Speaker Hertzberg Sets Ambitious Agenda

As he addressed the overflow audience in the state Assembly and winked to “the Group” with an honorary nod, reflecting on the wonderful ride that put him there, few knew what Bob Hertzberg was talking about.

But veterans of the old political breakfast club on Los Angeles’ Olvera Street--whose graduates include Sheriff Lee Baca, U.S. Rep. Xavier Becerra, and Councilman Mike Hernandez--understood it well.

Their ultimate Mr. Inside had finally become Mr. Outside.

In an elaborate ceremony featuring a New York cantor and R&B; singer Jeffrey Osborne, Hertzberg, a lifelong political operative who worked behind the scenes to elect many of Los Angeles’ most prominent politicians, stepped out of the shadows Thursday when he was crowned Assembly speaker.

Hertzberg replaces Antonio Villaraigosa, another veteran of the Olvera Street breakfast group, to become the second straight Los Angeles lawmaker to head the lower house--and the seventh speaker in the past five years, as term limits have made the once legendary position a revolving door.

The moderate Sherman Oaks Democrat, renowned for his anaconda-like hugs and mastery of even the most minute governmental details, also becomes the San Fernando Valley’s first speaker in a quarter-century and the first Jewish speaker since 1927.

He quickly made his ambitious intentions known, declaring that “the time to do something great for California” is now.

Hertzberg championed increasing California’s investment in education, saying the amount the state spends on its schoolchildren is “an embarrassment.” And he promised to cut into the state’s growing commuting times and housing shortages, saying people need to “work where they live and live where they work.”

“We are, in my opinion, at the threshold of a defining moment,” Hertzberg said after being sworn in by state Supreme Court Justice Stanley Mosk, one of his personal heroes. “It is a time of unparalleled economic prosperity, and a time of brilliant financial growth. Yet it is a time of increasing economic disparity.”

He also wasted no time showing that he is unafraid to ruffle feathers to defend his colleagues in the lower house.

As Gov. Gray Davis sat at his side, Hertzberg touted plans to hire investigators to ensure that the Legislature’s laws wind up as intended, and quipped, “Is the executive branch implementing our vision of the laws we write?”

A clear jab at Davis’ much-criticized comments that the Legislature’s job is to “implement my vision,” the remark drew loud hoots from the audience. Even Davis smiled.

Thursday’s events had begun more somberly, however, as Villaraigosa, who has been speaker for the past two years, presided over the ornate Assembly chambers for a final time. Forced from the Legislature next fall by term limits, he is running for mayor of Los Angeles.

Looking at his son, Antonio, Jr., who had made the trek to Sacramento along with his entire Mt. Washington school class, Villaraigosa said, “You were here with me when I was elected two years ago. I remember the look on your face.”

He then turned his attention to Hertzberg, his former roommate and right-hand man, and said that although “there have been bumps along the way” as the two managed their transition of power, he knew him to be “an honorable man, with integrity and a profound respect for the institution.”

Recognizing that legacies have faded in the new order of Sacramento, Villaraigosa said his accomplishments may not mean much in the long run. But he said he prided himself on toning down emotions in what was once a rancorous house--an accomplishment for which he is given credit by Republicans and Democrats alike.

“We brought back civility,” he said.