The Assembly Also Rises

The following first appeared in Capitol Weekly Unions’ clout, term limits, Perata’s woes shift power to Assembly Speaker By Shane Goldmacher (published September 15th, 2005) In the last hours before the deadline to strike a special election compromise, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez was in constant communication with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Everything was on the table in their negotiations, from term limits to redistricting to the union-opposed "paycheck protection” initiative. And though their last ditch efforts were for naught, one lawmaker, Senate Leader Don Perata, was conspicuously absent. Sources close to the dealings say Perata, D-Oakland, was consulted throughout the process, but that Nuñez took the lead, meeting privately at least twice in Schwarzenegger’s Los Angeles home and multiple times in Sacramento. The Speaker’s principal role in the negotiations is the latest signal of a sea change in the Legislature: The Speaker of the Assembly no longer plays second fiddle to the leader of the Senate. A confluence of personal, political and structural factors have led to the balancing out of power between the two legislative houses. Before Perata was even sworn in as leader, the FBI began issuing subpoenas in an investigation of his business dealings and associates. Ever since, allegations of financial wrongdoing have swirled around the Oakland Democrat, who earlier this year established a legal defense fund to combat the FBI probe. As of the latest available filings, that committee had raised more than $320,000, but legal bills were piling up faster than contributions. Perata’s legal defense fund was nearly $260,000 in debt by the end of June, despite an exemption from Proposition 34 contribution limits, and despite receiving a $50,000 donation from Sacramento-area developer and political donor Angelo Tsakopolous. Read the rest of the story here.