Peace’s Chance Crumbles Amid Political Wars

SACRAMENTO —  Assemblyman John Burton said his was a simple request: “I just wanted to give Peace a chance.”

Burton, one of Democratic Speaker Willie Brown’s closest personal friends and political allies, was playing off the lyrics of the John Lennon-Yoko Ono song to explain why he had done the unthinkable Tuesday--offering a motion on the Assembly floor to oust Brown from the speakership and substitute dissident Democrat Steve Peace of Chula Vista.

The motion, which was overwhelmingly defeated, was meant to embarrass Peace and four other members of the “Gang of Five,” the group of rebellious Democrats who have been advocating Brown’s ouster since early this year.

And the tactic apparently worked, as Peace garnered only 13 votes in the 80-member house and members of both parties hurled brickbats at each other and at the most controversial of the dissidents.

“This shows the world how many votes you and your group have for the speakership,” Brown boasted to Peace after presiding over the well-orchestrated political lynching.

The latest move to oust Brown was prompted, ironically, by Peace, who was the first Tuesday to offer the official motion to “vacate the chair” of the speakership. But he was quickly upstaged by Burton who, with solid backing from other Democrats, offered a substitute motion to name Peace as Brown’s successor.

In pushing for new Assembly leadership, the Gang of Five had hoped to take advantage of the FBI corruption probe targeted at the Legislature. But the move touched off a rancorous debate and did little more than underscore divisions not only among Democrats but Republicans, whose Assembly leader, Pat Nolan of Glendale, apparently is one of those being targeted in the investigation.

GOP Assembly members have been under pressure to join with the dissident Democrats to dump Brown. But Nolan, backed by most Republicans, has argued privately that Brown’s liberal image provides a great target for the GOP to run against in elections.

After the FBI raided offices of Nolan and three other legislators last Wednesday night, Nolan’s critics believed they could use his involvement as an excuse to dump him as well. On Tuesday, it appeared that Nolan would retain his leadership post, for now at least.

In another symbolic test of Nolan’s political strength, only nine Republicans ultimately joined in the move to oust Brown and replace him with Peace.

But the Assembly spent nearly an hour debating the issue, taking time out from hundreds of bills that must be acted on before the Legislature’s scheduled adjournment at midnight tonight.

During the debate, Assemblyman Charles M. Calderon (D-Alhambra), one of the dissident Democrats, moved to disqualify Brown from presiding over the session, claiming that his presence represented a conflict of interest and violated Assembly rules. Ruling Calderon out of order, Brown issued an angry challenge to the dissidents.

“Whenever you’re going to take me out, you’re not going to do it in the dead of night,” Brown fumed. “You’re going to look me in the eye.”

Assemblyman Ross Johnson (R-La Habra), a strong Nolan supporter, called the move a “childish maneuver designed to grab headlines for Steve Peace and his gang of friends.” Johnson branded Peace a “spoiled, petulant child,” adding that the whole episode was “an exercise in futility.”