Hertzberg Elected Speaker in Unusual Unanimous Vote

In a unanimous vote devoid of the infighting and animosity that have marked some successions, the California Assembly on Monday elected moderate Democrat Bob Hertzberg as its next speaker.

Hertzberg, an energetic Sherman Oaks attorney known for his attention to detail and tendency to hug everyone in sight, becomes the second straight Los Angeles lawmaker to head the lower house--and the seventh speaker in the past five years.

He also becomes the first San Fernando Valley legislator to be voted speaker since Bob Moretti represented the same Van Nuys-centered district a quarter of a century ago, and the first Jewish speaker since Edgar C. Levey in 1927.

Because of term limits, Hertzberg, who is serving his second term, can serve as speaker for less than three years.

Hertzberg will not take the reins from current Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles) until April 13 under a deal cut by the two political allies. Villaraigosa, a candidate for Los Angeles mayor, will then receive the ceremonial title of speaker emeritus to use while stumping for votes.

“I am deeply humbled and honored by the expression of support and confidence each of you has placed in me,” Hertzberg, 45, said in accepting the position as his wife, Cynthia, sat by his side on the Assembly floor.

In an interview, Hertzberg vowed to put his organizational prowess to work streamlining the Legislature’s red tape. He also proposed adding experienced government investigators to the Assembly staff to probe whether state agencies are correctly implementing laws that are passed. And he promised to focus on improving the plight of the mentally ill and bolstering the state’s overburdened roads and freeways.

“I’m talking to every member of our caucus about what they want to do,” he said, “and hopefully we can end up with fewer bills and a better, clearer vision of where we are going.”

With Democrats holding 47 of the Assembly’s 80 seats, the selection of Hertzberg, who had Villaraigosa’s backing and spent months lobbying for votes, was considered a certainty.

But the unanimous voice vote--which came after Republican leader Scott Baugh seconded Villaraigosa’s motion for Hertzberg--represented an unusual display of harmony that was in sharp contrast to the nasty speakership squabbles of the mid-1990s, before Democrats took firm hold of the Assembly.

“I don’t believe in poking someone in the eye just because you can,” Baugh (R-Huntington Beach), who spoke to Republicans about the need to maintain civility, said afterward.

Even the Assembly’s lone Independent, Audie Bock of Piedmont, rose to support Hertzberg.

“Every time we have elected a speaker--every time--it’s been bitter and partisan,” said Republican Brett Granlund of Yucaipa, who praised Hertzberg’s fairness as head of the Assembly’s powerful Rules Committee. “And today, we get to stand, Democrats and Republicans alike.”

Hertzberg’s election marks the first time in at least 50 years that a nonincumbent has been elected speaker on a unanimous vote, according to the Assembly’s chief clerk, E. Dotson Wilson.

Indeed, members of both parties had nothing but complimentary words for Hertzberg, who endeared himself to many rookie legislators by crafting a crash course in the ways of the Assembly dubbed “Hertzberg University.”

Such innovations have proven crucial in the term limits era: 27 of the Assembly’s members are freshmen.

Villaraigosa said Hertzberg, who has served as his right-hand man, deserved much of the credit for many of his accomplishments, including brokering a bipartisan deal to pass a record $9.2-billion school bond proposal on a late-night diet of jellybeans.

“Bob Hertzberg is speaker-elect because he worked harder than anyone in this Legislature,” Villaraigosa, who transferred millions from his campaign treasury to bolster Hertzberg’s bid, told reporters.

Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles) said Hertzberg had shown himself to be a coalition builder, as comfortable with the “suits” in West Los Angeles as with labor leaders on the Eastside.

Dennis Cardoza (D-Merced) said no one was a quicker study than Hertzberg, making him the perfect man to lead the Assembly in the era of term limits, when the life of an Assembly member tops out at six years and institutional memory is virtually nonexistent.

Tom McClintock (R-Northridge) said he would “grieve as a Republican, but rejoice as a Californian,” predicting that Hertzberg would bring dignity and professionalism to a Legislature that had been losing its luster for years.

Hertzberg told reporters afterward that he would not make many changes in the Assembly’s leadership structure, leaving Villaraigosa’s loyal foot soldiers in place. But sources said he is expected to name Cardoza as his successor on the Rules Committee.

He also stressed that he had not dangled committee chairmanships in front of any legislators to secure their vote or persuade them not to mount rival runs for the speaker’s job. But Tony Cardenas (D-Sylmar), who abandoned a longshot bid for speaker last month, reiterated that he was promised his “leadership possibilities would increase.”

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Term Limit Shuffle

Assemblyman Robert Hertzberg, elected Monday to succeed current Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa in April, will become the seventh speaker in five years. From 1961 to 1995, five lawmakers served as speaker of the California Assembly. But since the 1990 term limit law has been forcing incumbents from office, turnover has increased dramatically. The list of speakers since 1961:

* Jesse M. Unruh (D): Sept. 1961-Jan. 1969

* Bob Monagan (R): Jan. 1969-Jan. 1971

* Bob Moretti (D): Jan. 1971-June 1974

* Leo T. McCarthy (D): June 1974-Nov. 1980

* Willie L. Brown Jr. (D): Nov. 1980-June 1995

* Doris Allen (R): June 1995-Sept. 1995

* Brian Setencich (R): Sept. 1995-Jan. 1996

* Curt Pringle (R): Jan. 1996-Nov. 1996

* Cruz M. Bustamante (D): Dec. 1996-Feb. 1998

* Antonio R. Villaraigosa* (D): Feb. 1998-April 2000

* Villaraigosa is scheduled to step down April 13.