Legislators' responses to pay halt contrasted

In this file photo from December 14, 2010, California State Controller John Chiang, right, looks on as California Governor Jerry Brown comments during an education budget briefing at UCLA's Ackerman Ballroom in Westwood, California. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times/MCT) less In this file photo from December 14, 2010, California State Controller John Chiang, right, looks on as California Governor Jerry Brown comments during an education budget briefing at UCLA's Ackerman Ballroom in ... more Photo: Brian Van Der Brug, MCT Photo: Brian Van Der Brug, MCT Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Legislators' responses to pay halt contrasted 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

There was a lot of grumbling at the Capitol this week after Controller John Chiang decided to stop paying the Legislature until it passes a balanced budget plan.

Chiang's decision left Democratic lawmakers steaming mad, while Republicans' reactions ranged from praise to circumspect acceptance. Here are a couple of the greatest hits - and let's not forget: The Legislature has a dismal approval rating of 23 percent, according to the latest Field Poll.

-- "Our state government right now reminds me of a troop of boys lost in the wilderness. The goal is to get back to civilization, but the governor seems hell-bent on forcing four people to take his chosen path, while John Chiang just wants to sit there and beat up on the unpopular kids." - Assemblyman Mike Gatto, D-Los Angeles.

-- "Must future Legislatures submit their budget proposals to the state controller to obtain his approval before passage?"' - Sen. Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa.

-- "Utilizing the controller's office to finally put a halt to the budget games will return accountability to our budgeting process and force the Legislature to do its job honestly." - Sen. Sam Blakeslee, R-San Luis Obispo.

Assemblywoman Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, was perhaps the most honest. She told the Los Angeles Times, "it hurts," but added that she "applaud(s) the controller for upholding the will of the voters."

With friends like these: We're guessing one of the reasons Gov. Jerry Brown steered clear of the pay battle is that he has enough angry allies on his hands after vetoing that same Democratic budget plan.

Brown touched on that veto Thursday during a speech in San Francisco, at the Pacific Coast Builders Conference - and got some laughs out of the crowd with some other remarks as well.

"It's not fun to veto a budget of your own party," he said. "You know you have to stand with your friends, which I like to do, but you also have to stand with California, and make sure we build for the future, and not just steal from it."

A bit later, he compared trying to reconcile the various interest groups and branches of government to herding cats. And while he continued to insist that budget talks with Republicans are moving forward, his response when asked what he learned as mayor of Oakland seemed telling to us:

"I never had such a sustained experience of mindless resistance as I experienced as mayor. What I learned is that people have these larger ideological expressions that are way, way out of whack," he said. "What did I learn? You have to crush the opposition."

Those weren't the only lessons - Brown also learned to "identify your strengths," he said.

"And certainly a critical asset of Oakland is ... it's very well situated," he said. "And the weather and the views are fantastic. I always say the view from Oakland looking west is better than the view from San Francisco east."

The governor shied away from promoting changes to Proposition 13, California's landmark property tax-limiting law, noting that's a "third rail" for a politician. He did play to the construction industry crowd a bit, joking that he liked renting in Oakland for a bit because he "enjoyed calling the landlord if things went wrong."

And he acknowledged that a key, controversial element of his budget plan - eliminating redevelopment programs around the state - has been a tough fight.

"I wouldn't be ready to write the obituaries on the redevelopment agencies, they are very powerful, and so far they are (doing) well, despite my best efforts," he said.