Wilson to Seek Public’s Support of Welfare Plan

Gov. Pete Wilson is taking advantage of the Democrats’ lack of an early consensus on welfare reform by trying to boost his own proposal with a major public relations effort.

His plan for a series of public events throughout the state this month marks one of the first attempts to force the welfare debate into the political arena, where Republicans sense an advantage.

It also rattles the tender hopes for bipartisan cooperation just as the Democrat-controlled Legislature approaches the final seven weeks before its own deadline to produce a welfare reform plan.

“We are sending a message that we are willing to fight to win support for our plan,” said Sean Walsh, Wilson’s deputy chief of staff. “We are more organized and more disciplined on this welfare bill than many other issues because it is an important piece of legislation that will have an impact for many generations.”

Wilson’s effort comes as Democrats are out of public view on welfare, hunkered down in committee hearings and work group sessions aimed at producing an alternative plan by May 1.

They are also operating under increasing pressure because months have passed with little indication of where Democratic leaders will fall on some major issues such as welfare time limits and work requirements.

Wilson officials believe the situation has left them with an opportunity. The governor’s schedule, as described in an internal memo titled “Welfare Reform Marketing,” calls for Wilson to make at least four public appearances around the state this month.

He will also announce the creation of two welfare reform task forces consisting of state leaders and business representatives. The groups will be asked to make recommendations on how the state can create jobs for welfare recipients.

Meanwhile, Health and Welfare Secretary Sandra Smoley and Social Services Director Eloise Anderson are continuing their efforts to meet newspaper editorial boards, seek key endorsements and build a community of grass-roots supporters.

“This sounds like the shot over the bow to say that they are going to be partisan,” said Pat Leery, a Democrat consultant to the Senate Budget Committee. “At this point, there has not been the same amount of partisanship from our side.”

In January, the governor placed his controversial welfare overhaul before the Legislature. It would limit recipients to one year of benefit checks out of every two--half the time allowed by the new federal legislation. It would also require recipients to work up to 35 hours per week for their check.

Some of Wilson’s critics suggest that the governor’s statewide campaign is aimed at boosting his own sagging popularity at least as much as that of his welfare reform plan.

They add that his heartless image--left over from campaigns against illegal immigration and affirmative action--could make him a poor ambassador for a welfare plan that makes tough new demands on the poor.

But Republicans also sense that the public is behind their effort to toughen the state’s welfare system and transform it into a jobs program.

And although most Democrats support a similar transition, they also expect that their calls for a more compassionate welfare system could be pitted against Republican demands for personal responsibility from the poor.

Democrats have blasted Wilson’s one-year time limit. Some members have also talked about hundreds of millions of dollars in additional funds for benefits, work training and child care. And they have criticized Wilson’s plan to lift a mandate requiring that counties operate General Relief--a welfare program for able-bodied, single adults.

Politically, however, Democrats worry about the difficulty of trying to win public support for a welfare plan that is more lenient and costly than the Republican version.

“Right away, the first thing that happens is the conservative side of our caucuses collapse--they can’t take the heat from home,” Senate Leader Pro Tem Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward) said recently. “Obviously, the weakest negotiating position for the Democrats is to be [in Sacramento] in July fighting over welfare.”

To avoid such a high-stakes political showdown, Lockyer and Assembly Speaker Cruz Bustamante would like to resolve the welfare legislation before the Legislature faces a debate over the budget in June.

If the two issues become tangled, legislators fear, there could be a politically costly stalemate that could stretch into the summer because neither party has the votes to pass a budget or a welfare plan without the other.

“I believe we have enough time to work out problems between now and [June],” Bustamante told reporters this week. He added, however, that he instructed the caucus: “If Democrats have to fall on their sword because of principle, we should always be willing to do that.”

So far, legislative observers say it is difficult to predict which course welfare reform will take in Sacramento--to the political right, left or center--because most legislators have yet to decide the issue for themselves or they have not spoken out.

Some Republicans have grumbled about differences with Wilson’s plan and GOP leaders acknowledge that it is bound for some significant changes. So far, they have been silent about the specific changes they will seek.

“I don’t agree with everything the governor has in his plan,” said Sen. Jim Brulte (R-Rancho Cucamonga), who is carrying the bill that contains Wilson’s welfare proposal. “I take him at his word that this is the framework.”

Last month, Democrat leaders named a special welfare committee consisting of members from both parties and both houses. Republicans complained, however, when the assignments went to 12 Democrats and just six GOP legislators.

So far, the committee has held five informational hearings intended to educate legislators on the issues surrounding welfare reform. Last week, it divided into six work groups that will return in about a month with recommendations for changes.

At the same time, dozens of welfare bills are proceeding on a separate track through the Legislature’s policy committees. In addition to Wilson’s welfare plan, the bills contain reform proposals from the state Legislative Analysts Office and the California Welfare Directors Assn.

Late next month, Assemblywoman Dion Aroner (D-Berkeley) said, the conference committee will cobble together a legislative package from ideas developed in the work groups and the legislative bills.

“The leadership has asked us by May 1 to have a legislative package together on welfare reform,” said Aroner, co-chairwoman of the special welfare committee. “I’m hoping it will be a bipartisan package.”

Leaders from both parties insist that they are committed to achieve a welfare reform plan by this summer. Some fear, however, that the process could melt down into partisan war that prevents a resolution this year.

If that happens, experts say, the delay will make it considerably harder for California to meet an already ambitious schedule for moving people from welfare into the work force. The state also faces possible financial penalties if it fails to meet the rigorous schedule for reducing welfare rolls that is required by the new federal law.

The delay would also create chaos for county officials and welfare recipients who are counting on direction from the state before they can plan major changes.

Finally, it would force legislators to make a second attempt next year at drafting delicate welfare legislation under the increased political pressures of an election where control of the governor’s office and the Legislature are at stake.

“If 1997 passes without welfare reform in California, there will be only one set of losers,” Wilson warned last week. “It won’t be Democrats or Republicans or liberals or conservatives or incumbents or challengers. It will be every adult who is denied the dignity of self-sufficiency through work. It will be every child who is denied the gift of a better start in life.”