Today's the day. THE DAY? What, you don't know which day today is? Well, it's transition day, of course. Speaker Bass is making way for Speaker Perez.
John Perez officially takes over today as assembly speaker, a position considered the second-most powerful job in California politics.
In a ceremony being compared to an inauguration, Perez will outline his priorities - jobs, jobs, jobs and perhaps a bit on education and, oh yeah, that multibillion-dollar budget problem. He is expected to be speaking to a full house, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Gov. Gray Davis and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa - Perez's cousin. (LA Daily News)
These are all important goals, but what role does a Speaker really have in today's broken government? Let's face it, the past two years, the past 6 years, really, have been something of a disaster. The reckoning that we had feared came to pass. And given the 2/3 supermajority rules, we were unable to really fight back. The best we could get was apparently the February deal, which we can all agree was something of a disaster. See May 19.
And into this disaster walks John A. Perez. While both are pretty staunch progressives, it's hard not to notice the differences between he and Speaker Bass. He's an operator of political levers in a way that Speaker Bass never mastered. Perhaps given more time, Bass would have gotten there, but Perez lives and breathes this stuff.
But is that helpful? It's a defining question for the Assembly Democratic Caucus, but perhaps it should be reframed for general purposes. Can Perez be the guy who brings in not only the day to day of operating the Assembly, but also brings forward a grand vision for California that the Legislature has been lacking. It's a big burden to put on anybody.
In California's governmental climate, the role of Speaker must be as much of a media figure as a legislative figure. You must be able to legislate, of course. But given that much of the legislative power now resides in the wishy-washy electorate, the Speaker must be able to go directly to the people.
And that's the question that must be resolved. Perez can never do it on his own, but he must lead the Caucus and the Party into a drive for real communication with all Californians.
While John Perez allegedly has 29 votes for the speakership within the Democratic caucus, there has been no official vote of either the Democratic caucus or the Assembly as a whole. That's going to change this week:
Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles, is planning to hold a vote to elect her replacement on the Assembly floor this week. The two front-runners for the job - Assemblyman John Perez, D-Los Angeles, and Kevin DeLeon, D-Los Angeles -- spoke for about 20 minutes this weekend, and were set to meet again today to discuss the race.
The vote would likely be a voice vote, and could come Wednesday or Thursday, as the house reconvenes to discuss education policy. (Capitol Weekly)
The two leading candidates had a conversation over the weekend, and Mayor Villaraigosa is trying to keep the peace amongst the warring LA factions over this race. The troubling thing is that nobody really knows how this is going to play out.
Also of note, it looks like Jared Huffman of Marin is quite close to Perez, as the CW article relies on Huffman for the Perez perspective. I don't know if that means anything, but perhaps Huffman would have a more visible role in a Perez speakership.
You might have noticed that we've been talking about this whole Speaker's race thing. First there were like 4 potential candidates, then two, Felipe Fuentes and Kevin De Leon, and then 3, with the addition of John A. Perez. And then, Speaker Bass announced that she would be the 29th vote for a future Speaker Perez.
Yet things can never be that easy. This is California, and these are Democrats.
First there was the poll about Gil Cedillo challenging Perez for the assembly district. And then, over the last three days or so, there's been a discussion of the number 41. Because for some reason, the fact that Speaker Bass is #29, that a consensus in the Caucus has been reached, that's all now insufficient. 41 has been popping up in whispers around the Capitol, in random hints in quotes in newspapers and on the web.
41 is a powerful number. It's the number that seperates Democrats from ceding power to the Republicans in the Assembly. It's the number that allows progressives to maintain whatever semblance of power. It's the number that keeps vows from being made to Republicans that Democrats will have to maintain.
It's the number that represents the line that Democrats haven't crossed. Sure, it's been flirted with, and Willie Brown crossed it in the 90s to take the Speakership from the Republicans.
There is only one way that the number 41 becomes relevant, if we let this become bigger than it should. If we let personal ambition and personal grievances become larger than what is best for the caucus. And more importantly, if we let what's best for the state take a back seat.
Democrats are the Assembly Majority. The Assembly Majority Caucus chooses the Speaker. The same as it ever was, the same as it should be. The Member who has the majority of the Majority becomes the Speaker. Forget 41. 26 is the number that matters.
Since Willie Brown was termed out, the Assembly Speakership has been pretty much an LA thing. The LA members, and some other muckety-mucks, particularly now the former speaker and current mayor, get together to decide who will be the next speaker. While it might not actually be that simple and quick, it is the gist of it. So, people knew it was pretty much over when Speaker Karen Bass said this:
"I really very deeply believe that John will be a speaker that reflects the strong Democratic values that brought all of us here," Bass said. "The momentum is such that it's time for a resolution." (SacBee)
Of course, the other big competitor, Kevin De Leon, still hasn't conceded anything as he attempts to get 26 votes within the caucus despite Bass's remark that she was Perez's "29th vote."
During such a contentious process, there are always going to be some hard feelings. It's hard to imagine it any other way, such is the system that term limits has given us. Willie Brown's days as Ayatollah of the Assembly are over, and the consistency that Willie provided with his iron grip of the office are also gone. And pretty much everytime, there's a story like this:
Hurt feelings and allegations of treachery are de rigeur when it comes to the politics of the speakership. But the story of Assemblyman John Perez's rise as a candidate for speaker reveals the little talked about Machiavellian side of Karen Bass, a speaker who is often cited for her calm personal demeanor and affable political style.
Bass, D-Los Angeles, came out publicly in support of Perez's speakership bid Wednesday, telling the press about her decision before the caucus had formally chosen a new leader. But Bass's press conference has angered some Assembly Democrats, who complained that they had the idea of a Perez speakership forced upon them with no time to coalesce as a group. (CapWeekly)
In the end, everybody will move past this, and this will be just one more little private score in a town full of scores to settle. One can only hope that the bitterness doesn't extend to policy and that the caucus can move forward with the business of the state. I am sure this will happen in due time, but with a pending budget battle, moping time is a luxury we may not have.
John Perez is not a household name. Yet. In the coming days, Perez may well make history, becoming the first openly gay speaker of any state legislature in the United States.
This, from the California that narrowly voted to undo same sex marriage. This from the same California that faces as much as $40 billion in deficits in 2010. This from the same California that has a minority majority population, but where Latinos are fast becoming the majority. This from the same California that used to provide the best education on the planet to all and now can not graduate the majority of most high school students in Los Angeles.
John Perez is California. He's openly gay. He's Latino. He's a son of Los Angeles. He's an intellectual, a strategist, an environmentalist, a labor leader. He's an organizer, a skilled consensus-builder, a unifier and a stunningly disarming public speaker. John is that rare elected official that we know will hold the public interest at heart.
The only real question is why John would want the job? If he becomes Speaker of the California State Assembly, he'll face the worst problems this state has seen since the depression or even before. But he wants the job -- and I can't imagine a better leader in Sacramento to take it on. John has all of the qualities, and from what I hear, most of the support necessary to win. If the Democrats in the assembly unify behind John and avoid the "speaker wars" that have often marred the period since term limits passed, he will become the speaker.
I've known John for nearly six years. We met in March 2003, when I was a relatively inexperienced but highly motivated supporter of Howard Dean's candidacy for the White House. I had, for years, been involved in politics, but never so deeply as Dean's inspiring campaign to reverse the direction of our country.
At the suggestion of a mutual friend, John met with me at a restaurant at Universal City Walk right after one of the first Dean "Meetups" that would propel that campaign forward. He sat with me, very patiently explaining the who and the what of California labor and progressive politics. He did not need to do that; he could easily have looked at this relative neophyte in state politics and said, "if this is what Dean has to offer, I'm out of here." But he did not. And he was always there to help, after I became Chair of Dean's presidential campaign in California and then went on to found the Courage Campaign.
California rarely has the opportunity to place the assembly in the hands of a speaker for more than a year or two. John would follow Karen Bass, who has lived through one of the worst imaginable times in our history. Karen is a true progressive, and she supports John. So do I. And while these leadership battles seem very arcane and insider, it's time for all of us in this state who support progress to understand that we have a stake in who leads our assembly.
In the next few days, John Perez may well make history. And, as progress marches on, he will eventually live in a state that allows him to marry the man he loves.
Karen Bass is making history as we speak. She is currently being sworn in as the first Democratic female speaker in California history. Furthemore, she is the first African-American female to be Speaker in any of the 50 states and the federal government.
Good Luck Speaker Bass. And if you are really prepared to take on reforming our tax structure, we'll be in good hands for the next two years.
With so much worth protecting and so much that threatens our economic well-being, it is far past time to move beyond simply patching over budget problems to finding a real, creative -- and bipartisan -- way off the budget roller coaster we seem to be stuck on year after year after year.(LAT 5/13/08)
There are a lot of interesting things going on that should be mentioned, but that I couldn't quite generate whole posts out of - so here they are for your Friday reading pleasure.
Karen Bass will become the Speaker on May 15, meaning she will play a central role in the upcoming budget negotiations this summer. I'm guessing she won't be as frequent a guest in Arnold's smoking tent as was her predecessor.
Civil Rights groups have come out swinging against the redistricting reform plan - MALDEF, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the National Association of Latino Elected Officials, and the William C. Velazquez Institute held a news conference to explain their belief that redistricting reform will produce many fewer elected officials of color and weaken the voting rights of those communities. It's especially ironic that these criticisms are made against the backdrop of Fabian Núñez getting ready to hand off power to Karen Bass - redistricting reform is low enough on the state's list of priorities, and if it is going to reduce the representation of California's communities of color, it needs to not be passed.
The Department of Managed Care is going to reexamine thousands of "rescissions" of health insurance made by insurers AFTER the patients got sick. When 90 of these rescissions done by Blue Cross were sampled by the agency, all 90 were found to be flawed. While this process holds out some hope of recovery of costs and insurance by those victimized by this practice, it also simply reinforces the point that health insurers have no place in the delivery of health care in our state and in our country.
This evening, Assembly Majority Leader Karen Bass was elected Speaker of the Assembly. Bass, who I believe is the first African American woman elected to this position, will succeed termed-out Fabian Núñez.
Assemblywoman Bass represents the 47th Assembly District - the cities and communities of Culver City, West Los Angeles, Westwood, Cheviot Hills, Leimert Park, Baldwin Hills, Windsor Hills, Ladera Heights, the Crenshaw District, Little Ethiopia and portions of Korea Town and South Los Angeles.
cross-posted at TheLiberalOC.com
Yesterday's San Francisco Chronicle had a lengthy Ed Epstein piece on Speaker Pelosi marking 20 years in the house following her contentious special election victory over Harry Britt. Over the years, San Francisco politics have proven an effective training ground to allow the people we elect to excel. Feinstein is a powerhouse, Willie Brown was Da Speaker, the Burton brothers were titans in Sacramento and DC, Migden chairs the senate Caucus, Leno chairs Appropriations. If you can make here politically, you really can make it anywhere.
And if you want to see what I'm talking about, read Chris Daly's op-ed at the Fog City Journal on the current budget battle. Making great use of the medium with literally dozens of links (going back to 1998), the Supervisor shows how San Francisco politics is fought in the trenches. And remember, all of this is over one half of one percent of the SF budget.
Well, straight from the horses' mouth you can get the Speaker's endorsement of Sen. Clinton for President. Personally, I think the Speaker is making a mistake in two ways here. One, it's early, sure HRC is leading now, but her lead is strongest amongst low-information voters. As people discover that they have some good choices, they will move away from her.
Two, HRC is lacking in support from the grassroots. This endorsement won't help that. Obama got 10,000 to pack into Frank Ogawa plaza, and Edwards has connected recently with the grassroots. And Bill Richardson, the resume candidate, is still out there, waiting for somebody to falter. HRC refuses to admit that she was wrong to vote Yes for Iraq, and that will be her albatross as the war gets even worse.
To me, this endorsement gives a big middle finger to the grassroots and especially the netroots. So, will it work? Ultimately, I doubt quite seriously that this changes more than a handful of votes. Frankly, is the Nunez base really going to drift to HRC because he says she is qualified? I'm of the opinion that these endorsements are more inside baseball than anything else. If she wins, maybe such an early endorsement from Nunez gets him a swank job if the term limits deal goes down.
Finally, the Speaker talks about the chance to make history, and I don't deny that. But, you know what, we have a lot of ways to make history. We can make history by identity politics, and HRC isn't the only one who can play that game. But we can also make history by winning with real ideas, real leadership, and I'm just not convinced that HRC is the right choice there.
