Posted on 03/21/2006 1:31:23 PM PST by calcowgirl
A breakdown in protocol caused two Republican senators to miss last Wednesday night's important floor session on bonds. The incident has led to a contrite sergeant at arms and a discussion over the ubiquity of Blackberry wireless devices in the Capitol.
More importantly for Republicans, it caused a spat between Senate minority leader Dick Ackerman, R-Irvine, and Senator Tom McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks, the party's candidate for lieutenant governor.
It all started last Wednesday afternoon as Senators were waiting for an announced Wednesday night session to try to work out a compromise on the infrastructure bond. Shortly after 5 p.m., Secretary of the Senate Greg Schmidt sent out an email to senators and staffers saying that the night's session had been cancelled. At approximately the same time, Senate Sergeant at Arms Tony Beard announced the same thing over the loudspeaker to Senate offices.
However, after emerging from a Big Five meeting with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Senate Leader Don Perata, D-Oakland, decided to call the session after all, for 8:30 p.m. Beard said that he had a short, face-to-face meeting with Senate Republican Leader Dick Ackerman, R-Irvine, at a location near the Capitol.
Beard said, and Ackerman's office confirmed, that Ackerman said he would contact all the Republican members. Normal procedure would be for Beard or one of his sergeants to call every senator on their cell phones or whatever number they had specified when they needed to be reached urgently.
Instead, Ackerman's office sent out an email to all Republican chiefs of staff at 6:46 p.m. The email did not go to any members or other staff members. McClintock told Capitol Weekly that he carries a Trio wireless device and would have received an email. He also said that he sent his staff home around 6:30, after double-checking Schmidt's and Beard's offices and finding them empty.
Unlike most high level staffers in the Capitol, McClintock's chief of staff, Kirk Hutson, does not carry a Blackberry wireless device--and he did not get the message. McClintock, who said he prides himself on rarely missing votes, said he did not discover that session had been held until he showed up for work the next day at 8:30 a.m. He said he promptly had a "spirited discussion" with Ackerman, whom he described as "apologetic."
"I don't think it was malicious," McClintock said.
Beard declined to blame Ackerman, saying he should have instructed his staff to make the customary calls.
"It was my responsibility," said Beard. "It will not happen again."
Another Republican senator, Roy Ashburn of Bakersfield, also missed the session due to miscommunication. He said he was traveling by car to his district when he got a message from Ackerman asking him to call. The two men called back and forth at least twice before connecting, at which time Ackerman told him of the session. However, Ashburn said he had traveled too far at that point to make it back in time.
"It was a confusing situation, but I do think Senators should rely on the official channels: Tony Beard or Greg Schmidt," Ashburn said.
Meanwhile, four Democrats missed the Wednesday night session. Richard Alarcón, D-Sun Valley, and Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, had already been excused to attend official events in their districts. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, confirmed that she was also in her district, visiting her ill father in the hospital. Of the four, only Nell Soto, D-Pomona, was in the area; a spokeswoman said that she had gone to an event and did not get a phone message from Beard in time.
The miscommunication had no effect on the outcome of the night's session. By a 33-0 vote, senators approved AB 135, which appropriates $1 billion in non-bond money to repair the state's levees; no bond deal was reached.
Both Ackerman and McClintock said there is no lingering ill-will between them.
"Senator Ackerman and Senator McClintock have a good working relationship," said Ackerman's press secretary, Tom Collins. "That has not changed."
However, McClintock said that he does not yet consider the matter closed. He said he is awaiting a written explanation from Beard. He also had words for Perata.
"The Senate is not supposed to meet at the moment's whim of a single member," McClintock said. He added that the incident symbolized "the collapse of the formal processes upon which the Senate once prided itself."
Beard said that those formal processes will now be back in place. He added that in his quarter century a Sergeant at Arms, this kind of situation has rarely come up.
"Once in ten years you get a night like this," Beard said, "if that."
Malcolm Maclachlan is a Capitol Weekly staff reporter.
PING!
McClintock Ping List.
Please freepmail me if you want on or off this list
BTTT
Still trying to track down the two Assembly bills on the 15th to produce the List of Shame.
Working on the List of Shame
I think you mean SB 69 and SB 74 (as voted on by the Assembly). Per the article, AB 135 was the $1 Billion dollar appropriation for levees (from the GF). I'm not familiar with SB 1121.
I think AB 134 is the shame of all shames.
That's the Friday night pork-laden megabond that Arnie negotiated with Fabian
(that couldn't get a single Republican Vote).
SB69: (Perata) Education facilities bond acts: 2006 and 2007
Voting Aye:
Greg Aghazarian
John J. Benoit
Sam Blakeslee
Lynn Daucher
Bill Emmerson
Bonnie Garcia
Shirley Horton
Bob Huff
Rick Keene
Tim Leslie
Kevin McCarthy
Roger Niello
George A. Plescia
Keith Richman
Sharon Runner
SB74: (Perata) Emergency Flood Protection and Levee Repair
Voting Aye:
Greg Aghazarian
John J. Benoit
Sam Blakeslee
Russ Bogh
Lynn Daucher
Chuck DeVore
Bill Emmerson
Bonnie Garcia
Shirley Horton
Bob Huff
Rick Keene
Doug La Malfa
Tim Leslie
Kevin McCarthy
Alan Nakanishi
Roger Niello
George A. Plescia
Keith Richman
Sharon Runner
Todd Spitzer
Michael N. Villines
Mimi Walters
Mark Wyland
God, what a complete disgrace Sacramento is. Absolute bottom of the cesspool crap.
Thanks.
Guess McCarthy's passing will make no difference. Keene and Plescia went right along with Nunez, Perata and the WG.
At least a few (14) Republicans had reservations about bailing out the LAUSD. Only 4 apparently stuck to their guns about the WG's use of Eminent Domain to pander to the Green's and protect their developer/donors.
Many Found Elements to Hate in Gov.'s Plan
Neither Democrats nor Republicans liked what they were hearing from Schwarzenegger before talks stalled on the infrastructure project.
By Jordan Rau and Robert Salladay
March 17, 2006
(snip)Still, Schwarzenegger was adamant about a June deal. "If we can't do this by Friday [March 10], we are all losers," he told the leaders at a joint meeting last week, according to two participants.
By Tuesday ...The fed-up leaders walked together to Schwarzenegger's office to say they wanted to start over, aiming for a smaller, less-divisive plan for the November ballot.
Schwarzenegger would have none of it. "He said flat out this was not acceptable," Perata said.
The administration tried to ratchet up the pressure on Republicans, asking donors and local activists to weigh in on Schwarzenegger's behalf. It didn't work.
By Wednesday night, the only thing the leaders could agree on was a $4.1-billion package to refurbish California's levees. Then the Assembly approved $19 billion in education bonds as well — violating that agreement, in the Senate's view. The chamber adjourned without taking action.
I pray a way is found to keep us from being prey in November!!!
I pray a way is found to keep us from being prey in November!
Just:
1) Keep pointing out that Austria's King Schwarzenegger isn't wearing any clothing (credentials)
2) Conserve your energy for this fall. No more arguing with the three blind mice.
3) As long as you're praying, pray for an declaration of war between Austria and the US by early August. :)
Aw geeze! And here I thought they were sharp, not "blunt!" Oh well...
Seriously, Amerigo, thank you for the kind words and I will follow your advice as carefully as I can.
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