State Had Lined Up Key Bipartisan Bloc

The California congressional delegation Wednesday was expected to deliver an impressive bloc of about 30 votes for the North American Free Trade Agreement, with most of the support coming from Republicans.

An hour before the vote, 13 Democrats and 16 Republicans said that they would vote for the pact. Five Republicans said they would vote against it.

Two Californians, Democrat George E. Brown Jr. of Colton and Republican Richard W. Pombo of Tracy, remained undecided at the time. The 52-member California delegation is the country’s largest.

The split among Californians mirrored the anticipated vote in the full House. Most Republicans favored the pact, despite the political boost it would give President Clinton. Democrats were more deeply divided as lawmakers with strong labor ties broke with the President.

California’s stagnant economy and problems with illegal immigration further complicated the vote for some members.

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), an opponent of the trade agreement, met one-on-one with Clinton in the Oval Office for more than 30 minutes Tuesday afternoon but emerged unmoved.

“I don’t begrudge him the win,” Waters said. “The President really does believe that our future is at stake and we have to open up the markets.”

Rep. Matthew G. Martinez (D-Monterey Park), who promised to vote against the pact, said that the wildly conflicting predictions by both sides about job losses and gains “were confusing to the people of my district. I told the White House that they would have to alleviate the fears of job dislocation. They said they would get back to me. But they never did.”

Rep. David Dreier (R-San Dimas), a vigorous supporter who has pursued a free-trade agreement for more than six years, was exultant over the delegation’s expected showing.

“Rather than having 30 Democrats voting one way and 22 Republicans voting another, we were able to work solidly together on this issue. We had bipartisan support and bipartisan opposition.”

Explaining the split among the state delegation, Dreier said that California “is a microcosm of the United States. We have every single interest group represented in the state. That can have a powerful effect on some members.”

The Administration’s all-out lobbying efforts during the last week helped convert many of the delegation’s undecided members.

Of 13 uncommitted members last week, at least 10 said that they would vote for the agreement.

By midday Wednesday, much of the drama over the vote had evaporated as unofficial vote counts showed Clinton with 10 votes more than he needed.