Government Must Renew Credibility, Wilson Declares : Inauguration: The new governor signals he will try to cut ‘remedial’ social programs in favor of ‘prevention.’

Pete Wilson was sworn in as California’s 36th governor Monday and immediately challenged the Legislature to help him restore “credibility” to state government and end the “gridlock” in decision-making that has spurred “ballot-box budgeting by initiative.”

The new Republican chief executive also signaled that he will attempt to cut traditional “remedial” programs in health, education and welfare and instead spend substantially more for prevention of society’s ailments, such as drug abuse.

But while Wilson, in his inaugural address, called it a day for both symbolism and substance, he offered no specifics of what he has in mind. Those details will be spelled out in a State of the State speech to the Legislature on Wednesday and in his first budget proposal on Thursday.

Monday was a day for offering an olive branch to the Democratic-controlled Legislature, sketching his vision for California’s future and formally celebrating his narrow election victory over former San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein.

Rain--the first substantial downpour in weeks here--forced inauguration planners to move the swearing-in ceremony from the west steps of the Capitol to the cozy Capitol rotunda. There, jampacked around a huge 19th-Century statue of Queen Isabella and Christopher Columbus, perhaps 200 invited guests--elected state officials, legislative leaders, state Cabinet members, political supporters and Wilson’s wife, Gayle--watched Wilson repeat the oath administered by California Chief Justice Malcolm Lucas.

Outgoing Gov. George Deukmejian was the first to applaud when power was transferred. White House Chief of Staff John H. Sununu read a congratulatory message from President Bush. Upstairs on the balcony, leaning over the circular mahogany rail and wearing a trench coat, former Gov. Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown Jr. watched in curiosity. “An uplifting tone,” Brown said of Wilson’s speech before scurrying off to attend a luncheon for his sister, Kathleen Brown, who had just been sworn in as state treasurer.

Symbolic of the television era, the rotunda ceremony was held solely because the Capitol was the only place where TV cameras could feed the inauguration live by satellite to stations around the state. Afterward, the ceremony was repeated for 5,000 other invited guests in the Sacramento Convention Center three blocks away. “Live instant replay,” Sununu called it.

Of the twin inaugural ceremonies, the more serious was at the Capitol and the more lively in the Convention Center. There, two groups of demonstrators--advocating homosexual rights and health care--interrupted the new governor’s speech and were peacefully escorted outside by police.

Wilson is the first elected California governor in 60 years to replace a governor of the same party. Now 57, he began his political career by serving five years in the state Assembly--when Ronald Reagan was governor--then was mayor of San Diego for 11 years before going to the U.S. Senate for eight. His handpicked successor in the U.S. Senate, state Sen. John Seymour (R-Anaheim), will be sworn in on Thursday in Washington.

An aide said Wilson was up until 3 a.m. Monday polishing his inaugural address, which ran about 20 minutes. He filled it with upbeat optimism, avoiding the doom and gloom that will be inevitable when his first budget is unveiled Thursday. State government is facing a deficit estimated at $1 billion during the current fiscal year and another $6 billion-plus in red ink for the fiscal year beginning next July 1.

“Neither drought nor freeze will stop us,” Wilson vowed. “Not war, not recession.”

Wilson’s tone toward the Legislature was conciliatory, an obvious attempt to heal wounds created by his endorsement of Proposition 140, which imposed term limits and deep cuts on the lawmakers’ operating budgets.

“If we do the people’s business and make state government work,” he said, “we will find there is ample credit to share. . . . I am eager to embrace old friends and new ideas.”

But he also lectured a bit about state government’s recent ineffectiveness and public image. “The process of government needs structural renovation,” he said. “For state government to function at all, it must be credible. . . . If we are not to destroy the credibility of state government, we must restore it. (Citizens) are worried and they want change.

“(They) want drug dealers gone from (their) kids’ schools and parks . . . education designed for the age of computer chips, not Mr. Chips . . . an economy that will offer the dignity of providing for families and doing something useful each day . . . affordable car insurance and health care . . . to secure the spirituality of Big Sur . . . safeguard cathedrals of redwoods . . . and an end of government in gridlock and to the annual trench warfare that passes for a budget process.”

“The change California needs,” he continued, “ought not to be imposed by federal mandate or judge’s orders or ballot-box budgeting by initiative. To make that change is our job--the job of elected officials.”

Wilson said Sacramento “needs a new vision of government, a vision based on the old adage that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

That sounded innocuous enough, but the policy as envisioned by Wilson is certain to become controversial because it means cuts in many programs especially popular with liberals.

“No longer can we be satisfied with reactive and remedial efforts,” the new governor said. “Even in this time of unprecedented fiscal constraint, we must find a way to at least begin to move to a mode of anticipation and prevention. . . . With revenues declining, how can new programs be undertaken when existing programs seem inescapably threatened by the budget crisis? Now, more than ever, to lead is to choose. . . .

“Prevention is far better than any cure. Even those with vested interest in the status quo will not dispute this. They will simply ask: ‘But surely, you don’t propose new preventive programs at the expense of established remedial programs?’ That is exactly what we must propose.”

Wilson received loud applause from Republicans with that line signaling he intends to cut established social programs.

“How much better to provide prenatal care to assure 50 or 60 healthy new newborns than to pay for neonatal care for only one unhealthy baby,” he added, in his only brush with specifics.

“How much better to teach a child to value himself above a quick high than to pay for costly and uncertain drug therapy. How much better to prevent pregnant women from using drugs than to suffer an epidemic of drug babies. How much better to prevent learning disorders than to engage in compensatory education. How much better to prevent dropouts than to counsel teen mothers or chase down drug gang members. How much better to prevent crime than to punish it.”

“Together,” he said, “let us bring preventive government, wise enough to invest in children as well as infrastructure, determined to shift from . . . income maintenance to enrichment of individual potential, so that we may set the human spirit soaring and never be content with warehousing its failure.”

Subtle buzzwords seemed to imply cutting back on welfare, education and health programs. And a Wilson senior adviser confirmed this interpretation was correct.

Democratic legislative leaders, however, were in a mood to praise rather than criticize.

“Well, you know, you’re always optimistic,” said Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco). “Most anything would be better (than Deukmejian). It was a very upbeat speech.”

Brown chose to assume that Wilson had in mind reducing the prison population in order to pay for his “prevention” programs. Actually, Wilson has talked about toughening sentences for violent criminals and drug lords. “If you cut 10,000 persons currently in prison, you save yourself $2.5 billion,” Brown said.

“Obviously, he could get the money from new taxes. But I’m not about to say that.” Neither was Wilson about to.

Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles) adopted a more wait-and-see attitude. “It was a fine presentation of goals,” the Senate leader said. “Any Democrat can endorse his idea of prevention. Of course, just having prevention programs isn’t going to be enough. . . .

“It remains to be seen how Gov. Wilson is going to deal with the enormous problems confronting the state. We’re ready to meet him half way.”

Times staff writers Jerry Gillam and Carl Ingram contributed to this story.