Democrats in Assembly Oust GOP Member

In a bitter and highly charged session, Assembly Democrats late Monday ousted a key Republican from the lower house, denying the GOP a vote it needed for control and giving Willie Brown a possible opening to retain the speakership.

The Assembly voted 40 to 39 to dump Republican Richard Mountjoy of Arcadia after Brown, wielding the gavel and presiding over one of the most raucous sessions in years, decreed that Mountjoy could not vote on the question of his own qualifications to sit in the lower house.

Immediately after the Mountjoy vote, Democrats moved to reelect Democrat Brown as Speaker, a post he had held since 1980. That effort was halted when the Democrats decided to meet in a private strategy caucus, which was going on late into the night.

The moves came amid slashing verbal attacks, direct threats of political revenge and even biblical invocations aimed at convincing Democrats that they would suffer an ill fate for barring Mountjoy from the Assembly.

“It’s the most corrupt power play in the history of the state of California,” an angry Mountjoy said immediately after the vote. Assembly Republican Leader Jim Brulte of Rancho Cucamonga, furious after the Democrats took the vote, denounced it as an “abuse of power.”

But Brown contended that the move was necessary to break the 40-40 leadership deadlock that has gone on for several weeks. “Every single, solitary step has been engaged in to try to get the house moving,” he said, noting that the lower house cannot form committees to start hearing bills until the leadership question is resolved.

In a fluke of timing and fallout from the Capitol corruption trials, Mountjoy won reelection Nov. 8 to the Assembly seat he has held since 1978 and won a special election to fill the Senate seat left vacant when former state Sen. Frank Hill was sent to prison.

Republicans, invoking parliamentary procedures, attempted to block the Democrats from removing Mountjoy by asking for another vote later. But Brown declared that the effort to save Mountjoy would fail, given Brown’s ruling that 41 votes are needed to overrule his decisions.

Republicans emerged from the November election with 41 seats--enough to end Brown’s 14-year tenure as Speaker and elect a GOP Speaker in the 80-member house.

But the Assembly fell into disarray when Republican Paul Horcher of Diamond Bar bolted from the GOP and voted for Brown, leaving the lower house in its 40-40 leadership deadlock.

Negotiations between the two parties had been going on for weeks behind closed doors but broke down Monday.

Under Brown’s interpretation of the rules, a Speaker can be elected with the majority of Assembly members present, even if that number falls short of a 41-vote majority in the house.

But to unseat a Speaker, Brown has ruled, opponents must obtain 41 votes. If Brown is reelected Speaker, he probably would remain in that post for several months, at least until Mountjoy is replaced in a special election and a Republican-backed recall of Horcher is decided.

When the Democrats arrived in the Assembly chambers Monday evening, several said they had struck a deal to elect Assemblyman Bernie Richter, a conservative Republican from Chico, as Speaker.

Even Republicans assumed that Richter would emerge as Speaker. A spokesman for Brulte all but conceded that Richter would gain the coveted and powerful post. Gov. Pete Wilson’s office also acknowledged as much.

But once the floor session opened, Assemblyman Byron Sher (D-Palo Alto) stood to open debate on Mountjoy’s ouster. For the next two hours, the Assembly degenerated into especially contentious and bitter debate.

Several times Republicans rose to protest the Sher move. But each time, Brown responded that their protests were out of order or not germane.

“You have no authority to chair this meeting,” Republican Assemblyman Jan Goldsmith of Poway told Brown.

“Your point of order is not well-taken,” Brown replied.

Freshman Assemblyman Bruce Thompson (R-Fallbrook), making the first floor speech in his short tenure, rose and declared that Brown’s actions were “something that would happen in a Communist nation” and called for the session’s adjournment.

“Out of order,” Brown said.

Assemblyman Trice Harvey (R-Bakersfield) dared the Democrats to “cast your crooked vote,” adding, “I hope you can sleep tonight after you’ve ripped off the people.”

Sher and Assemblyman Louis Caldera (D-Los Angeles) contended that Mountjoy could not legally sit in the Assembly, given that he won the special election to the Senate.

Mountjoy had vowed repeatedly to give up his Senate seat to see a Republican elected as Speaker. But more than 2 1/2 months after the November election and seven weeks after the new Legislature was sworn in, Mountjoy had failed to relinquish the Senate seat, all the while holding onto his Assembly office.

“Clearly, Mr. Mountjoy is only in this house to interfere with the operations of this house,” Caldera said.

Responding to Caldera’s speech, Assemblyman Mickey Conroy (R-Orange) stood and declared, “I listened to Mr. Caldera (and) I want to throw up.”

At another point, Assemblyman Ross Johnson (R-Fullerton), leading the Republican counterattack, named several Democrats, quoted a biblical passage about revenge and suggested they would be targets of recalls for casting votes against Mountjoy.

“None of you, none of you, will have a place to hide,” Johnson said, shaking with anger. “You will live with it for the rest of your lives.”

The level of rancor was evident earlier in the day when Johnson, angered at Brown’s sealing of the Assembly at one point, pushed an Assembly sergeant-at-arms, declaring Brown was no longer Speaker and had no right to force members to remain in the chamber. As he left the floor, Johnson seized the sergeant, pinning his arms back so other Republicans could also leave.