Governor Should Not ‘Rattle Sabers’ by Threatening Initiative Fight, Roberti Says

Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti warned Friday that threats by Gov. Pete Wilson to sponsor ballot initiatives on welfare and workers’ compensation reform jeopardize the fragile new cease-fire between the Republican governor and the Democratic-dominated Legislature.

“I don’t think now is the time for the governor to rattle sabers on initiatives,” said the Van Nuys Democrat, adding that a Wilson-sponsored workers’ compensation ballot plan would meet certain defeat at the hands of those who profit from the costly system.

“His strongest point (in favor of reform) is that there are a lot of us in the Legislature who agree that the system has to be reformed,” Roberti said. He said the governor’s “best ammunition” is to work with legislators “who are sympathetic to some of his goals, if not all of them.”

Last week, Wilson issued a strong appeal to the Legislature to eliminate partisan gridlock and work with him in forging a united front to create jobs and help restore prosperity to the crippled California economy. For their part, Democrats welcomed the conciliatory gesture and promised a new spirit of cooperation.

But on Monday in Sacramento, Wilson warned that he is prepared to take his plan to further cut welfare back to the ballot if the Legislature turns it down, as expected. His welfare plan was defeated by voters Nov. 3.

On Wednesday, Wilson said he also would lead a campaign to put a reform of workers’ compensation insurance on the ballot if the Legislature fails to make progress by summer to overhaul the deeply troubled $12-billion program.

Roberti told reporters Friday that he had believed Wilson would work cooperatively with the Democratic majority “until he started rattling the sabers again.” Roberti said he intends to personally remind Wilson of the need for cooperation.

The Senate leader forecast that opponents of reforming the workers’ compensation program “will love to hear the thought of an initiative fight” with Wilson because they could portray his efforts in emotional 30-second television spots as an attack against injured workers.

Roberti said opponents of reform would feature “workers who have electrical burns over half their bodies and people who are in wheelchairs.” He said the same strategy got the governor into trouble when voters sent Wilson’s welfare initiative down to an embarrassing defeat.