Cut the Quarreling

Willie Brown has been reelected Speaker of the California Assembly. Now let him be the Speaker.

Republicans under their quarrelsome new leader, Ross Johnson of La Habra, and dissident Democrats known as the Gang of Five have tried every fair means, and some slightly foul, to unseat Brown and have failed. Now is the time to end this spiteful guerrilla warfare that has gripped the Assembly for the past year. The election is over. The Legislature has too many critical unsolved problems before it to be wasting time on protracted power struggles.

Johnston et al. have demanded reform of the legislative process, and Brown has promised reform. But Brown’s foes should not expect a full sharing of power. There is no virtue in a weak Speakership. One of the major problems in California today is a lack of leadership and a diffusion of powers. Minority rights and views are clearly defined in existing legislative rules, but they cannot be allowed to paralyze government.

As Brown acknowledged, he has erred strategically in his use of the Speakership by delegating policy leadership to his committee chairmen and concentrating himself on political matters and administration of the Assembly. This has given Brown the image of a political operator who is long on intrigue and deal-cutting but short on substance and problem-solving. The Speaker says that now he will assume policy leadership and direct a broad effort on issues like election-campaign reform, state finance, transportation and growth management.

Brown is fully capable of doing so. He should be given an opportunity to deliver. Any success will be no easy matter, even with the support of a majority of the Assembly and the cooperation of the state Senate. The Senate will continue under the adroit leadership of President pro tem David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles), who was reelected on Monday without opposition.

The major missing leg in the leadership triad has been the governor’s office. There are encouraging signs that Republican Gov. George Deukmejian will take a more active role during the coming legislative session in dealing with problems like the new budget squeeze caused by Proposition 98’s mandatory allocation of more state aid to education.

An effective legislative leadership working with an engaged governor can get California moving again at a critical point in the state’s development. Those who undermine such efforts put California’s future in jeopardy.