Ross Johnson: GOP’s Answer to Willie Brown

Countless visitors to the state Assembly chambers over the last 10 years have seen Assemblyman Ross Johnson in action:

In the noisy atmosphere that resembles a children’s playground, the heavyset Republican lawmaker stands up on the Assembly floor and takes his microphone. His voice rises with the passion of his remarks and his colleagues stop chatting among themselves to listen.

His hands tremble and his face clouds with anger as he delivers a stinging speech, skewering his Democratic opponent of the moment and rallying his fellow Republicans.

He is the Legislature’s angry young man, turned middle-aged.

Now, the La Habra Republican will take on a role of even greater prominence. Last week, he was chosen by his Assembly GOP colleagues to become the leader of their minority caucus. He replaces Assemblyman Pat Nolan of Glendale, who resigned as GOP leader after two Republicans were defeated in last week’s election. Nolan also is the target of an FBI sting investigation into political corruption in the state Capitol.

Johnson will be the Republicans’ answer to Democratic Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco). His primary goal will be to wrest control of the Assembly away from the Democrats by 1990.

“Let me guarantee you that you’re in for some fireworks from time to time,” said Republican Assemblyman Stan Statham of Oak Run.

A conservative legislator who proudly typifies his Orange County constituency, Johnson is one of a group of Assembly Republicans once commonly known as the “cave men” for their right-wing views. Some of his critics singled him out in particular and branded him a “Neanderthal.”

Johnson resents such labels, saying they are shallow caricatures that make it easy for his opponents to disregard him.

Indeed, the 49-year-old legislator is a complex man who not only knows the power of confrontation but possesses the skill of conciliation.

Although best known for his fiery speeches and quick temper, Johnson can be pleasant and engaging in private.

A one-time ironworker and union member, Johnson is intelligent, articulate and quick-witted. Recently elected to his sixth term in the Assembly, his arguments are well thought out and he has a lively, if biting, sense of humor.

In fact, Johnson says he is “genuinely mystified” when people comment on how angry he seems on the Assembly floor. When a reporter for a San Francisco paper described him as “one of the most combative members of the human race,” Johnson said: “I brooded about that all day long.”

“What I intend only as emphasis, or a spirited advocacy, is frequently interpreted by others as anger,” he explained. “That’s something I have to be conscious of.”

Despite his avid partisanship, Johnson styles himself as a legislative “reformer.” He was the principal sponsor of Proposition 73, which will limit the size of campaign contributions and ban the transfer of political funds among candidates starting next year.

As GOP leader, Johnson will face the challenge of helping his fellow Republicans raise money for their elections under the new limits of Proposition 73. While the restrictions will make his fund raising tougher, the new rules are likely to hurt Democrats more because they have relied heavily on the Speaker to raise money and dole it out.

New Ballot Measure

Johnson is already planning a new ballot measure aimed at further curtailing the authority of the Speaker by limiting his ability to spend legislative funds. It also would prohibit legislative employees from working in campaigns.

Johnson defines “good government” as winning a Republican majority in the Assembly and he has done his best to undermine the power of the Speaker and the Democratic majority. Nevertheless, he hopes to build a cooperative relationship with the Republicans’ nemesis: Willie Brown.

“I would hope that we could have a positive working relationship--one where we can agree where that’s possible, disagree where that’s necessary but conduct ourselves in a responsible professional way,” the new GOP leader said.

While he is as staunch a Republican as any in the Assembly, Johnson wins praise from Democrats for his integrity and his ability to compromise.

‘Highest Regard’

“I have the highest regard for him,” said Assemblyman Patrick Johnston (D-Stockton). “I think he will be a tough adversary politically but fair-minded and concerned more about policy than politics.”

As chairman of the Assembly Finance and Insurance Committee, Johnston has had the chance to get to know Johnson, who served as vice chairman of the committee.

“I think there is a public persona and a private persona,” the Democratic lawmaker observed. “On the floor of the Assembly, you will see a partisan, aggressive leader with a clearly conservative philosophy. In the day-to-day work of the Legislature, which is a lot of meetings and hearings and negotiations, you will find a thoughtful, flexible, low-key legislator whose word is absolutely reliable.”

Despite his public attacks on Democrats, Johnson developed a friendship with the late Jesse M. Unruh, the legendary Democratic Assembly Speaker of the 1960s and a four-term state treasurer. Great fans of country music, the two often ran into each other at Sacramento watering holes and ended up singing together--or attempting to sing together--late into the night.

Born in Drake, N.D., Johnson spent most of his life in Orange County before winning election to the Assembly in 1978.

The son of a Democratic union member, Johnson began working in construction while in high school. He continued as an ironworker while attending Cal State Fullerton, graduating after eight years of alternating semesters between work and the classroom.

After a two-year stint in the Navy, he worked in various political campaigns and as an aide to several politicians, including U.S. Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Highland).

Married with two daughters who are now teen-agers, Johnson earned a law degree from Western State University in 1977. However, he never practiced law because he immediately began running for his Assembly seat.

Johnson first tried to win the post of Assembly Republican leader in 1982 but lost out to Assemblyman Robert Naylor, now chairman of the California Republican Party.

Initiative Process

Left out of the GOP leadership and frustrated by the Democratic Party’s dominance of the Assembly, Johnson turned to the initiative process to implement his ideas.

In 1984, he sponsored both Proposition 40, a measure to limit campaign contributions, and Proposition 41, an initiative to drastically curb spending on Medi-Cal and welfare programs. Both were overwhelmingly defeated.

But Johnson came back this year with his successful Proposition 73, which limits campaign donations to annual amounts of $1,000 from individuals and up to $5,000 from political committees.

Despite his advocacy of campaign restrictions, Johnson has been a successful political fund-raiser, collecting nearly $700,000 in campaign donations during the last four years.

“I don’t make any apology for playing the game by the rules as they exist,” he said. “If you go back over the years and look at my fund raising, I’ve been about as successful as any Republican around here. That doesn’t make it right.”

Shouting Match

Until his election as Republican leader, the biggest news Johnson had ever made resulted from a shouting match with former Assemblyman Lou Papan, the powerful Democratic chairman of the Rules Committee.

While Johnson has tried to live down the shouting episode, he said he will continue to respond to what he perceives as unfair behavior towards Republicans, his constituents or the public at large.

“If you want a key to what makes me tick, what makes me react, it’s fairness,” he said. “It’s unfair to dismiss my ideas when they’re ideas that are shared by millions of Californians.”