Veteran Lawmakers Facing Term Limits

Le Central bistro is a hip downtown hangout where hizzoner Mayor Willie Brown regularly holds court, springing for martinis and rolling dice with a few cronies to decide who pays for their repast of roasted chicken and petrale sole.

But in this bastion of high-profile lawyers and businesspeople, the diners are not shy about assessing their politicians. Some see Brown and state Senate leader John Burton (D-San Francisco), his friend and ally, as two veteran lawmakers who may be seeing the end of their political shelf lives, like aging wedges of sharp cheese.

“Just once, I’d like to see these people get real jobs,” said cafe regular Leslie Knapp. “All their lives, they’ve known nothing but politics. It’s time to move on.”

Nowadays, the two larger-than-life native sons face looming decisions about their political futures: Now that Californians have rejected a proposition to loosen term limits, many believe that Democrats Brown and Burton could soon play a game of political musical chairs.

Brown, who started life as a poor kid from Texas, established himself as a political titan by serving 31 years in the California Assembly, the last 14 as speaker. He was elected San Francisco mayor in a 1995 landslide, and won a second and final term--though not as easily--in 1999.

Burton, a recovered drug addict whose brother was the legendary Rep. Phil Burton, served in the state Assembly and in Congress. In 1998, he took the helm of the state Senate, becoming the most powerful politician in California after Gov. Gray Davis.

The 67-year-old Brown, whose term ends next year, has already raised a $1-million campaign war chest and has set his sights on Burton’s seat, which opens up in 2004.

And while Burton at the moment says he does not want to become San Francisco’s next mayor, the election is still more than a year off and nobody is counting him out.

San Franciscans, who have historically preferred colorful politicians and supported long-term administrations, recently bucked the state trend on term limits: While Proposition 45--which would have allowed termed-out incumbents the possibility of an extension--failed elsewhere, 53% of the city’s voters backed the measure.

Brown Says He Has Many Good Years Left

For many, Brown remains a star with plenty of shining power.

“Forget about voters and term limits--those mandates are the tyranny of the majority,” said Doug MacPhereson, perched at a window seat at Le Central. “Willie Brown has a unique brand of leadership which doesn’t always wait for any consensus.”

Brown, the cocksure former lawyer who once dubbed himself the Ayatollah of the Assembly, says he has many good years of politicking left. “I’ve done 40 years of politics with no wear and tear on me,” he said. “I have more energy than people one-tenth my age. I still have full use of my brains. There’s no reason I should be put out to pasture.”

Since election day, the 69-year-old Burton--normally accessible to the media--has been reluctant to talk to reporters.

He was dealt double blows last week: Not only did he lose the term-limit fight but his daughter, Kimiko Burton, was also defeated in her bid to keep her job as San Francisco public defender, despite his financial and political backing.

When reached on his cell phone Friday and asked about his future, Burton said: “I’m gonna go eat lunch. Talk to you later.” And he hung up.

Experts say Brown and Burton should follow their instincts. “I don’t think they should hesitate for a minute,” said Raymond Wolfinger, a UC Berkeley political science professor. “For voters to say they’re in favor of the generic concept of term limits is a different thing than giving the boot to two of their most beloved statesmen.”

Others sense a shift--a younger grass-roots movement starting to overtake the machine politics of old-timers like Burton and Brown.

“The new grass-roots liberalism is a big caution to these two men,” said Ed Moose, a restaurant owner and local Democratic organizer. “There are 200,000 people living in this city who weren’t here five years ago. People just don’t vote the way they used to.”

Moose said Burton now “has baggage because he couldn’t get his daughter elected.” And Brown--who often brags he has never lost an election--has his own concerns, Moose said.

In recent elections, numerous Brown-backed local candidates in county supervisor races as well as various political measures backed by the mayor have gone down to defeat.

“For the first time, Willie Brown is not the guy who always wins,” Moose said. “He’s lost more than he’s won over the last year and a half.”

But blue-collar San Franciscans still love their mayor. At Capps Corner, a North Beach eatery frequented by cops and longshoremen, it’s all Willie, all the time.

“San Francisco needs Willie Brown like Chicago needed Richard Daley,” said police officer Dick Sheehan. “You need a powerful politician like Willie to get things done with all this town’s battling political factions.”

Added Mike Paulsen, who sat next to Sheehan at the bar: “Willie Brown is just getting started. Why give him the boot when he’s doing a hell of a job?”

Mixed Opinions on Politicians’ Futures

Around the corner at Moose’s restaurant, the bets on Brown’s and Burton’s futures were mixed.

Joe Freitas, a retired San Francisco district attorney and a Burton friend, said he thinks the senator would have run for mayor if his daughter had won her race.

“But now he’s got to think long and hard about it,” he said. “He’s almost 70. I think it would be physically difficult for him.”

At a nearby table, Jeff Adachi, who defeated Burton’s daughter for the public defender’s job, said the days of old-style San Francisco politics might be over: “But the machine has been so powerful for so long, hand-choosing their own candidates, I’m afraid we don’t have a generation of young politicians ready to take its place.”

Though he has already met with political backers to discuss a state Senate run, Brown said he will not begin to actively campaign until he leaves his job as mayor.

Still, Brown called the idea of term limits “un-American.”

“The very idea of voter choice means we have the ability to vote for the same person in perpetuity, day in and day out, if that pleases you,” he said. “To punish the veteran politician just because he becomes experienced at his job, to not reward him, is just anti-Democratic.”

At Le Central, diners such as Leslie Knapp say they’ve heard enough from Willie Brown for now: “Yes, he’s a regular here and he gets things done and he has a lot of charisma, but it’s always got to be Willie’s agenda. Who cares what the voters want?”

She paused, as if tapped on the shoulder by hizzoner himself.

“Now that I’ve said that, Willie will never buy me another drink.”