Brown Retreats as Partisan Ploy Fizzles : Assembly: Speaker’s move against a rookie Republican facing reelection backfires as GOP refuses to support bills dear to Democrats.

All rookie Assemblyman Jeff Marston (R-San Diego) wanted was to stand up, make a short speech and watch as his legislative colleagues passed the first--and only--bill of his three-month career.

But before he knew it, the unassuming Marston found himself as the flash point in an angry political stand-off between fellow Republicans and Assembly Speaker Willie Brown that was partly responsible for dragging the 1990 session into dramatic overtime.

By the time it was over at 5:03 a.m. Saturday, rebellious Republicans held $23 million in mental health programs hostage in Marston’s name, the powerful Democratic Speaker was forced to beat a procedural retreat and the lowly San Diego Republican had become the man of the--late--hour.

“I was the trip wire, that’s pretty true,” an exhausted and bleary-eyed Marston said about the night’s events.

The drama began when Marston stood in the Assembly Friday night to propose a 20% increase in fines against motorists who park illegally in handicap zones. The extra money would be earmarked to replace $2.1 million in budget cuts made to a state referral service for the elderly and disabled.

But when the measure arrived in the lower house, Brown (D-San Francisco) was waiting with a little surprise. The Speaker had set a trap, quietly obtaining a legal opinion from the Legislature’s counsel that declared the Marston measure non-germane to a bill it had replaced on the legislative roster. When Marston tried to present the measure, Brown cut him off, pointed to the opinion and threw the bill out.

Republicans were stunned. They immediately suspected political motives, especially because the Speaker is heavily backing Marston’s Democratic challenger in November, former San Diego City Councilman Mike Gotch. Marston came to the Legislature in June after winning a special election to fill a vacancy.

“They did it for purely political reasons,” said Assembly Republican Leader Ross Johnson of La Habra. “That’s absolutely the belief.”

Three sources close to Assembly Democrats also confirmed that Brown’s handling of the Marston bill was politically inspired, an attempt to deprive the rookie legislator of any bragging rights.

The maneuver, however, was to backfire.

Within minutes, the Assembly took up an unrelated bill to restore $23 million cut from mental health programs earlier this year. Under a bipartisan agreement, the greatest share--about $6.1 million--was earmarked for Brown’s own San Francisco County.

When it came time to vote, militant Republicans simply folded their arms and stared off into the night. Without at least nine Republican votes, this and several other measures dear to the hearts of Democrats could not get the two-thirds Assembly majority needed for approval. At 12:15 a.m., one Republican pointed out that the Assembly couldn’t conduct business any longer without a two-thirds vote. Brown suddenly declared the session over and soberly walked off the podium, leaving Marston and the other lawmakers milling around the floor in tired confusion.

“He is in a box and he can’t get out,” Assemblyman Pat Nolan (R-Glendale) said of Brown shortly after the Speaker disappeared.

And there was more trouble for Brown. Also stalled were nearly $3.3 billion in bond proposals to be sent over from the Senate--proposals that also required a two-thirds vote. Behind the scenes, prominent Democrats approached Brown in his office and gently urged him to defuse the political hostilities.

Eventually, a plan began to take form: Everyone would forget the Marston bill that was ruled not germane. Instead, the language would be crammed into another bill lingering in the Senate.

By 2:20 a.m., a visibly relaxed and jovial Brown called the lower house to order and asked for a two-thirds vote to resume the deadlocked session. The Republicans delivered on a 62-3 vote and the logjam was broken.

When the Speaker asked for a reconsideration of the $23 million mental health package, it passed with a resounding 72-0 vote. Assembly members also began working on pieces of the bond package.

With minimal debate, the Senate voted 34 to 2 to pass Marston’s measure once more at 3:50 a.m. Three minutes later, the bill was whisked into the Assembly chambers and its newest member rose and finally got his chance.

“I want to thank all of my colleagues for their indulgences and respectfully request an ‘aye’ vote,” Marston said.

Brown, who had earlier quashed the measure, declared it passed by a 77-0 roll call.

After Brown finally gaveled the 1990 session to a close at 5:03 a.m., he maintained his initial ruling on the Marston bill was correct. According to the rules, it had been non-germane, he maintained, and “you have to absolutely respect the rules.”