First-Day Advice for Newcomers to the Legislature

It’s back to school day in the Capitol--actually, the first day of school for 28 new legislators.

The buzzer sounds for a new two-year legislative session. But the institution’s not what it used to be. Better in some ways, worse in many. The main reason is term limits.

Better because rapid turnover has generated more diversity. There will be 27 Latinos among the 119 lawmakers sworn in, according to the Associated Press. There were only seven in 1990 when California voters imposed term limits. There’ll be 34 women; in 1990, there were just 18. Credit the women with assuring passage of school reform.

Worse because institutional memory is almost gone except for a handful of veterans. New lawmakers now don’t have enough time to acquire policy expertise or the power to really lead.

The position’s also less desirous. The stipend’s OK--$99,000 annually; $113,850 for a house leader. Plus there’s a daily $121 tax-free expense check. But voters have refused a pension plan for all lawmakers elected after 1990.

And no matter how competent they are, Assembly members get booted after six years; senators after eight. So there’s a distracting game of musical chairs, a perpetual plotting toward the next political post.

Already, weakened Republicans have taken an embarrassing tumble. Former Beaumont Mayor Jan Leja agreed Friday to plead guilty to filing false campaign finance reports and to give up her newly won Assembly seat. A special election will be needed to replace her.

Assembly Democrats outnumber Republicans 50-29. In the Senate, Democrats are even more dominant: 26-14.

Today, however, is about assigning desks, taking oaths and reconfirming leaders. After warm handshakes and hugs, the lawmakers will recess until Jan. 3. Then, presumably, they’ll begin dealing with such dilemmas as electricity rate rip-offs and how to spend another multibillion-dollar tax surplus.

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But don’t minimize the importance of this day for the 28 freshmen, all elected to the Assembly. (There actually are 31 new Assembly members, but three have previous legislative experience. And 10 new senators have shuffled over from the Assembly.)

Assemblyman Abel Maldonado (R-Santa Maria) remembers his first swearing-in two years ago:

“I was overwhelmed--a young Hispanic from a family that once had nothing, there in the big state Capitol. My father was an immigrant bracero irrigator. To have his son sworn in 35 years later as a state representative, I gotta tell you, it was the best day of my life. We both had tears in our eyes. This is a man who has a sticker on his truck: ‘Broken English Spoken Perfectly.’ ”

Maldonado, 33, had another big day last summer when he spoke in Spanish to the Republican National Convention in prime time.

His advice to freshmen: “Don’t forget where you came from.”

I also asked other legislators what advice they’d give freshmen.

“Keep your mouth shut,” suggests Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg (D-Sherman Oaks). “Don’t get out there and offer your opinion on every issue. Listen. Do your homework and do it again.”

Spoken like a leader who doesn’t enjoy back-talk.

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Under term limits, observes sophomore Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento), “it’s not as if members can afford to sit on the back bench and wait their turn. They’re expected to get right on in there.”

“My advice,” he adds, “is focus, focus, focus. The key is to find issues that have not received real political prominence, but need leadership. That’s where you can really make an impact.”

Steinberg staked out community mental health services for the homeless and has secured $70 million in new funding for 26 counties.

Second-term Assemblyman Herb Wesson (D-Culver City) cautions: “These guys should never fall in love with their bills.” Measures often are butchered, he notes, and authors shouldn’t take it personally. Compromise.

Wesson, one of six African American legislators, is regarded as a potential speaker when Hertzberg is booted in 2002.

Sophomore Assemblywoman Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) counsels newcomers: “Take a deep breath and try not to panic. Don’t expect too much of yourself early. . . . You’re now in a decision-making position, so people suddenly become your best friends. Keep it in perspective.”

She adds freshmen “ought to think twice” about aiming for speaker. “It’s like being president of the senior class. You’re a lame duck the minute you’re elected. The dynamics have shifted dramatically from the days of ‘Big Daddy,’ uhhh . . . what’s his name?”

Jesse Unruh, a powerful leader who prized institutional memory.