Veteran to fill Perata’s post

Two days after voters rejected a bid by sitting lawmakers to stay in office longer, veteran Democratic legislator Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento was chosen to replace Don Perata later this year as leader of the state Senate.

In the state Assembly, legislators set a March 11 date for choosing a new speaker.

The houses’ current leaders, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles) and Senate President Pro Tem Perata (D-Oakland), are expected to remain in place until after a budget is negotiated this summer. Steinberg said he would wait until Perata’s term is up in November to take over.

The changes are a direct response to the defeat Tuesday of Proposition 93, the term limits initiative that would have permitted Nunez, Perata and others to run for reelection this year. That might have allowed the men to hold on to their leadership posts.

In the Senate, the dominant Democrats agreed by acclamation Thursday that Steinberg would be the only candidate to replace Perata when a formal vote is held Aug. 21.

Steinberg, 48, a former labor lawyer and educator, is well-liked and respected by Senate colleagues. They know him as a policy wonk who has led the push for education and mental healthcare reform in California.

“I would like to thank my colleagues in the Democratic caucus for the faith and confidence you are showing in me,” Steinberg said at an news conference. “I know from watching Sen. Perata and watching many speakers what a difficult challenge this is. But I want to tell you, at the right time, which is after Sen. Perata’s term ends, I will be ready to go.”

Perata indicated Wednesday that he had hoped to put off a decision on a successor until August. Senators who attended Thursday’s closed-door caucus meeting said Steinberg’s supporters forced the issue, and Perata agreed to announce the news.

Perata emerged from the meeting saying that he supported the consensus for providing “an orderly transition” of leadership and removing distractions from the daunting task of closing the state’s $14.5-billion budget gap.

“Our No. 1 priority this year is to tackle a giant budget deficit in a way that protects California’s future,” Perata said.

The decision helps avert months of behind-the-scenes deal-making and jostling between Steinberg and Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima), who also had aspired to the post.

On Thursday, Padilla decided not to contest Steinberg for the job. Senate colleagues made it clear in private discussions that Steinberg had sewn up the vote and that the Sacramento senator’s greater experience in the Legislature was important to them.

Steinberg was elected to the Senate in 2006 after three terms in the Assembly, where he chaired the budget committee. Padilla, 34, has been in the Legislature for a little more than a year.

Appearing at the news conference with Padilla and Perata, Steinberg praised Padilla as a “rising star.”

Steinberg said he had no qualms about taking over the leadership at a difficult time for the state.

“Crisis is opportunity,” he said in an interview. “As a former member of the Legislature told me, it’s much more fun to serve in the Legislature in good times. It’s much more important to serve in bad times.” He said he shares Perata’s view that the budget problem cannot be solved by spending cuts alone.

“I do know we are not going to get it done with one hand tied behind our back,” Steinberg said. “We can’t just look at the spending side. Whether that means [closing] tax loopholes, taxes, fees, hopefully we can pursue reform that gives California a more stable source of revenue.”

The president pro tem sets the Senate’s agenda, runs its floor sessions and makes appointments to committees.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a statement congratulating Steinberg.

“I have worked with Senator Steinberg on a number of issues in the past,” said the governor, whose relationship with Perata has been somewhat rocky, “and I look forward to continuing to work with him on behalf of all Californians.”

Senate Republicans, meanwhile, met and tentatively agreed to act as early as spring to choose a successor to Minority Leader Dick Ackerman of Irvine, who is being forced out this year by term limits.

Also on Thursday, during an unusual news conference in the Assembly chamber, Nunez announced that his caucus had voted unanimously to keep him as leader until the legislative session ends Nov. 30.

“We’ve agreed to a process in a way that expresses the utmost political maturity,” Nunez said.

He said he would not interfere in the jockeying to replace him and probably would leave politics for at least a couple of years after his term is up at the end of the session.

“We’ll see what else comes,” Nunez said. “I think I do need to take some time off to do other things and spend more time with my family, because they’ve made a big sacrifice.”

Nunez said he took “full responsibility” for the failure of Proposition 93. Critics had assailed him and Perata for breaking a promise to couple a term limits proposal with redistricting changes that would have taken from the Legislature the power to draw political districts.

Nunez said he had been unable to reach an agreement with Republicans on a “fair and objective process” for drawing the voting districts.

Candidates for Nunez’s post -- all Democrats -- include Karen Bass, Kevin De Leon and Mike Feuer of Los Angeles; Charles Calderon of Montebello; Hector De La Torre of South Gate; Edward Hernandez of West Covina; Anthony Portantino of La Canada Flintridge; and Alberto Torrico of Newark.

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patrick.mcgreevy@latimes.com

nancy.vogel@latimes.com