Brulte to Quit GOP Post in State Senate

State Senate GOP leader Jim Brulte, who played pivotal roles in toppling legendary Assembly Speaker Willie Brown in 1994 and resisting Gov. Gray Davis’ tax initiatives, will step down from his post within two weeks.

The Rancho Cucamonga Republican, who must leave the Senate this year because of term limits, told his 14 party colleagues of his decision in a private meeting Wednesday. In an interview, Brulte said he wanted Sen. Richard Ackerman of Irvine, who the caucus had decided months ago would succeed him, to be the principal Senate GOP negotiator when budget discussions began in May.

Members of both parties said they did not believe the leadership change would have a dramatic effect on the direction of Senate Republicans, who under Davis’ Democratic governorship spearheaded GOP resistance, particularly on fiscal matters.

But Ackerman, 51, a former Fullerton mayor who made a long-shot bid for attorney general in 2000, doesn’t have the negotiating experience Brulte developed during the decade he spent as a legislative leader.

Ackerman will also bring a different personal style to the basic tasks of minority leader: devising consensus on legislation, raising money for campaigns and, most important, trying to win enough seats to become the majority party. That last challenge is a tough one in the Senate, where Democrats hold 25 of the 40 seats.

“Philosophically they’re very similar,” said Sen. Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks). “Jim’s a much more gregarious guy. Dick is much more urbane and reserved. Both are very shrewd strategists. I think Jim concentrates a little more on the political side and Dick on the policy side.”

Ackerman said he did not plan to make any major changes for the rest of the year. “My goal will be to try to continue the standard that [Brulte] set,” he said. “He’s one of the best political guys the Republican Party has in the entire state.”

Senate President Pro Tem John Burton (D-San Francisco) said that while he saw Ackerman as “a little bit more conservative than Brulte, if that’s possible,” any differences would be overshadowed by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s role in setting the party’s legislative agenda.

“With Davis here, they were in a position where they could afford to be obstructionist, because they were fighting a Democratic governor,” Burton said.

Noting the loss of Brulte’s institutional knowledge, Burton said, “It’s a new thing for Dick, but he’s a very smart guy, and he’ll figure it out.”

Ackerman’s political roots and legislative interests are grounded in the Republican suburbs of Orange County. A business lawyer, he served on the Fullerton City Council for a dozen years, including two terms as mayor. He was first elected to the Assembly in 1995 and joined the Senate in 2000.

Ackerman has been the ranking Republican on the budget conference committee for two years. Among the more colorful pieces of legislation he has sponsored this session is the “bunny bill.” It would permit the poisoning of rabbits that eat lawn plants and flowers.

Brulte has been in the Legislature since 1990. After rising to GOP leader, he engineered the GOP’s takeover of the Assembly in 1994. But his dreams of ascending to the speaker’s dais were destroyed when Brown, the outgoing Democratic speaker, won the support of one of the 41 Republicans, just enough to deny Brulte the post.

Brown’s maneuver became political legend, but on Thursday, Republicans emphasized Brulte’s success in helping the GOP win the majority of seats as an example of his talent.

Sen. Ross Johnson (R-Irvine), a close ally of Brulte’s, said: “Jim deserved the credit for our achieving that.”

Brulte moved to the Senate in 1996 and rose to caucus leader four years later. Before the Davis recall, he was the de facto leader of the state GOP and helped lead George W. Bush’s 2000 campaign in California. Brulte aggressively pressed his caucus’ anti-tax agenda against Davis, threatening to campaign against any Republican lawmaker who voted for higher taxes to lift California out of its budget crisis.