Tuesday, July 27, 2004
Legislators fume as budget talks spoil party
By John Ellis
July 27, 2004
The Fresno Bee
BOSTON -- State Sen. Dean Florez was looking forward to this year's Democratic National Convention, but he was gone before it officially started, thanks to California's budget impasse.
It's made him, and several other Democrats, unhappy and angry.
The Shafter Democrat graduated from Harvard University's business school across the Charles River in Cambridge and planned to show his daughteraround the campus. His wife and mother are delegates, as is he. He wanted tonetwork as he considers a 2006 run for state treasurer.
But California is almost a month late in adopting a budget, and with the possibility of action today, Florez had to cut his trip to this historic city short -- very short -- along with a handful of other Democrats in thestate Legislature. He hopped a plane at Boston's Logan International Airportand was due back in Sacramento late Monday night.
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Florez came east even though Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, D-SanFrancisco, had last week told the nine Senate Democrats who planned toattend the convention to stay in the state. "Unfortunately, we don't alwayshave time to be everywhere we want to be and get to do everything we want todo," Florez said. "But I have never missed a vote on a budget, and I don'tintend to start."
It's a similar feeling of anger for Assembly Member Sarah Reyes, also a delegate. "It's really disappointing," the Fresno Democrat said Monday."It's not the same watching on television."
Those who took their chances and flew east, including former Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson, D-Culver City, were grim-faced as they said goodbye to fellow Democrats Monday afternoon and prepared to head back, either late in the evening or early today.
"We are very upset," Wesson said of his early return to California to continue work on the budget. He blamed Gov. Schwarzenegger and Republican legislative leaders for "not understanding how to win" with the budget.
Others making the trip included Assembly Members Rebecca Cohn, D-Saratoga,and Mark Leno, D-San Francisco.
Reyes didn't hold out hope of making it to Boston, as Florez did. She canceled her flight and hotel room Thursday, saying it wasn't worth flyingout, then turning around and coming back. She didn't get a refund on theflight or on one night's hotel stay.
"Every time we think we have a deal," she said of negotiations with the Republicans, "they bring another policy issue to the table. We're close, but we can't close if they keep reneging on their deals.
"Some Democrats -- including Fresno delegate Neil Sims -- believed Republicans in Sacramento were playing politics simply to ruin theconvention for their Democratic colleagues.
There was even talk in Boston -- fueled by comments made by Burton -- of
pushing the budget impasse another month so the Republicans would miss their
national convention, which is to start Aug. 30 in New York.
Wesson acknowledged that many people were upset, but when presented with
that scenario, he said: "I try not to be petty."
Late Monday, Republicans and the governor reached a compromise with the
Legislature's Democratic majority, effectively ending the deadlock.
Assembly Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield dismissed the
criticisms. "If we were the majority party, we'd be done," he said.
As the battle raged 3,000 miles away and those Assembly members who made the
trip east prepared to return home, some in Boston seemed resigned to the
realities of the constant tussling between Republicans and Democrats.
Former Gov. Jerry Brown, now mayor of Oakland, called it an "inevitability"of a two-party system with a politically divided legislature.
Visalia delegate Rudy Florez put it in simpler terms: "It's a game[Republicans] play. It's just to stir it up here at the convention. That'sall they're doing. It's politics."
The reporter can be reached at jellis@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6320.
July 27, 2004
The Fresno Bee
BOSTON -- State Sen. Dean Florez was looking forward to this year's Democratic National Convention, but he was gone before it officially started, thanks to California's budget impasse.
It's made him, and several other Democrats, unhappy and angry.
The Shafter Democrat graduated from Harvard University's business school across the Charles River in Cambridge and planned to show his daughteraround the campus. His wife and mother are delegates, as is he. He wanted tonetwork as he considers a 2006 run for state treasurer.
But California is almost a month late in adopting a budget, and with the possibility of action today, Florez had to cut his trip to this historic city short -- very short -- along with a handful of other Democrats in thestate Legislature. He hopped a plane at Boston's Logan International Airportand was due back in Sacramento late Monday night.
Advertisement
Florez came east even though Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, D-SanFrancisco, had last week told the nine Senate Democrats who planned toattend the convention to stay in the state. "Unfortunately, we don't alwayshave time to be everywhere we want to be and get to do everything we want todo," Florez said. "But I have never missed a vote on a budget, and I don'tintend to start."
It's a similar feeling of anger for Assembly Member Sarah Reyes, also a delegate. "It's really disappointing," the Fresno Democrat said Monday."It's not the same watching on television."
Those who took their chances and flew east, including former Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson, D-Culver City, were grim-faced as they said goodbye to fellow Democrats Monday afternoon and prepared to head back, either late in the evening or early today.
"We are very upset," Wesson said of his early return to California to continue work on the budget. He blamed Gov. Schwarzenegger and Republican legislative leaders for "not understanding how to win" with the budget.
Others making the trip included Assembly Members Rebecca Cohn, D-Saratoga,and Mark Leno, D-San Francisco.
Reyes didn't hold out hope of making it to Boston, as Florez did. She canceled her flight and hotel room Thursday, saying it wasn't worth flyingout, then turning around and coming back. She didn't get a refund on theflight or on one night's hotel stay.
"Every time we think we have a deal," she said of negotiations with the Republicans, "they bring another policy issue to the table. We're close, but we can't close if they keep reneging on their deals.
"Some Democrats -- including Fresno delegate Neil Sims -- believed Republicans in Sacramento were playing politics simply to ruin theconvention for their Democratic colleagues.
There was even talk in Boston -- fueled by comments made by Burton -- of
pushing the budget impasse another month so the Republicans would miss their
national convention, which is to start Aug. 30 in New York.
Wesson acknowledged that many people were upset, but when presented with
that scenario, he said: "I try not to be petty."
Late Monday, Republicans and the governor reached a compromise with the
Legislature's Democratic majority, effectively ending the deadlock.
Assembly Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield dismissed the
criticisms. "If we were the majority party, we'd be done," he said.
As the battle raged 3,000 miles away and those Assembly members who made the
trip east prepared to return home, some in Boston seemed resigned to the
realities of the constant tussling between Republicans and Democrats.
Former Gov. Jerry Brown, now mayor of Oakland, called it an "inevitability"of a two-party system with a politically divided legislature.
Visalia delegate Rudy Florez put it in simpler terms: "It's a game[Republicans] play. It's just to stir it up here at the convention. That'sall they're doing. It's politics."
The reporter can be reached at jellis@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6320.
# posted by Senator Dean Florez @ 11:34 AM 
