Pringle’s Road to Power Has Been Rocky

Call Curt Pringle determined.

An ambitious conservative, Pringle found himself banished from the Capitol, defeated in a reelection bid, just five years ago. But with his boyish looks, his drive and his hard-line views, the Orange County Republican won back an Assembly seat and has persevered through controversy and scandal.

Now, as the newly elected Assembly speaker, he is among the most powerful officials in the state.

At 36, Pringle pulled off what no other Republican has done for more than a quarter of a century. Relying on his partisanship, his close relations with influential Orange County Republicans and his smarts, Pringle seized the speaker’s gavel with Republican votes.

And he left no doubt about his first order of business--tearing apart the Assembly operations left by former Speaker Willie Brown.

“We need to move very quickly,” he said. “Willie Brown stated it would take five years before we could unravel the operations of this house. We need to do it in five weeks, and that will be what our focus will be.”

Heading into the November election, Pringle intends to push for tax cuts, a continuing overhaul of welfare and environmental laws, and reforms to the legal system. Under his control, Assembly conservatives also are likely to tackle social issues such as state funding for abortions, an amount estimated at $40 million a year.

“Certainly, I think it is important to have a reduction in the level of state support for abortion, and I will look to have that debate when the time comes,” Pringle said.

Many Democrats quickly decried his election, citing his move upon taking office Thursday to shut down computer access to some Democratic staffers, and the Republicans’ firing of the longtime chief Assembly sergeant-at-arms in front of scores of onlookers, television cameras and reporters.

“There’s a very large ethical cloud that hangs over Curt Pringle,” said Assemblyman Louis Caldera (D-Los Angeles).

“That is unfortunately the way that many Democrats may want to respond to this,” Pringle replied. “I believe you’ll also see, though, that the way I have provided service in this house has been in a very fair manner. I believe many Democrats will tell you that, too, maybe in private over a beer.”

In recent years, Pringle has become more amiable and adept in the ways of Sacramento. In 1995, he had his most productive year by far. As he moved into the GOP leadership structure, Pringle carried the massive legislation that implemented Gov. Pete Wilson’s budget, and took a leading role in negotiating Orange County’s bankruptcy bills.

“We almost became friends. I was surprised,” said Assemblyman John Vasconcellos (D-Santa Clara), one of the most liberal Assembly members.

Pringle’s rise has not come without a struggle. After making three unsuccessful runs for the Garden Grove City Council, Pringle won an Assembly seat in 1988.

But he immediately was tarred by his own campaign’s tactics. On election day, 1988, his campaign staffers, working with the Orange County Republican Party, deployed uniformed private security guards at polling places in the Santa Ana district.

Some of the uniformed guards held signs in Spanish and English warning that noncitizens cannot legally vote. Five Latino voters sued Pringle and the GOP, charging that the poll guards intimidated them.

After the election, during a deposition on the case, Pringle refused to testify, citing the 5th Amendment protection against self-incrimination. At the time, Pringle had denounced the use of poll guards and said he had no role in sending them to the polling places. The suit was settled in 1992. Although terms of the settlement were sealed, the defendants paid a reported $400,000 in damages.

In that first term, Pringle felt the wrath of the Assembly leader’s power. Then-Speaker Brown gave him a temporary office in the Capitol, then informed him there was no space for him and that he should share offices with some other Republican. Finally, Pringle was given the smallest office in the place.

Democrats took more revenge in 1990, defeating Pringle in his bid for reelection. But Pringle returned in 1992, winning his current seat in a district that encompasses much of Garden Grove.

Pringle returned a less contentious person. But he retains his partisan streak, and took a leading role in the November recall of former Speaker Doris Allen.

The Orange County district attorney has launched an investigation into aspects of the campaign to replace Allen. The ultimate winner, Republican Assemblyman Scott Baugh, is among those under investigation.

The Times reported Saturday that Baugh implied to Republican lawmakers in a private conference call that prosecutors were pressuring him to provide any information about Republican higher-ups, including Pringle. Pringle has said he had no involvement in campaign irregularities.

Baugh refused Thursday to comment on those reported comments, but called Pringle’s election “a fantastic opportunity for Republicans and all Californians. . . . It’s an exciting day.”

Pringle showed a soft side in his brief opening remarks to the Assembly when he spoke about his family, including his wife of 11 years, Alexis, and their two young children.

“I would not be properly served if I didn’t thank my wife--she’s probably watching at home, mad at that; but that’s me . . . and my family because I know they provide the basis of support that I have had as I have ventured off into this very difficult job.”

Pringle was born in Iowa and moved with his family when he was 9 to Garden Grove. There, his family runs Pringle’s Draperies, a window covering firm. He graduated from Cal State Long Beach with a degree in business administration and a master’s degree in public administration.