Wilson Prodded to Take a Stand on O.C. Solution

Turning up the heat on Gov. Pete Wilson, a key state lawmaker warned Thursday that the Assembly may hold off on any legislation to help Orange County until the governor takes a position on what needs to be done.

The chairwoman of the panel on the Orange County bankruptcy suggested that Wilson’s oft-stated view that the county should solve its own problems has left some wondering whether the Assembly should take any action.

In a letter released Thursday, Assemblywoman Marguerite Archie-Hudson (D-Los Angeles) asked Wilson to “clarify where you are” on the myriad Orange County recovery measures now before the Legislature. “It seems premature to act until we have some indication of your position on the need for state intervention,” she wrote.

Archie-Hudson noted in her letter that the governor in December said the county’s problems should be “solved locally” but later called a special legislative session to speed up state help. In recent weeks, top Wilson Administration officials have met repeatedly with Orange County leaders to discuss state assistance, in particular possible loans or loan guarantees to cover losses by Orange County schools.

“It’s important for members of the Assembly to know whether you support the county’s legislation and their deadline for passage of May 1st, have an alternative, or continue to feel that it is appropriate for the county to deal with the matter on its own,” Archie-Hudson said in the letter. She heads the Assembly Select Committee on the Insolvency of Orange County.

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The governor’s spokesman said that Archie-Hudson, a staunch ally of Democratic Speaker Willie Brown, was twisting the facts.

“We think Assemblywoman Archie-Hudson may be a little bit confused,” said Sean Walsh. “The governor has said that solutions should be developed locally, and the state would be willing to assist in any manner deemed appropriate.”

Walsh noted that Wilson has already provided the county with the assistance of various state financial officials, as well as voiced support for legislation that would relieve Orange County of costly state mandates and allow the county to intercept vehicle license fees to support recovery bonds it plans to sell.

One GOP ally of the governor went further, suggesting that Archie-Hudson and Democratic leaders wrote the letter to provide themselves with political cover because the partisan tug-of-war in the Assembly this year has limited any significant action on Orange County’s recovery bills.

“It’s ironic that they’re trying to blame the governor,” the Republican said. “The Senate has been moving along just fine with legislation for the county. It seems apparent that some members of the Assembly are trying to give themselves cover for a lack of action.”

But other Capitol insiders say Wilson has tried to steer clear of the Orange County crisis because it could tarnish his budding presidential campaign.

“My best guess is he doesn’t want the stigma of going in and handing out state bailouts that he would get hammered for” in the presidential race, said Sen. Rob Hurtt (R-Garden Grove), who supports one of Wilson’s chief opponents in the GOP presidential primary, Texas Sen. Phil Gramm. “I don’t think he’s being loyal to a bunch of Orange County people who did a lot of work for him last year. He should at least be more involved.”

Others say that Wilson is caught in a bind between wanting to help a county that is home to wealthy campaign contributors such as Irvine Co. Chairman Donald L. Bren, yet avoid any link to a half-cent sales tax hike on the June 27 ballot.

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Republican opponents such as Gramm would be particularly eager to link Wilson to taxes, given the governor’s role in 1991 to help push through the largest tax increase in California history.

“I think he wants the Orange County problem to just disappear,” one Democratic lawmaker said. “I think the governor knows full well that they cannot solve these problems without some sort of state help or a tax. But he doesn’t want his fingerprints on it. He doesn’t even want people to know that when this solution was crafted he was the governor.”

Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar), another top lieutenant of Brown, characterized the letter from Archie-Hudson as a simple appeal meant to determine whether lawmakers are wasting their time on solutions that would go down with a Wilson veto.

“We’re just asking for the governor to show some leadership, to fulfill his role as chief executive of the state,” Katz said. “If he really believe that it’s all a local problem and the state shouldn’t be involved, then we ought to stop wasting time and resources having these Orange County people fly up every week, and let them get on with it on their own.”

But some Democrats maintained that Wilson hasn’t necessarily been inconsistent.

“I think he initially wanted to have a minimalist role for the state,” said Sen. Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward), president pro tem of the Senate. “Well, we all had that impulse. Different people reached the conclusion at different times that this isn’t a problem that can be solved locally, that it needs both state and local efforts. And I think the governor has increasingly reflected that perspective.”

Lockyer said the “key question” is whether the state should provide a bailout, and “virtually everyone,” including Wilson, has rejected that idea.

* BOND COVERAGE: A16-21