Veto Pen Strikes Out the Work of Some Legislators

If Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg batted for the Dodgers with the same success that she had this year in getting her bills signed, it’s likely that she would be on the bench.

There is a new pitcher on the mound in Sacramento, and lawmakers including Goldberg have watched their batting averages plummet.

The Democratic legislator from Los Angeles wrote 15 bills that were sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger during the just-completed session of the Legislature, and he vetoed 13 of them.

“It’s always tough to lose bills, but to lose 13 of them is very difficult,” Goldberg said. “My staff and I were pretty depressed.”

Goldberg wasn’t alone.

Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles) wrote seven bills that he considered significant and only one was signed into law.

Both wondered whether the high veto rate had something to do with their roles as two of the governor’s most vocal critics.

In a few cases, Nunez was surprised to see Schwarzenegger veto bills of his that had bipartisan support and positive input from the governor’s staff.

“I believe there are people in the governor’s office who are perhaps acting a little petty,” Nunez said. “It should not be personal. When we allow the political to get mixed up with the personal, it sends the wrong message.”

Schwarzenegger spokeswoman Margita Thompson denied that the governor or his staff made any decisions for political reasons.

“He looks at issues on their policy merits,” she said. “The days of putting politics ahead of what is best for the state ended with the recall last year.”

Nunez said that if the intent of the governor’s staff was to intimidate him, it didn’t work: “I’m in no way going to be threatened or cajoled.”

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Governor Is Not Fond of New Commissions

One trend spotted in the governor’s vetoes appears to be antipathy toward bills that create new boards or commissions.

That is, perhaps, not surprising. A task force appointed by the governor just recommended killing 118 boards and commissions.

Although the governor did sign a bill by state Sen. John Burton (D-San Francisco) to create an Ocean Protection Council, he vetoed a bill by Sen. Joseph Dunn (D-Santa Ana) that would have created a 16-member state panel to study the deportation of some 2 million people of Mexican descent between 1929 and 1944.

Schwarzenegger likewise shot down a bill by Sen. Richard Alarcon (D-Sun Valley) to create a new Commission on Latino/ Latina Affairs.

The veto message on the Dunn and Alarcon bills was identical: “The establishment of a new commission is not necessary.”

Schwarzenegger noted: “As I said in my State of the State [speech], I am going to ‘blow up the boxes.’ This bill creates new boxes without explaining the need for a new commission.”

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Fundraising Idea Was Clever, Possibly Illegal

Jim Hilfenhaus, political director for a Los Angeles building trades union local, thought he had come up with a clever idea: a fundraiser featuring the winner and runner-up in this year’s race to become state Senate leader.

Senate leader-elect Don Perata (D-Oakland) and Sen. Martha Escutia (D-Whittier) were said to be attending to show Democratic donors that they are peacefully coexisting.

But then Hilfenhaus, of Laborers’ Union Local 300, wrote the invitation.

First off, Escutia had no idea her name had been invoked. But there was an even bigger rub: It was worded in such a way that everyone involved could have ended up in a heap of legal trouble.

Donors, he wrote, could attend a “small intimate meeting with pro tem-elect for those who wish to discuss their issues and legislative agenda with him” in exchange for writing checks of $3,200 to $6,400.

“Usually I’m pretty good,” Hilfenhaus said. “But I’ve never hosted a fundraiser. I just didn’t know that those magic words were illegal.”

Perata’s aides did. They called to direct that the event, set for last week, be canceled. Hilfenhaus said he quickly uninvited donors who had been more than willing to write out checks.

“I’ve been flooded with calls from lobbyists,” he said. “They thought it was a good idea.”

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For Short, That’s LBCGHGCLPTAWB

Laguna Beach City Councilman Wayne Baglin has been targeted by an independent expenditure committee that hails by the catchy name “Laguna Beach Citizens for Good, Honest Government and Civility in Local Politics and Therefore Against Wayne Baglin.”

The group is chaired by James Whalen, an executive with computer hardware wholesaler Arbitech, which has a shipping office across from Baglin’s real estate office. Doug Kari, a senior vice president with the firm, is a top contributor.

Baglin’s sin, some of his supporters believe, has been siding with residents who complain that Arbitech’s trucks and employees are creating parking problems in the city.

Baglin said he is “being used as a lightening rod” by a wealthy company that doesn’t care about its impact on neighbors.

The company executives, who have given $26,000 to the anti-Baglin committee, dispute his contention. They say Laguna Beach has no problem with the company’s parking arrangements.

The issue, Whalen explained, is that they believe Baglin has tried to use his office for personal benefit and has disparaged law enforcement.

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Diane Keaton Finds Another Classic Role

Bel-Air isn’t only a part of town loaded with classic homes by renowned California architects. Last week it also was where you’d find a dense population of vintage-architecture fans -- a mixture of politicians and film types -- at one particular vintage home.

Actress Diane Keaton, a board member of the Los Angeles Conservancy, opened her house for a “fiesta” to aid the conservancy’s mission of preserving historic homes. Keaton is a lover of the residential architecture of Wallace Neff and a serial restorer of historic Southern California houses. For this event, she invited a stellar list: Carol and Frank Biondi, Ellen DeGeneres, Steve Martin, Keanu Reeves, Meg Ryan and, from the 90012 ZIP Code, Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn.

The conservancy is doing battle to save the 1921 Ambassador Hotel, of which Keaton said, “Issues like the Ambassador Hotel remind us that there’s still much to be done to create a true preservation ethic in Los Angeles.

“As a native Angeleno,” she said, “I love this city’s historic architecture, and it’s hard to watch it disappear.”

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Points Taken

* In challenging St. Louis Mayor Francis G. Slay to a friendly wager over the Dodger-Cardinal baseball playoff series, Hahn may have offended aficionados of one Southern California institution. Hahn wrote that if the Cardinals win, he would send “sweet treats from a legendary L.A. institution, Cobbler King.” Apparently it is not legendary enough for Hahn to know it is actually “Kobbler King.”

* It’s probably been, oh, a while since Orange City Councilwoman Carolyn Cavecche was referred to as a girl. But the label didn’t seem to bother Cavecche, 44, when Schwarzenegger used it last week. He called out to her as “the girl” to ask the first question at a town hall he held in Irvine.

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You Can Quote Me

“This is ‘Twins 2.’ ”

-- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as he wrapped his arm around slight-statured economist Milton Friedman in a reference to an imagined sequel to the film that the former actor made with diminutive Danny DeVito.

Contributing this week were Times staff writers Dan Morain, Patt Morrison and Jean O. Pasco.