GOP Group Moderates Tone in Tiff on Road Bill

Several members of a prominent Orange County Republican fund-raising group are trying to cool tempers that flared when local GOP legislators opposed a bill in the final days of the 1987 legislative session that would have freed up federal highway funds for the county.

“I think it’s being discussed now by cooler heads,” said John Cronin, a member of the Lincoln Club, which contributes to political candidates within the county as well as statewide.

The club had lobbied strongly for a bill by Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach) that could have meant as much as $338 million in highway construction funds statewide, with a portion designated for Orange County. But the bill fell victim to hardball partisan politics in the chaotic closing days of the session, which ended Sept. 11.

Aimed at Averting Delays

The measure would have allowed the California Department of Transportation to contract with private firms for design and engineering work, thus averting project delays caused by Caltrans staff shortages that are costing the county millions of dollars in federal highway funds.

But the Democratic leadership in the Assembly added an affirmative-action amendment to the bill that the Assembly GOP caucus unanimously opposed.

Two members of the Lincoln Club, Gus Owen and Kathryn Thompson, were quoted during the fray as saying that a letter sent to legislators by the club could be construed to mean that legislators who opposed the bill should think twice before asking the business community for financial support in upcoming elections.

This caused a furor among legislators, who said they felt they were being threatened with retribution.

The local delegation stood firm in its opposition, and the bill finally was withdrawn by Bergeson before a final vote in the Senate.

Owen and Thompson this week softened their statements only slightly.

“For them to get caught up in partisan politics and ignore the needs of their constituents. . . ,” Owen said, letting his voice trail. “I don’t believe you’ve heard the last of this at all.”

“I don’t see how they could come in good conscience and ask us” for contributions, said Thompson, who added that the failure to pass the bill could fuel the county’s growing slow-growth movement.

But others in the 275-member political action group, while expressing disappointment over the fate of the bill, said no decision had been made by the club regarding future contributions to local Assembly members.

‘No Talk of Retribution’

Currently there is “no talk of retribution,” Lincoln Club President Coalson Morris said.

Local legislators defended their actions, saying they were caught in a maneuver by Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco), who, they said, wanted Bergeson’s bill killed--but wanted the Republicans to take the rap for it.

The affirmative action amendment that was tacked onto the bill would have required 15% of Caltrans’ contracts to go to minority-owned firms and 5% to companies owned by women.

“We just honestly believe it’s wrong,” Assemblyman Ross Johnson (R-Fullerton) said. “It was wrong when people of minority races were discriminated against, and it’s wrong to take the sheet off a white man and put it on a black man.”

Nevertheless, business leaders said they were deeply disappointed that the legislators could not have temporarily set aside the issue to allow the bill to be approved. They were particularly upset because the GOP caucus had agreed to identical affirmative-action goals, at the request of Republican Gov. George Deukmejian, to allow the state to bid on the federally funded Super Collider atom-smasher project.

“We just didn’t think that was the time to hold the line on that particular issue,” said county Chamber of Commerce President Lucien Truhill.

But according to one GOP source, Assembly Republicans “had their backs broken on that issue, so they were in a bad mood on affirmative action.” The day after the Super Collider bill passed, the Republicans “took the vows,” as one legislator put it. They said they would not accept affirmative action goals on any further measures.

Wanted Caucus Approval

Deukmejian let it be known he did not want the Bergeson bill to reach his desk unless approved by the GOP Assembly caucus, which has backed him up on many tough issues in the past. So, although the measure squeaked out of the Assembly on a vote of 41 Democrats to 32 Republicans (GOP Assemblywoman Doris Allen of Cypress abstained), Bergeson allowed it to die in the Senate.

While there already is talk about resurrecting the bill when the Legislature reconvenes in January, Bergeson predicted that a year has been lost in obtaining the federal money forfeited because of project delays. Even if the bill is approved soon after the next session begins, it would not go into effect until January, 1989, she said.

Another possibility is to introduce the measure as an urgency bill, which would allow it to take effect 30 days after passage. But Bergeson said she was doubtful that a two-thirds vote of both houses that would be needed for such a measure could be gathered in an election year because of heavy opposition of public employees to private contracting.

In the face of the county’s worsening traffic problems, and with the threat of a slow-growth movement that could all but stop development in the county, the local business community strongly supported the Bergeson bill.

Phone, Wire Campaign

In an unprecedented move, the Orange County Chamber of Commerce sent telegrams to all 40 state senators as well as all the members of the county’s Assembly delegation and the Assembly GOP leadership.

The Lincoln Club urged passage of the bill in letters and telephone calls.

In 1986, the club, whose members pay $1,000 annual in dues, contributed $88,500 to nine GOP candidates, including $5,000 to Assemblyman Richard E. Longshore (R-Santa Ana) and $50,000 to Deukmejian.

According to GOP theories circulating in Sacramento, Brown was under pressure by the California State Employees Assn. to defeat the Bergeson measure. He could have done that outright by withholding Democratic votes. But Republicans say he wanted to force GOP Assembly members to vote against it.

Besides infuriating the business community, this put local legislators on record against a bill that is considered vital to the county and thus provides ammunition for future Democratic campaigns in the county. Among those the Democrats have long talked of targeting is Longshore.

There also were other issues.

Brown has made no secret of his impatience this year with certain GOP Assembly members, particularly some members of the Orange County delegation he regards as obstructionists who refuse to work with Democrats on needed legislation. Several members of the delegation have been lumped into a group of legislators labeled “the cavemen” and known for their ideological rigidness.

‘An Opportunity’

“This was an opportunity to show the ‘cavemen’ a lesson,” explained a Republican Party leader.

Paul Hegness, a lawyer and member of the Lincoln Club, said that while such tactics may not be fair, they must be dealt with by Republicans.

“One message being delivered loud and clear is apparently our representatives in Sacramento don’t have a real good track record of working with the majority, which is a necessary part of the political process,” Hegness said. “That has been disappointing to all of us, and this is a classic example.”

There also is some feeling within the county’s business community that the local delegation is ideological to the point of impracticality, with the often mentioned exceptions of Bergeson and Sen. John Seymour (R-Anaheim) and, to a lesser extent, Johnson.

“I think we get disappointed from time to time when we find people in Sacramento tend to find their allegiance with their leadership in their various houses, as opposed to what necessarily might be best for Orange County,” Hegness said.

The Bergeson bill is expected to be a major topic of discussion tonight when the Lincoln Club holds its second transportation forum within three months. Local legislators are expected to attend, and likely will hear a lot of complaints.

“No matter how you excuse things, it was a missed opportunity, and traffic congestion is going to intensify statewide as a result,” said Bruce Nestande of Arnel Development Co., a member of the California Transportation Commission and a former assemblyman and county supervisor. “It not only hurt Orange County, but it hurt the state of California enormously.”

“It’s not just a matter of taking 15 more minutes to get to South Coast Plaza,” Hegness said. “It’s jobs going elsewhere, companies going elsewhere.”