A Politician Known for Her Tenacity

It’s the sort of stuff that sends many a politician plummeting. In 1990, state Sen. Marian Bergeson of Orange County suffered a humbling defeat in the race for lieutenant governor. She then had to suffer the further indignity of seeing the Republican she beat in the primary, John Seymour, named a U.S. senator.

But the 67-year-old conservative had no time for a late-career catharsis. One year after her defeat, Bergeson strapped on a parachute and jumped out of an airplane at 9,000 feet above farm fields south of Sacramento. The plucky lawmaker landed without fuss.

Now she is once again on the political ascent. As Gov. Pete Wilson’s nominee for state superintendent of public instruction, Bergeson could become the state’s top schools chief amid historic uncertainty over the future of California’s educational system.

At an age when many people are setting in for a comfortable retirement, Bergeson is headed toward a legislative gantlet as she seeks confirmation to the $102,000-a-year superintendent’s job. She would become the first woman to hold that post.

Her closest friends and colleagues say that if anyone can survive an interrogation by Willie Brown and Co., it’s Bergeson. Don’t be deceived, they warn, by her immaculately coiffed hairdo, the designer eyeglasses or sunny skirts and dresses. Despite the tame appearance, she’s tough as a tiger.

“That lady can outlast people half her age and twice her size without ever having a hair out of place,” said John W. Nicoll, who was hired in 1971 as superintendent of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District by a board that included Bergeson. “I don’t know how she does it. She is a wonder.”

Modest and polite, Bergeson has earned a reputation among her colleagues in Sacramento as a tenacious fighter and persistent negotiator more intent on problem-solving than partisan bickering. But she’s also an expert at deflecting tough questions with a disarming smile and a calculated non sequitur.

“She listens; she gathers information; she’s very knowledgeable,” said Jack W. Peltason, president of the University of California system and former chancellor of UC Irvine. “But she also knows the political process. She’s got good judgment and good humor, but she’s not afraid to make tough decisions.”

A member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Bergeson’s manners and appearance are in part a product of her Mormon upbringing. She was raised in California and has lived with husband, Garth, for 35 years in Newport Beach, raising four children who are now adults. She has four grandchildren.

Bergeson’s roots in education go back to her years as a grade school teacher. She subsequently served on a Newport Beach school board and was president of the California School Boards Assn. Those roles served as the springboard for her election to the Assembly in 1978. She moved to the Senate in 1984.

Her tenure has been marked by many legislative successes on behalf of her Orange County constituents and a pronounced devotion to conservative positions on key issues.

The Sacramento magazine California Journal named her the top Republican senator in integrity and energy, and readers of Orange County’s Metropolitan Journal cited Bergeson as the county’s “Most Effective Politician” in 1990.

She has managed to make a mark in the Democrat-dominated Capitol despite an adherence to conservative causes. Bergeson is anti-abortion, has opposed efforts to prohibit discrimination against homosexuals and was one of the few lawmakers who has spoken out against divesting the state’s pension funds of stock in companies that do business with South Africa.

A religious woman, she has in the past stressed that religion shouldn’t be taught in the schools but should be “taught about.” She has also expressed support for the concept of allowing children a moment of silence during the school day, but she is not an advocate of prayer in the classroom.

As a trustee on the Newport-Mesa board, she resisted the efforts of pressure groups to censor texts and school curriculum. “I’ve never known Marian Bergeson to be stampeded by anything,” Nicoll said. “She is just a rare person.

There’s also a daredevil side to Bergeson. Aside from her sky-diving expedition, she once broke her leg skiing, has gone para-sailing, and is the last one to leave the rides on periodic excursions to Disneyland.

She also is apt to show a streak of fearlessness when it comes to politics. In 1987, Bergeson engaged in a much-publicized confrontation with Brown on the Assembly floor. The powerful Assembly Speaker shouted at Bergeson, then, as he turned to walk away, the slender Senator grabbed him by the arm and appeared to lecture him.

Bergeson wasn’t finished. “She went over to the Senate and pulled one of his bills, brought it up and killed it,” said Jackie Heather, a former Newport Beach mayor and founding member of Bergeson’s “kitchen Cabinet” of advisers. “Willie understands power. She demonstrated that she has power, and I think he really respects that.”

Profile: Marian Crittenden Bergeson

Born: Aug. 31, 1925, Salt Lake City.

Education: Attended UCLA 1945- 48; received bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Brigham Young University in 1949.

Elective Office: Newport City School District, 1964-65; Newport-Mesa Unified School District, 1965-77; became first woman from Orange County elected to the state Legislature in 1978, representing Newport Beach and coastal Orange County in the Assembly through 1984; elected to the state Senate in 1984, where she chairs the Senate Local Government Committee, one of only three Republicans to head a standing policy committee.

Personal: A devout Mormon; married to Garth Stewart Bergeson; has four children and four grandchildren. Has lived in Newport Beach for 35 years.

Source: California Legislature, Who’s Who in American Politics