The Freshman Class

Being a freshman usually means being at the bottom of the heap, the end of the line, the butt of jokes.

But that isn’t always the case for area rookie lawmakers, who wielded unprecedented power in Sacramento during their first year in office and guided key legislation through the capital’s politically charged process.

With term limits thinning out the ranks of experienced legislators--creating the largest freshman class in 30 years--new lawmakers were appointed for the first time to head some of the Legislature’s most influential committees, positions usually reserved for those with six to eight years of experience.

Assemblyman Robert Hertzberg (D-Sherman Oaks), for example, serves as chair of the Public Safety Committee, a clearinghouse for crime and law enforcement bills. Assemblyman Scott Wildman (D-Los Angeles) heads the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, which is charged with uncovering waste and ensuring that state programs are carried out.

On the Senate side, Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) was appointed to chair the Public Employees and Retirement Committee, which reviews laws that can affect billions of dollars in pension funds for police, firefighters and state office workers, among others.

To be sure, the successes of the San Fernando Valley’s freshman class have varied. While some lawmakers--such as Hertzberg--have already been discussed as potential party leaders of the future, others have made less of an impact.

Assemblyman Tony Cardenas (D-Sylmar) had only four bills signed into law in his first year--compared to 13 written by Hertzberg. Cardenas has yet to greatly influence other legislation with floor speeches or back-room persuasion. But Cardenas said he always planned to spend most of his first year simply getting acclimated to the job.

“My approach was that I wasn’t going to try to change the world in my first year,” he said. “My objective was to learn the capital and how to be a public servant.”

While Cardenas has been reserved during his first year, Wildman has been criticized for being too aggressive in trying to use his audit committee to uncover waste in the state bureaucracy.

“When you make an omelet, you break some eggs, and we have broken some eggs,” he acknowledged.

Overall, the freshman class from the Valley and surrounding areas has received positive reviews from Sacramento lawmakers and observers, in part because many of the rookies came to the capital with political experience under their belts.

“It’s taken a while for some of them to learn the ins and outs, but they are all bright people,” said state Sen. Herschel Rosenthal (D-Van Nuys), the Valley’s senior lawmaker with 15 years of service.

Before going to Sacramento, Assemblyman George Runner (R-Lancaster) was a Lancaster city councilman and mayor.

Hertzberg, a Sherman Oaks attorney, jumped into politics during his college years when he was a volunteer for the lieutenant governor’s campaign of then-state Sen. Mervyn Dymally. He was later an advance man for President Jimmy Carter and then treasurer for the campaign of Assembly floor leader Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles).

Cardenas, who previously ran a real estate firm, had no legislative experience before being elected but is moving through the learning curve, thanks in part to the help of his mentor and Sacramento roommate, Assembly Speaker Cruz Bustamante.

Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Northridge) and state Sen. William “Pete” Knight (R-Palmdale) can also be considered freshmen, as they were both elected last year. But McClintock was in the Assembly for 10 years before leaving to head a policy studies center. Knight spent four years in the Assembly before being elected to the Senate last year.

So far, the stars of the freshman class appear to be Hertzberg and Schiff, according to their colleagues and political observers, who say the two local lawmakers have earned reputations as quick learners.

“Hertzberg is one of those names that is bandied about more than most,” said political analyst Sherry Bebitch Jeffe. “He appears to be bright and savvy and has a perception of someone who is not an ideologue, which the voters like.”

Hertzberg is known for his boundless energy and willingness to work with lawmakers from both parties. For example, he teamed up with Republican McClintock to co-author the controversial bill that removes city council authority to veto secession movements. Gov. Pete Wilson signed the bill into law in October.

Hertzberg even worked closely with gang members while pushing legislation to provide funds to remove tattoos from teenagers trying to walk away from gang life.

“He apparently is well-liked on both sides of the aisle,” said a longtime Sacramento aide.

But Hertzberg shrugs off suggestions that he is a “freshman phenom,” noting that he has worked behind the scenes in politics for many years.

“It’s like being a singer for 25 years and suddenly being discovered,” he said. “These aren’t magical things that suddenly happen.”

Schiff, a former federal prosecutor, has been credited by several capital observers for his ability to negotiate and build a consensus during partisan disputes.

He was able to get 17 bills signed into law, including legislation for a pilot program to get illegal firearms out of violence-prone neighborhoods. That bill was initially opposed by several Republicans in the Senate, but Schiff was able to negotiate support from enough GOP members to pass the bill.

“He comes in as the voice of reason on many things,” said a Sacramento lobbyist.

Schiff attributes his success to developing personal relationships among Republicans and Democrats alike and to simply working long hours. “My father gave me some advice a long time ago: ‘If you do good at what you do, there will always be a demand for you.’ ”

But as a former prosecutor, Schiff has a reputation for pulling out all the stops when he argues for a cause or favorite legislation.

Last summer, Schiff was in the middle of a nasty feud with two fellow Democrats who accused him of lying to win a favorable vote for one of his bills.

The high-decibel shouting match was finally quelled after President Pro Tem Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward) declared that “there’s no obligation that any member tell the truth.”

Schiff said there were no hard feelings from the feud.

“Basically, we fight it out like two advocates in court and we walk away friends,” he said.

These and other freshman lawmakers were thrust into key positions in Sacramento due to a 1990 initiative that imposed a lifetime limit of three two-year terms in the Assembly and two four-year terms in the Senate.

Before term limits, Assembly members had an average of eight years of experience. Today, all 80 Assembly members were elected since voters approved the term limits.

In the Assembly, 11 of the 27 standing committees are chaired by freshmen. In the Senate, seven of the 25 standing committees are headed by rookies.

But the freshmen leadership has not been free of controversy.

Wildman caused a stir with his efforts to ferret out bureaucratic waste.

Ordinarily, the joint audit committee simply selects topics for state investigators to study. But Wildman has run his panel more like a congressional investigative committee with the authority to subpoena witnesses and demand improvements.

But some critics--including members of his own party--felt he went too far in August, when he tried to investigate the Department of Insurance and was preparing to call Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush, a Republican, as a witness.

According to several accounts, both Democrats and Republicans on the bipartisan panel browbeat Wildman into backing off.

One longtime lobbyist said the incident alienated Wildman from several members of his own party.

“In order to be effective, you have to be a consensus builder,” the lobbyist said.

Wildman, a former teacher, makes no apology for his aggressive nature and does not plan to ease up.

“I’m under fire a lot because I’m stepping on toes, and I’m going to continue to do that,” he said.

But for the most part, the rookie lawmakers have stayed within the party fold.

According to a computer analysis by Legitech, Assemblymen Jack Scott, Cardenas, Hertzberg and Wildman voted with the Democratic leadership more than 90% of the time. Runner voted with the Republican leadership 77% of the time. On the Senate side, Schiff voted with the Democratic leadership 94% of the time.

Several freshman lawmakers have already learned the sting of partisan politics.

Scott, a former president of Pasadena City College, believes partisan politics almost killed a bill he wrote to require seismic studies of the expansion of a 1.5-million-gallon reservoir near San Marino High School.

Because Scott is a Democrat in a district traditionally represented by Republicans, he believes Republican lawmakers tried to bottle the bill up in committee.

The bill was ultimately signed into law, but Scott said the episode opened his eyes to the ugly side of partisanship.

“I can understand [partisan debate] over welfare reform,” Scott said. “But this was a bill to protect the safety of students.”

Runner, a conservative Republican and former director of a Christian day school, said he has had it even harder because he is a freshman in the minority party. He got five bills signed into law, including one requiring parental notification before a minor can get body piercing.

Runner was disappointed that several other bills--such as legislation to increase the tax deduction that self-employed people get for paying health insurance--were not adopted during the first year, and he believes party politics played a role.

But he can expect an even tougher year ahead, because his agenda includes such controversial legislation as a bill to make it more difficult to divorce unless it is consensual and another to provide a tax break to aerospace firms that build the next generation of fighter jets in California.

“I’m going to continue in the same direction I’m working on now,” he said. “It’s not like you have a lot of time.”

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Valley Area’s Freshmen

Voter-approved term limits have removed many of Sacramento’s most experienced lawmakers and put freshmen legislators in positions usually reserved for veterans. This is true for the eight freshmen from the San Fernando Valley and adjoining areas, listed below, who have just completed their first year in the state Legislature,

Assemblyman Tony Cardenas (D-Sylmar):

PREVIOUS JOB: Owner of real estate firm

SIGNIFICANT BILLS: A measure to study which communities need capital funding; legislation requiring truck drivers to wear seat belts.

COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS: Chairman, Budget Subcommittee on Information Technology

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Assemblyman Robert Hertzberg (D-Sherman Oaks): PREVIOUS JOB: Real estate lawyer

SIGNIFICANT BILLS: Co-sponsored measure to eliminate city council’s power to veto a secession movement; a bill that increases penalties for crimes in which explosive devices were used.

COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS: Chairman, Public Safety Committee

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Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Northridge): PREVIOUS JOB: Director of policy studies center

SIGNIFICANT BILLS: Co-sponsored secession bill; bill to allow family of murder victims to watch execution of the victim’s killer.

COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS: Vice chairman, Housing and Community Development Committee

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George Runner (R-Lancaster): PREVIOUS JOB: Lancaster city councilman

SIGNIFICANT BILLS: A measure requiring parental consent for body piercing of minors; legislation to increases the sentence for assaulting a peace officer during a felony arrest.

COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS: Vice chairman, Select Committee on Aerospace

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Assemblyman Jack Scott (D-Altadena): PREVIOUS JOB: College administrator

SIGNIFICANT BILLS: A measure to outlaw advertising for hand grenades for sale; bill that allows prosecution of vehicle passengers who help conceal a weapon.

COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS: Chair of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance

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Assemblyman Scott Wildman (D-Los Angeles): PREVIOUS JOB: Field representative for teachers union

SIGNIFICANT BILLS: A measure that requires sex offenders from other states to register upon moving to California; legislation to shift more money to cities from counties.

COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS: Chairman, Joint Legislative Audit Committee

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William “PETE” Knight (R-Palmdale): PREVIOUS JOB: State assemblyman

SIGNIFICANT BILLS: A measure that makes arson of schools a terrorist crime; bill to allow peacetime veterans access to state loans.

COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS: Vice chairman, Veterans Affairs

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State Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank): PREVIOUS JOB: Federal prosecutor

SIGNIFICANT BILLS: A measure creating pilot program to confiscate illegal firearms; legislation imposing tougher sentences for fleeing to California to avoid prosecution for a sex crime in another state.

COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS: Chairman, Public Employment and Retirement Committee