Rebel ‘Gang’ Gives Capitol Taste of Legislative Anarchy

The guerrilla warfare being waged by the Democratic rebel “Gang of Five” in its power struggle with Assembly Speaker Willie Brown has created confusion and concern in the Legislature’s other house and among Capitol lobbyists.

Key senators of both parties say they fear that a tidal wave of legislation will be sent to their house from the Assembly as the result of political gamesmanship, rather than reasoned consideration.

Lobbyists, who share the Senate’s long-held passion for order and stability, say they are worried that the Assembly’s uncertainty about who is in charge will jeopardize bills their clients want passed or killed.

Additionally, with the June 7 primary election only weeks away, lobbyists admit to a major case of ulcer-inducing indecision over who should receive their clients’ campaign contributions and who should not.

“It’s a tough situation,” said one influential lobbyist, who asked not to be identified. “The gang members still have a vote and you still have to deal with the Speaker, too. We don’t know what we are going to do.”

Another lobbyist put it this way: “I think some of the private interests who contribute lots of bucks and signed blank checks to that guy (Brown), knowing he could keep his commitment, are maybe beginning to say to themselves, ‘Are you sure he can keep it?’ ”

Brown (D-San Francisco), in his toughest battle yet for survival as Speaker, earlier warned lobbyists against contributing money to Gang of Five campaigns.

The five moderate to conservative Democrats are Rusty Areias of Los Banos, Charles M. Calderon of Alhambra, Gary A. Condit of Ceres, Gerald R. Eaves of Rialto and Steve Peace of Chula Vista.

At a recent $500-per-ticket fund-raising reception for Condit, two capital lobbyists jokingly wore paper sacks over their heads to conceal their identities.

The self-styled gang members--who insist they merely want the Assembly to pursue a more moderate course favorable to passage of legislation they believe the public wants--have tied the lower chamber in knots since January. On key occasions, Brown has been rendered powerless to keep in line the majority of 41 votes he needs to control operations of the house.

Joining with the 36 minority Republicans, the five rebels have succeeded in passing previously bottled up legislation to require convicted prostitutes and their customers to be tested for the AIDS virus; prohibit the sale of pornography from vending machines in areas frequented by children; impose the death penalty on killers of children 14 and younger and enable law enforcement authorities to tap the telephones of suspected illegal drug dealers.

Shortly after Brown set a longevity record as Speaker--seven years, three months and seven days--the dissident Democrats joined with Republicans to hand him a direct personal defeat by scuttling his plan to create a new committee on overhauling tort laws.

Brown Off Balance

Employing guerrilla tactics by carefully selecting politically advantageous targets on emotional issues, the so-called gang has kept Brown off balance by threatening to withdraw bills from committee and by amending bills on the floor--both clear challenges to his leadership.

In retaliation, Brown has stripped the gang members of their important committee assignments and banished them to undesirable cramped offices in the Capitol.

In short, the gang and its Republican allies potentially have the 41 votes needed to remove Brown as Speaker, if they can ever settle on a replacement. As a result, Brown is the captain of a ship he cannot steer.

Consequently, members of the Assembly are distracted from other issues by their preoccupation with the power struggle. Hearings on major bills are postponed because of uncertainty over what new faces will appear on committees as Brown shuffles his lineup of players to replace fired gang members. This further slows down operations of the Legislature.

Ready for Eruptions

“Every floor session day, something can erupt,” Dennis E. Carpenter, a top lobbyist and former state senator, said. “You just never know what is going to happen. The Gang of Five is going to contribute to a big logjam of bills at the end of the session.”

Norman D. Boyer, veteran lobbyist for the City of Los Angeles, also cited the slowdown and said: “The big question is, where is all this going to lead? What will happen if the speakership falls? There will be a new Speaker, new committee chairmen and new committees. That in itself could slow things down even further.”

But the special-interest antennae in Sacramento are always on the alert for any possible advantage, especially when uncertainty and confusion dominate the political landscape. Already, some lobbyists have tasted a bit of success and are drawing up wish lists for more victories.

Take Al LeBas, Gov. George Deukmejian’s liaison with law enforcement organizations. A veteran lobbyist of more than 20 years, LeBas was euphoric when the wiretap and death penalty bills suddenly got new life and received Assembly approval.

Plus for the Lawmen

“So, I look upon the Gang of Five as being a big plus for law enforcement,” LeBas said. “Law enforcement is now trying to come up with a wish list. You have to move cautiously. You can’t do it every day. You have to pick and choose your issues carefully. But we can win some as long as the Gang of Five is still alive.”

LeBas cited as potential candidates for Assembly approval measures to crack down on street gang violence and increase penalties for drug dealers.

But if some lobbyists are anxious and others are eager, state senators are becoming more and more apprehensive as bills pushed by the gang and the GOP start arriving in the Senate, and Senate bills reach the Assembly.

However, Sen. William Campbell (R-Hacienda Heights) suggests that the confusion will provide Republicans and some conservative Democrats with new opportunities to enact legislation they long have been denied.

“It represents an exciting prospect,” Campbell said. “Most of us have never dealt with anarchy before. For awhile, it is going to be fun. Then, we’ll see where it goes from there.”

‘Bite the Bullet’

But he added that if the Assembly passes huge stacks of bills that previously had been pigeon-holed in Brown-controlled committees, “the Senate is going to have to bite the bullet and take more responsibility than otherwise would be the case.”

Sen. Bill Lockyer (D-San Leandro), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, observed that when Assembly policy committees are bypassed and bills are acted upon by the full Assembly, “the dam cracks and the whole valley floods.”

“We have to be doubly careful in examining bills that come to us from a standpoint of fine-tuning them for policy. It is different when you are dealing with a political game and not a policy concern.”

In a tongue-in-cheek barb aimed at the state of confusion in the Assembly, Lockyer last week erected a poster in his committee hearing room that warned authors of bills:

“Due to circumstances beyond our control, this may be your only real policy committee hearing this year.”

The Senate committee also created what Lockyer called a “suspense file,” to which politically sensitive bills are sent for a rest stop until a degree of stability returns to the Assembly. Many are not likely to ever surface again, with the rest stop becoming a burial ground.

Another problem facing legislators is the traditional, somewhat hypocritical practice of each house passing bills that may appeal to key segments of the public, or special interests, but are measures the lawmakers really do not want to see become law. Historically, legislators in one house have passed these bills with the certain knowledge that the other house would kill them.

Now, however, some senators are expressing fear that they no longer can count on the Assembly to kill such bills. And Lockyer said the “Gang of Five” rebellion may result in many of these Senate bills receiving a peremptory burial in the upper house.