Gore to Address Joint Session of Legislature

Vice President Al Gore, responding to an invitation from Democrats that has prompted Republican suspicion, is scheduled to make what would be a rare appearance by a federal official to a joint session of the state Legislature next month.

The invitation caught Republicans--including Gov. Pete Wilson--by surprise Monday. They were unaware that the address had even been scheduled by Senate President Pro Tem Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward).

Even Democrats were uncertain what Gore might discuss. They said the invitation was extended to Gore by Lockyer during a visit to Washington last summer and it did not specify a topic.

“He’s going to do it on March 13 about anything he wants; nothing in particular,” said Sandy Harrison, spokesman for Lockyer. “Obviously he is among the most powerful people in the country and we’d like to hear what he has to say.”

A spokeswoman for Gore said the vice president has not yet confirmed his appearance before the Legislature. But if his schedule allows, the vice president will speak about education, said his spokeswoman, Ginny Terzano.

“This offers a good forum for the . . . vice president to convey the president’s commitment to move ahead to make education more available and affordable,” Terzano said.

Gore, however, is considered to be a Democratic candidate in the making for the presidential race in 2000. As a result, his appearance before such a prominent gathering of the Legislature’s 120 members was treated by Republicans as an early campaign appearance.

“I’ve never heard Mr. Gore give a campaign speech before, so it should be interesting,” said Assembly Republican leader Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove).

Both Harrison and Terzano dismissed the notion of a political motivation behind the vice president’s appearance.

“While [California] is an important state politically, it is also a state that has many of the same concerns on the issues that the president and vice president have worked tirelessly on,” Terzano said.

The Legislature meets in joint session twice annually--once to hear the governor’s State of the State address in January and again for an update on the judiciary from the chief justice of the state Supreme Court.

Occasionally, there are joint sessions scheduled for prominent visiting dignitaries such as South African Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu in 1985. The last speech by a federal official in recent memory was 10 years ago, when former U.S. Surgeon Gen. C. Everett Koop discussed AIDS prevention in 1987.