Bane Decides Not to Seek Reelection to Assembly : Politics: The Valley legislator will end his long career as a lawmaker and says he may join his wife in campaign consulting.

In a surprise decision, veteran Democratic state Assemblyman Tom Bane, a fixture in San Fernando Valley politics for more than 30 years, announced Friday that he would not be a candidate for reelection.

Saying that he just did not “want to run anymore,” Bane, 78, said there is a “strong possibility” that he will enter the campaign consulting business with his wife, Marlene, who has been a strong campaign fund-raiser for her husband and Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco).

“My wife’s worked for me for a long period of time,” Bane said in an interview. “Now, it’s my turn to work for her.”

Bane’s wife has frequently figured in political controversies, the most recent when it was revealed this week that she is an unpaid adviser to a Republican candidate in a Valley state Senate race against a prominent and powerful Democratic legislator.

Bane’s decision immediately prompted first-term Assemblywoman Barbara Friedman (D-Los Angeles) to announce that she intends to seek her party’s nomination in the June 2 primary contest for Bane’s seat representing the strongly Democratic 40th District, which covers Van Nuys and parts of North Hollywood, Reseda and Encino.

Friedman, a graduate of Van Nuys High School, has been searching for a new political home since her current Griffith Park-area district was carved up in the recent redrawing of legislative lines. She had been expected to challenge Assemblyman Pat Nolan (R-Glendale) in a new GOP-leaning district that includes Burbank.

Because of Bane’s retirement, the deadline for filing for his seat will be extended from Friday until next Wednesday.

Bane, chairman of the powerful Assembly Rules Committee, said he had wanted to retire from politics two years ago but “got pressure” to run for reelection, partly until the legislative battle over redrawing district lines was resolved. Bane said that this year he did not discuss his decision, to avoid attempts by colleagues to change his mind.

“This time,” he said, “I didn’t notify anyone I wasn’t going to run.”

Bane said he has a breakfast scheduled for today with Speaker Brown to discuss his action. As chairman of the Rules Committee, which assigns bills to policy committees, and a champion fund-raiser, Bane has been a member of Brown’s inner circle for much of the past decade.

Bane said that his decision was not triggered by voter approval last year of Proposition 140 term limits. Nor was it prompted by any problems with his health, Bane said.

But he said that he was influenced by his wife’s decision to become a political consultant. “That meant she wouldn’t be going with me to Sacramento, and I don’t want to be away from her,” Bane said.

It was not immediately clear what Bane intended to do with his campaign war chest, which as of last March totaled about $318,000.

He said he did not anticipate endorsing Friedman or anyone else in the race for his seat.

Among those who have filed to run for the seat are Democrat Jim Aldrich; Green Party member Glenn Bailey, a community issues specialist; Libertarian John Vernon, a businessman; and Peace and Freedom candidate Jean K. Glasser, a teacher.

Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar) said that Bane had not told him about his plans to retire. Katz praised his colleague for having done “an incredible job of constituent services and that’s going to be hard for any successor to match.”

Katz cited the political skill of Bane and his wife as one of the reasons the Democrats have maintained their majority in the Assembly.

“They have raised money for the caucus, they ran campaigns for the caucus. They have tremendous skills that have been used to elect Democrats and we’re going to miss those skills,” Katz said.

But earlier this week, Marlene Bane’s ties to the party came into question when it was reported that she helped persuade a friend, Republican Carol Rowen, to run in a special state Senate election on April 7 against Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles).

It was also reported that Marlene Bane has become an unpaid Rowen adviser after unsuccessfully seeking to become Roberti’s campaign manager.

At the same time, Tom Bane said he would not endorse Roberti for the seat.

Both his decision not to support Roberti and his decision to retire were made in a low key, almost off-handed way--a sharp contrast to Bane’s often high-profile career.

Bane initially served in the Assembly for six years, starting in 1958. After a respite, which included a stint as an executive of a savings and loan association, Bane returned to Sacramento in 1974 and has coasted to reelection ever since.

Utilizing his ties to the thrift industry, Bane was usually ranked among the Assembly’s top fund-raisers. In 1990, a survey by two public interest groups found that Bane, a longtime champion of the savings and loan industry, had received $513,000 in contributions from thrifts--more than any other state legislator in the 1980s.

At the time, the public advocacy group Common Cause blamed bills by Bane for fueling “the radical deregulation” of the savings and loan industry and heightening the thrift crisis in California.

But Bane maintained that there was no connection between the funds and his efforts on behalf of the savings and loan industry.

One Democratic political consultant familiar with Valley politics said Bane’s departure will not mean much for the area because Bane “was never a champion of Valley issues.” But the source, who asked not to be identified, said Bane would be missed by the savings and loan industry because of his efforts on their behalf.

“He’s had such enormous influence, such a position of power, and there’s been so little return for his district. He’s been a bench-warmer, even if it’s on the leadership bench,” the consultant said.

Bane has dismissed such criticism and on Friday he maintained that his goal as a legislator has always been to fight injustice.

The lawmaker, not normally given to public emotion, acknowledged that he felt “a little sad” because he would miss the Legislature.

“I think I’ve been a lucky person for having worked for the people of my district,” Bane said.

Times staff writer Jack Cheevers in Chatsworth contributed to this story.