L.A. Area Expected to Keep Its Hold on Assembly Speakership

Leading state officials said Monday that Herb Wesson is poised to become the next speaker of the California Assembly--the third Los Angeles-area Democrat in a row to lead the state’s lower house.

An ambitious Los Angeles political operative who served for years as top lieutenant to Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke and Los Angeles City Councilman Nate Holden, Wesson has worked skillfully behind the scenes to outflank his rivals, according to lawmakers who have watched the assemblyman’s moves.

“A few months ago I saw the pieces break in our direction,” Wesson said in an interview Monday, acknowledging that he appears to have the votes needed from most of the Assembly’s 80 members. “Nothing is definitive. But as time has gone on, I’ve been humbled that those who have the qualifications for this job themselves have come to me and said they backed me.”

The speakership traditionally has been considered one of the most important spots in California elected politics. Though its luster has dimmed in an era of term limits, it remains a position from which favors can be handed out and deals cut. As a result, it can elevate the officeholder and help deliver plums to his or her region.

Though Wesson, 50, secured the support to succeed Speaker Bob Hertzberg months ago, it could be some time before a formal transfer of power takes place. Hertzberg, who is being forced out of office by legislative term limits next year, hopes to hang on as speaker until January, and Wesson appears inclined to wait.

Wesson (D-Culver City) and Hertzberg (D-Sherman Oaks) want to ensure an amicable transition and avoid a repeat of the power struggle that occurred two years ago, when Hertzberg amassed the votes needed to succeed his former Sacramento housemate, Antonio Villaraigosa.

“I am a traditionalist. I want a custom and a practice,” Hertzberg said, arguing that in the era of term limits, the Assembly should agree to transfer power smoothly every two years. “The beginning of the year is when you vote for a speaker.”

Term limits have unquestionably diminished the California speakership, a job once held for years with king-like authority by larger-than-life politicos such as Willie Brown and Jesse “Big Daddy” Unruh. Since term limits forced Brown out of the Legislature in 1995, no one has held the speaker’s job for more than two years.

Like Hertzberg, a longtime presence in East Los Angeles politics before being elected to the Assembly, Wesson came to Sacramento with considerable political connections and knowledge. That background, lawmakers said, gave him a clear edge over other would-be speakers, and his name was floated as leadership material from the beginning of his tenure in 1998.

“He has a real ease of manner and is very smart in terms of understanding how to build coalitions both within the Capitol and outside,” said Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg, a former Sacramento councilman who had been considered one of the top challengers for the speakership. “He’s a great communicator, and he has tremendous people skills.”

Wesson, who grew up in a blue-collar home in Cleveland, also understands the art of political fund-raising--a key prerequisite for anyone looking to lead a house of the Legislature.

From his perch as chairman of the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee, which presides over tobacco, alcohol and gambling issues, he amassed a $1.3-million treasury at the end of last year--much of it from those three industries, according to campaign finance reports.

It was by far the most of any Assembly member aside from Hertzberg, and Wesson proceeded to distribute most of it to fellow Democrats encumbered with large campaign debts, the records show.

Many lawmakers and lobbyists consider Wesson’s personal views to be more liberal--especially on labor and civil rights--than those of Hertzberg, a moderate who has often sided with business interests--particularly on labor and civil rights issues. But those same people call Wesson--whose district includes Culver City and much of southwest Los Angeles, including the historically powerful Baldwin Hills area--a practical lawmaker who is always looking to cut a deal.

Republican lawmakers appear to have preferred Wesson over other potential speakers in the Democrat-dominated Assembly, and some say they may support him when a vote is taken as they did with Hertzberg.

“Herb Wesson has a deep respect from most of the members of our caucus because he is someone you can work with,” said Assemblyman Tony Strickland (R-Thousand Oaks). “He truly seeks to understand and consider the minority philosophy.”

One of Wesson’s biggest potential obstacles to the speakership was the Legislature’s Latino Caucus, whose members make up one-fifth of the Assembly. In recent years, that group has tried to hold together as a bloc for the candidate of its choice.

But before it could coalesce behind any candidate, Wesson had succeeded in securing commitments from several of its members, including leader-elect Marco Firebaugh of Los Angeles--a feat several lawmakers cited as a prime example of Wesson’s political smarts.

“There really wasn’t a candidate in the [Latino] caucus that had everyone’s support,” said Assemblyman Tom Calderon (D-Montebello), a rival who commanded a bloc of moderate votes, but ultimately bowed to Wesson. He is now running for state insurance commissioner.

If he is indeed elected speaker, Wesson will undoubtedly receive attention as California’s highest-ranking African American politician. At a time of ebbing black political power throughout the state, fellow lawmakers said he will stand as proof that an African American can still rise to the top.

But Wesson said Monday that he did not want to discuss what that accomplishment meant to him, calling it a topic for another time--the moment he is elected speaker.

“I’m a human being first, who happens to be African American,” Wesson said. “Right now is not my time. The Assembly can only have one speaker, and the speaker right now is Bob Hertzberg.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Herb Wesson

* Born: Nov. 11, 1951

* Residence: Culver City

* Education: Bachelor’s degree in history, Lincoln University

* Career highlights: Currently chairs the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee, which oversees legislation dealing with gaming, the state lottery and the Public Records Act, among other topics. Prior to his election to the California Assembly in 1998, served as chief of staff to Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke. He also served as chief deputy to Los Angeles City Councilman Nate Holden.

* Family: Married to Fabian Wesson. He has four sons.