Another Reminder for Willie Brown

Speaker Willie Brown was attending the private graveside services of a Republican assemblyman recently when the lawmaker’s widow decided to lecture the powerful Democrat in front of the other mourners.

Referring to her late husband, Assemblyman William J. Filante of Marin County, Margaret Filante said: “Willie, Bill wanted me to tell you that he always thought of you as a brilliant politician, but that you had the talent to be more than that, and it was time for you to be a leader.”

Brown responded graciously that “you and others should keep reminding me of that.”

So following the Speaker’s request, here is another reminder, not that he needs any. He gets them regularly, especially at the start of each legislative session from his staff and closest friends.

Those who have worked with and watched Brown over the years routinely can predict his cycles. There is a definite rhythm to his calendar. At the beginning of the year, he vows to turn over a new leaf and become a statesman, a champion of sorely needed legislation. But as the year wears on, he becomes more political, more partisan, some would say even petty.

He seems a metaphor for the California Legislature itself. One can watch the Speaker annually undergo the same transformation that the Legislature has experienced over many years, shifting from an orientation toward public policy to pure politics.

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For me, Brown still is the most interesting, the most captivating person in the Capitol--his only rivals on that score being state Treasurer Kathleen Brown, who has excitement but no power, and Gov. Pete Wilson, who has power but no excitement. Mention the Speaker to his allies or to his enemies and the adjectives will flow from their tongues: brilliant, talented, skillful, perceptive, witty; also arrogant and thin-skinned.

I’ve always thought that Brown suffered from an early decision--one he is proud of--to limit his political ambition to the Legislature. He no doubt figured, probably correctly, that a flamboyant black liberal from San Francisco who once was a lawyer for pimps never could get elected governor or U.S. senator.

So he concentrated, in his words, on being “Speaker for Life.” That meant pleasing his Assembly colleagues even if it risked displeasing California’s voters.

It meant raising many millions of dollars from cozy special interests to assure the reelection of Democrats and the votes to keep him in power. It meant being inordinately partisan in the protection of Democrats and their causes. It meant allowing himself the flexibility to work deals for his law firm that might have been questioned by the state’s voters but not by fellow lawmakers.

And it meant standing aside and permitting his Assembly colleagues to sponsor major legislation and seek glory, rather than himself. They didn’t pack the political wallop he did and often couldn’t get the job done. But this kept them happy and him Speaker. He was the traffic cop, not the leader of the parade, as past Speakers had been in striving for higher office.

Brown has authored and pushed through significant bills, such as those requiring the wearing of seat belts and setting stricter academic standards for student athletes. And, in his defense, he has had to deal for the past decade with an often-hostile governor of the opposite party. But except for the state budget--where his expertise is unexcelled and his interest is high--he has had a short attention span on most complex issues of public policy.

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Brown’s compulsive goal was to be Speaker longer than anyone ever had been, longer than his first mentor, the legendary Jesse (Big Daddy) Unruh. Brown achieved that milestone nearly five years ago. And now, beginning his 13th year in the influential office, this personal triumph--as arduous as it was to achieve--seems a bit hollow.

To most Californians, Brown symbolizes a Legislature rife with gridlock and corruption. Disgusted voters in 1990 ended his “Speaker for Life” fantasy by imposing term limits on all legislators.

Now at age 58, his eyesight failing and only two more terms possible, Brown’s time is running out to change his image and his legacy. He is fully aware of that, intimates say, and again is vowing to refocus on public policy and try to make Sacramento work.

That is why he is sponsoring an ambitious economic summit--modeled after President-elect Bill Clinton’s--in Los Angeles on Feb. 15-16. From that meeting will spring several bills aimed at turning around California’s economy.

Brown will have ample opportunity this year to follow Margaret Filante’s admonition to be a leader.