Lawmakers Tussle Over Colleagues’ Alleged Ethnic Slurs : Politics: Assemblyman Jim Brulte calls one comment ‘reverse racism.’ Sen. David Roberti objects to ‘godfather’ characterization.

The tense final days of the legislative session were punctuated this week by two incidents that prompted accusations that lawmakers were assailing their colleagues with racial and ethnic slurs.

In a passing remark on Friday, Assemblyman Willard Murray (D-Paramount), an African-American, told Assembly Republican Leader Jim Brulte of Rancho Cucamonga that he thought it “was very white of Mr. Brulte” to lift his objections on a procedural point.

That prompted Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco), also African-American, to immediately admonish Murray, saying: “I wouldn’t get smart.”

Brulte spokesman Phil Perry described the incident on the Assembly floor as “what you would call reverse racism.” Murray could not be reached for comment.

In the other incident, Sen. David A. Roberti said he regards a joking reference to him earlier this week as “the godfather” as an attack on his Italian heritage and said Assemblywoman Diane Martinez (D-Rosemead), the first-year lawmaker who made the remark, “should wash her mouth out.”

Martinez, a Mexican-American, said her comment--which appeared in a newspaper--was not intended as criticism of the Van Nuys Democrat’s heritage.

Instead, Martinez, who is quickly becoming known for her blunt comments, said that it was “a reflection on how he comports himself as president pro tem of the Senate. . . . I think he clearly didn’t get the message of term limits” approved by voters.

The tiffs surfaced at the end of a session marred by earlier incidents.

In May, freshman Assemblyman William J. (Pete) Knight (R-Palmdale) apologized for his distribution of a poem disparaging illegal immigrants.

Then, in July, Assemblywoman Kathleen Honeycutt (R-Hesperia), another first-term lawmaker, apologized after she invoked the anti-Semitic phrase “Jew down” in a legislative hearing.

The tension between Martinez and Roberti began at a July committee hearing when she grilled the Senate leader on his controversial proposal to break up the Los Angeles Unified School District. During that hearing, Roberti objected to Martinez’s use of the term “Anglo” and snapped: “My wife’s Irish. I’m Italian. I’m proud of my background.”

Martinez apologized for that, but then jokingly used the term “godfather” to describe Roberti in an article this week in the Capitol Weekly, a Sacramento newspaper.

During a Senate debate Wednesday on one of Martinez’s bills, Roberti forcefully scolded her, saying he considered the comment a slight.

“She should wash her mouth out and I hope some people think her slurs are not things that should be easily tolerated,” an emotional Roberti declared.

Not so coincidentally, Roberti was poised Friday to strip a Martinez bill of its provisions and insert amendments on the school split plan.

The lawmakers met Friday afternoon to “clear the air.” Martinez could not be reached for comment, but Roberti described the meeting as cordial. He said she did not apologize and instead “explained herself.” In response, he said he tried to “sensitize” her to the feelings of Italian-Americans.

Times staff writer Dan Morain contributed to this report.