Local News in Brief : Politics : Hart Accuses Ferguson of Not Moving on Brown

Newport Beach Mayor Pro Tem Evelyn R. Hart--challenger of Assemblyman Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach) in the June 7 Republican primary--Tuesday accused Ferguson of failing to act to remove Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco) from his powerful post.

Hart said Ferguson and other Assembly Republicans should use the so-called “Gang of Five” dissident Assembly Democrats to bump off the Speaker, long a thorn in the side of GOP assemblymen. The dissidents Monday joined with Republicans to form a 41-30 majority to extract a bill from committee for the first time in 28 years over the objections of the Assembly’s leadership. The bill would expand the use of the death penalty for child murders. The move was a serious blow to the Speaker’s power.

“We at last have the power to dump Willie,” Hart said at a news conference. “Gil Ferguson has got to realize he cannot have it both ways. Is he going to be a friend to Orange County or a friend to Willie Brown?”

Ferguson, interviewed by phone from his Sacramento office, said, “There’s no one who wants to rid the Assembly of Willie Brown more than I do.” But, he said, Assembly Republicans must have the votes before they move on Brown.

“To go after Willie Brown is like going after a rhinoceros in a big-game hunt,” Ferguson said. “You’ve got to have your rifle loaded and you’ve got to get this big thing with one shot. Because that’s all you’re going to get.

“If you miss him he’s going to gore you and trample you to death.”