Schwarzenegger’s second act

Rip off the last pages of the Sacramento calendar for 2005 with relief and toss them out. It was a wasted year almost totally dominated by an unnecessary and unsuccessful special election called by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to push his government reform package. As a result, the legislative agenda went nowhere, and the year became one long, wearisome war of rhetoric between the Republican governor and his allies and Democratic legislative leaders and theirs.

It didn’t have to be. Schwarzenegger and the Legislature entered 2005 on a generally high note. Schwarzenegger enjoyed a 58% job approval rating after having a good first year in 2004. Then he surprised many by delivering a combative State of the State address on Jan. 5 that challenged the Legislature to quickly adopt far-reaching government reforms that could be submitted to voters in a summer special election.

“Nothing changes in Sacramento,” he said. “This place is in the grip of the special interests.”

Schwarzenegger had an especially narrow definition of “special interests,” obviously referring to the public employee unions that backed Democratic legislators (his special interests seemed immune). This grated on legislative leaders. It got worse as Schwarzenegger embraced the agenda of the state Chamber of Commerce, the California Business Roundtable and others. In June, when legislators failed to react quickly enough, Schwarzenegger called a special election for Nov. 8 to win approval of his reform program.

No one is certain why Schwarzenegger shifted so suddenly to the right, but he wasn’t getting good advice. On Nov. 8, with low turnout in many heavily Republican areas, Californians soundly rejected all four initiatives that Schwarzenegger supported -- a mishmash of measures including a redistricting plan of dubious legality and a budget-restriction measure that potentially would have shifted strong new powers to the governor’s office. The Democrats “won,” but the year ends with everyone drained by the effort.

What’s ahead for 2006? The new year always allows for optimism, a fresh start. Schwarzenegger took a major step on Nov. 10 when he acknowledged the folly of the special election. He appears to recognize that the people want him to work with lawmakers to solve problems in the Capitol and stop running to them to decide.

The groundwork is there for a productive session of the Legislature when it convenes on Jan. 4. Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland) and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles) have pledged their cooperation. The governor has even invited Democratic legislative leaders to confer with him on what issues he should address in his upcoming State of the State speech.

Of course, next year is another election year. The governor is running, and Nunez and Perata are responsible for holding their majorities (25 to 15 in the Senate; 48 to 32 in the Assembly). But despite the conventional wisdom that it’s impossible to get big issues resolved in an election year, it’s done all the time. With the public images of both the governor and the Legislature in the miserable range, both sides could use some successes.

They know what the big issues are: Fixing the chronic budget deficit and the way the state draws legislative and congressional districts after each census; dealing with aging infrastructure (a bond is already in the works); healthcare for those without insurance.

A tougher nut for the governor may be persuading Republican legislators to go along with any agreements he reaches with the Democrats, especially if any proposals even faintly smell of a tax increase or an imposition of new fees. But the subjects can’t be avoided as Sacramento tries to fix the budget and ponders the state’s aging transportation and water systems. California businesses know they need good ports and harbors; Republican lawmakers will need to be persuaded to make investments in California now to reap rewards later.

The first tip-off as to whether 2006 will be more successful than 2005 will come in the State of the State address. Schwarzenegger should offer an olive branch to lawmakers, along with a promise to sit at the negotiating table (or in the governor’s smoking tent) as long as it takes to make progress on the problems everyone agrees on.

Schwarzenegger’s foes may see him as a wounded beast clinging to political life. They should not underestimate this man. He still draws crowds. People like him personally, even if they didn’t buy his agenda in 2005. He has learned that he can’t govern by holding campaign rallies and staging flashy media events, or by embracing the political right too tightly. It will take gritty, hard work behind the scenes this year. But Schwarzenegger has demonstrated at times that he’s up to that. Few now doubt that he will be reelected, and you can be sure he will be doing everything he can to shore up that assumption.

The mood of cooperation and the desire to solve problems could blow up at once over any deadlocked issue if Sacramento lets political ideology get in the way of the real needs of Californians. Schwarzenegger can expect a serious approach to the issues by the pragmatic Perata, but the governor needs to be convinced that Nunez is serious about wanting consensus and reform. One insider who knows Nunez well observed, “He has had no reluctance to throw sand in the gears” -- for example, his last-minute axing of the governor’s foresighted “million solar roofs” program.

In the coming year, Schwarzenegger must take the lead, but California will lose out again unless both legislative leaders -- and Republicans in the Legislature -- also are willing players.