Perata now in driver's seat on infrastructure
Democrat already talking about next phase of project
By Steve Geissinger, SACRAMENTO BUREAU
Inside Bay Area
Monday, March 20, 2006
SACRAMENTO — Losers in the infrastructure bond war clutter the political scene, from the governor to regular Californians — except for one lawmaker who may swiftly win final OK of $1 billion for levees and seems to be taking over future public works upgrade plans.
Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, an Oakland Democrat, emerged as the key player during the week as his house approved $1 billion from the budget for levee repairs and dismissed Assembly-approved public works bonds that focused narrowly on education and flood protection.
Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Perata had both proposed broader infrastructure repair plans.
"I remain committed to giving voters a comprehensive bond measure that addresses the long overdue investments we need to make in transportation and schools," Perata said Friday. "Early this coming week, we will unveil our next step to move the infrastructure bonds forward."
Analysts said Perata is now viewed as everything from an obstructionist who killed any chance for Schwarzenegger's public works bonds this year, and perhaps ruined the governor's re-election chances, to a consensus builder who acts as a check on the governor's power.
But analysts said Perata has left no doubt he's the second most powerful politician in the state. "This puts Perata at center stage," said Jack Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College.
Perata is the only player that a smiling, optimistic Schwarzenegger growled at publicly, after Perata adjourned the upper house without taking up the Assembly's bonds on education and flood protection at the deadline for the June ballot.
Perata cited a lack of leadership on bonds for wide-ranging public works needs.
Later, in response, Schwarzenegger snapped, "Well, does he (Perata) have a problem with his leadership? I don't know. What are you saying?"
David McCuan, a political scienceprofessor at California State University, Sonoma, said that Perata "has emerged as a dealmaker who can hold his side of the house together, is believable and can work across the aisle."
"There is no one else out there with that wheelin', dealin' role," McCuan said.
Republican lawmakers — many of whom were themselves troubled by aspects of Schwarzenegger's original $222 billion, multiyear plan to upgrade everything from roads to ports — found themselves Friday looking to Perata for the next step.
The Senate, before it adjourned, approved taking $1 billion from the state budget for improving Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta levees.
"That's a great down payment to fix our levees," said Assemblyman Guy Houston, a Livermore Republican who is the Bay Area's sole GOP lawmaker. "The Assembly should approve this funding while we continue to work on a bond agreement between the Senate, Assembly and the governor."
Analysts said that if the first in a series of infrastructure bonds is to appear even on the November ballot, it will depend largely on the Senate leader, though he is still troubled by a long-running FBI probe of his finances that could change things.
Though Schwarzenegger has vowed to place infrastructure bonds on the November ballot, stakeholders are pessimistic. The governor is about to enter negotiations over his proposed budget for next year, as he campaigns for re-election.
Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuez, D-Los Angeles, said at the least the bond talks revealed general agreement on education and levee issues, allowing future debate to focus on transportation, natural resources and water storage.
He said Democrats will continue to work with the governor in an election year and not sabotage him for political reasons.
"Democrats have been working day and night to forge an agreement with the governor and clearly he didn't secure enough Republican votes to make that happen," Nuez said. "But nobody can say that Democrats stood on the sidelines and egged the governor because we didn't do that."
Tim Hodson, head of the Center for California Studies in Sacramento, said that "what must be a troubling omen for the governor is the refusal of any Republican legislator in either house to support any of the bond measures."
"If the governor cannot deliver those all-important six Assembly and two Senate Republican votes (for a two-thirds margin), he will not have a record of bipartisan accomplishments to take into the November election," Hodson said.
If a bond measure is placed on the November ballot, the governor will find himself campaigning for the bond, possibly side-by-side with Democratic lawmakers, even as he fends off attacks from Democratic gubernatorial candidates.
Democratic hopeful Phil Angelides said the governor wasted time traveling to the Arnold Classic fitness expo earlier this month when he should have stayed in Sacramento negotiating, in addition to wasting all of last year on a special election that voters didn't want.
"I think voters are seeing each and every day that this governor just doesn't have the competence and the credibility to govern," Angelides said. "He doesn't have the ability to do the hard work of moving this state forward."
And the campaign for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Steve Westly said the issue is likely to come up in the fall.
"The collapse of this deal reflects a complete lack of confidence in the governor's leadership abilities, among both Democrats and Republicans," said Nick Velasquez, spokesman for the Westly campaign.
"His inconsistent leadership and inability to deliver on his promises will be a major issue over the course of this campaign," he said.
Schwarzenegger failed with his major ambition last year, the government reform package in the November special election, and hasn't had a major, visible success since mid-2004 when he reformed the workers compensation system.
But analysts say his Democratic competition is relatively weak, with Angelides seen as negative and Westly, inexperienced.
Staff writer Harrison Sheppard contributed to this report. Contact Sacramento bureau chief Steve Geissinger at sgeissinger@angnewspapers.com. http://www.insidebayarea.com/search//ci_3620813 |