, a delegation that did little to distinguish itself this legislative year, did manage to give constituents something to remember it by in the closing days of the session. Unfortunately, the memory it left behind is one of inconsistent ideology, partisan pressure tactics against the business community and political games that put party goals ahead of the community’s critical highway construction needs.

In all, it was a shabby display of representative government that even prompted the Lincoln Club, one of the most prestigious GOP groups in the county, to chastise the Assembly delegation.

The powerful volunteer organization warned legislators that it would withdraw its election support from Republican delegates who continued to oppose a bill by Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach) aimed at speeding up major highway construction projects, such as widening of the Santa Ana Freeway that is already 18 months behind schedule.

The delegation claims to oppose Bergeson’s bill because it contains affirmative action goals asking Caltrans to award 15% of its contracts to minority-owned firms and 5% to women-owned businesses. Those ratios--which are goals, not requirements--were agreed to by the Deukmejian Administration in seeking the federal supercollider research project, so they are not necessarily inconsistent with Republican policy.

But the GOP delegation also indicated it would try to kill Bergeson’s bill to get even with the business community in general and with the Irvine Co. in particular for supporting the measure and to teach them a lesson for contributing to Democrats.

That tactic is reprehensible. It’s an anti-business tactic that seeks to rob donors of their freedom of choice and goes against the free enterprise principles that Republican lawmakers profess to support. And pressuring builders by threatening to kill legislation they support if political funds go to the opposition only feeds the public suspicion that contributions do, indeed, buy votes.

The GOP caucus is trying to gain control of the Legislature and naturally hates to see money going to Democrats. But the political reality is that Democrats now have a majority and business firms must deal with that.

It’s also a political reality that, unlike the county Assembly delegation, most business firms recognize that many bills involve truly bipartisan issues, such as Bergeson’s SB 516 to allow Caltrans to speed up highway projects by contracting with private firms for design and engineering work. The business community will usually support legislators, regardless of their party, who try to solve problems. That’s the way it should be.

The county’s Assembly delegates could take a lesson from their Republican colleagues in the state Senate. While the Assembly group meets in caucus to quibble and complain about campaign contributors and misplaced ideology, Senators Bergeson and John Seymour have ignored petty politics and directed their energies at carrying bipartisan legislation, like bills that improve traffic conditions for all county motorists--regardless of how they register, vote or contribute campaign funds.