L.A.’s Sacramento Delegation Wakes Up to Our Woes

It’s finally dawned on the Los Angeles legislative delegation that their city is in trouble.

Tuesday, leaders of the overwhelmingly Democratic group told their patron, Democratic Assembly Speaker Willie Brown, that they could not vote for the latest budget compromise being considered by members of the Brown team. That’s because it would eliminate about $300 million a year in state aid to Los Angeles, an amount city officials say would mean cuts in the Police Department and other vital city services.

When I was up here two weeks ago, the troubles of L.A. seemed as far away as the shelling in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Proposals that would gut the treasuries of L.A. and other big cities were floating through the air and our lawmakers were doing nothing to shoot them down. But finally a barrage of nagging from the Southland has reminded our representatives of the grubby city they left behind.

A key nag was Zev Yaroslavsky, who, as chairman of the City Council’s finance committee, understands the city’s precarious financial situation.

Seeing the danger, he began hammering its representatives in the Legislature.

Mayor Tom Bradley spoke up for the city in a meeting with the Speaker last week. City Controller Rick Tuttle roamed Capitol halls, lobbying L.A. lawmakers. Assemblymen Richard Katz, (D-Sepulveda) and Terry Friedman (D-Los Angeles) picked up the fight. In a closed meeting with Democratic leaders in his office Monday, Friedman strongly attacked eliminating state aid to L.A. when the city is trying to recover from the riot.

Then later in the day, Katz, a strong Brown ally, informed the Speaker that the L.A. delegation would vote against the proposal.

Is Brown paying attention? He’ll have to. He needs L.A. votes for his ultimate budget showdown on the Assembly floor with his fierce rival, Republican Gov. Pete Wilson.

Whether or not Willie realizes it, he is at war with Zev.

From the beginning, Yaroslavsky has felt L.A.’s enemy was Brown, who has emerged in the current budget battle as a strong opponent of continuing aid to cities.

In personal style, the two men couldn’t be more different.

Brown loves fast, new cars and elegant, expensive clothes. He dines on fine food and just the right wine. Yaroslavsky’s city sedan is an unwashed clutter of old newspapers, tapes and running gear. His conservative clothes come off a mid-priced rack. He doesn’t drink alcohol and loads down his plate at Vickman’s Restaurant and Bakery in the produce district.

While Willie is being fitted for a suit in a posh shop on San Francisco’s Union Square, Zev is on Fairfax Avenue, picking up a few things at the bakery on his way home.

What Brown and Yaroslavsky have in common is the ability to build effective political alliances.

Brown’s alliances are complex--and fragile. He has clung to his speakership through repeated attacks by building a coalition of urban, suburban and rural Democrats in the Assembly.

Many Brown coalition members have little in common. But the Speaker has held them together by distributing campaign contributions and legislative power, as well as by using his personal charm.

Yaroslavsky’s clout comes from the natural alliances of heavily Democratic, strongly Jewish neighborhoods on the Westside and in parts of the San Fernando Valley.

This is the land of the Berman-Waxman political organization, named for founders Reps. Howard Berman and Henry Waxman.

While not a Berman-Waxman regular, Yaroslavsky works with them. In particular, he has been lobbying team member Friedman on the budget issue.

Tuesday, Friedman offered a proposal to save L.A.’s aid by tapping funds set aside for redevelopment and speeding up some tax collections. At Katz’ urging, Speaker Brown met with Los Angeles’ delegation to discuss Friedman’s plan.

Self-interest was important in the process.

Katz intends to run for mayor next year, a strong motivation for him to save L.A.’s money. Yaroslavsky also may be a candidate. He’s been trying to portray Katz as more loyal to Willie Brown than to L.A. By jumping into the fight for city funds, Katz is protecting himself from the Yaroslavsky attack.

Brown has political worries too. If the Los Angeles delegation refuses to support the Speaker in the budget fight his fragile political alliance would begin to unravel.

As L.A. officials are demonstrating, the threat of defeat makes the perfect political wake-up call.