Roberti Passes Senate Leader Post to Lockyer

Democratic Sen. David A. Roberti resigned Wednesday from the state Senate’s most powerful leadership position after a record 13 years and handed the job to Sen. Bill Lockyer of Hayward, a liberal-to-moderate veteran Democrat once known for a raging temper.

The orderly transfer of power to Lockyer, a career politician who has served in both houses, has been under way for the last year as Roberti, the first victim of term limits, planned a run for statewide office and was confronted with a recall election in his San Fernando Valley district.

The full Senate is expected to approve Lockyer’s succession as president pro tem Monday. Lockyer, 52, who describes himself as a political moderate, has been lining up votes for months to take the job, which is regarded as the most powerful legislative position in Sacramento after the Assembly Speaker. The Senate leader is No. 3 in the line of succession to become governor.

Roberti, a master consensus-maker in fashioning political compromise with Republicans, announced his resignation at a news conference with Lockyer. At times, Roberti’s voice broke with emotion.

Both said agreement had been reached for Roberti to take Lockyer’s post as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, potentially a high-profile assignment as the Legislature enacts new anti-crime laws.

During his remaining 10 months in the Senate, Roberti said, he will concentrate on helping rebuild his district from the devastation of the Northridge earthquake.

Roberti, who ousted fellow Democrat James R. Mills of San Diego in a 1980 coup, said he had no regrets about his tenure, but told reporters he was deeply troubled by the Capitol corruption scandal that led to convictions of two of his colleagues and a guilty plea from a third. Each held a leadership post under Roberti.

“The conviction of three colleagues is a very sad circumstance,” he said, saying he had known nothing of their illegal activities.

But in a display of humor, Roberti turned to Lockyer and offered this advice: “Hang in there. Exhibit all the intestinal fortitude and courage that you can and get a good book on child psychology.”

During his two decades in the Legislature, Lockyer, an attorney, acquired the reputation of a skilled and sometimes ruthless Democratic tactician dedicated to ousting Republicans.

Asked how he intends to deal with Republicans in the traditionally clubby Senate, he said: “When you are responsible for the whole house, not just a part of it, you have a different approach and attitude and burden. . . . It is my intention to work with all members and I hope they’ll respond similarly.”

In the Senate, the president pro tem is automatically chairman of the powerful Rules Committee, which helps determine the fate of legislation by selecting the chairs and members of committees and assigning bills to those committees. Traditionally, three of the five members of the panel are members of the pro tem’s party.

In a statement, Gov. Pete Wilson said he and Roberti enjoyed a “friendly and productive relationship” and he hoped for a similarly fruitful relationship with Lockyer.

Minority Leader Ken Maddy (R-Fresno), a pragmatist who worked closely with Roberti to reach compromise on major issues such as the state budget, said Republicans want Lockyer to include them as participants in resolving issues, but whether this occurs “depends on Bill Lockyer. He’s plagued at this moment with his reputations of the past. He’s plagued with his reputation for temper and his reputation for needing to be a participant in the resolution of every issue.”

Lockyer concedes that his temper has been explosive. But he has said he came to the realization a few years ago that his goal to become leader of the Senate would be doomed unless he learned to control his anger.

In an interview last fall, Lockyer said he believes he has learned to discipline himself and, as a result, has not had what he called “an incident” for a long time.

In the mid-1970s and early 1980s, his outbreaks were the stuff of legend.

However, many of Lockyer’s colleagues believe that he has matured and developed fine skills as a consensus-builder.

On controversial legislation that potentially could draw partisan fire from Republicans, Lockyer often sought the counsel of then-Sen. Ed Davis (R-Santa Clarita), a respected former chief of the Los Angeles Police Department.

If Davis objected to certain provisions, he and Lockyer typically compromised and Davis would become an advocate for the bill.

Elected to the Assembly in 1973 and to the Senate in 1982, he was a traditional liberal by most measures, although he supported the death penalty. Representing a largely blue-collar district in the East Bay Area, he is closely aligned with organized labor and personal injury lawyers.

Roberti scheduled the formal announcement of his resignation as Senate leader to coincide with the setting of his recall election for April 12 by Gov. Pete Wilson, the first such recall election of a state officeholder since 1914.

Even though Roberti’s term will expire Dec. 5, anti-gun control activists and other critics collected enough signatures to force a recall election expected to cost as much as $1 million.

Roberti was the Senate author of a landmark 1989 law that outlawed civilian possession and use of about 60 military-style semiautomatic firearms. Supported by law enforcement officials, enactment of the legislation dealt a blow to the National Rifle Assn. and other gun owner organizations, their first national political setback in years.

At the news conference, Roberti conceded it would be difficult to chair the busy Judiciary Committee while fighting to defeat the recall and run for state treasurer. He denounced the recall activists as “gun fanatics.”

Profile: Bill Lockyer

Lockyer succeeds David A. Roberti as president pro tem of the state Senate, the most powerful position in the upper house for influencing the outcome of legislation and determining the committee assignments of other members.

* Born: May 8, 1941

* Residence: Hayward

* Education: San Leandro High School graduate; bachelor’s degree in political science from UC Berkeley; secondary teaching credential from Cal State Hayward; law degree from McGeorge School of Law, Sacramento.

* Career highlights: A former teacher, he was first elected to the San Leandro school board in 1968; elected to the Assembly in 1973 and to the Senate in 1982; chaired the Assembly Human Resources and Labor Relations committees; chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee; authored bills to increase penalties for serious crimes and to toughen laws against hate crimes and drunk driving; authored a tort reform law and a law affording protection to state employee whistle-blowers; wrote the state’s first lemon law for auto purchasers.

* Interests: Reading, volleyball, computer games.

* Family: Divorced; one grown daughter.

* Quote: Asked how his reputed tough partisanship will be received: “It is my intention to work with all (Senate) members and I hope they’ll respond similarly.”