Perata Unchained on the California Budget

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Frank D. Russo

Senate President pro Tem Don Perata held a news conference after the Senate completed its proceedings yesterday and passed the California state budget and related bills. He had some pretty strong things to say about Senate Republicans, those who suffered needlessly over the impasse over the budget, and the institution of the State Senate, as we head down the last four weeks of this year's session. Here is what he had to say before answering reporters' questions.

Perata in His Own Words

"I'll just say the obvious--that's what I'm really good at--Thank God this is over with.

I am still perplexed why it took so long. It occurs to me and I would be remiss if I didn't say that last evening when I heard what was going on over across the street where a lot of the Senate Republicans were yucking it up that they had blocked, still again, the budget deal, that it underscores the damage that happens to this institution when people do not comport themselves in a manner consistent with the traditions of this Senate.

This place has always been characterized by the ability to rise above politics--not partisanship necessarily, but politics--to put the institution ahead of everything else. But when people take glee and delight in failing to allow the job of this Senate to be done, to take glee and delight over people who are suffering because the state had not passed the budget that is very troubling. And I think it is not troubling just today; it is going to be a harbinger for the future if some very strong positions are not taken and people decide that we are going to do our business in the common good, in the interests of the common good, and not in the interests of some narrow ideologies.

The question has been asked: What happened today that couldn't have happened before? I do not have an answer to that. Many of the issues that had been sticking points, candidly, were never brought up until late in the game. Dick Ackerman is the duly anointed leader, selected by his caucus. I didn't select him, they did. And then it became sort of, everybody in the caucus got to get a can of spray paint and put graffiti on the wall. I've never seen that happen before where you have sort of a rolling set of negotiations and different people had different and different people had different ideas at different times.

In the final analysis, we were 51 or 52 days late. One Republican went up--that was the leader. Others didn't. A couple of them voted for different trailer bills which may or may not have any consequence in any event. But it's very interesting that everybody that held out and who didn't vote for the budget still received the benefits. Their constituents received the benefits of that budget. They don't have to endure the pain, but they all get the benefits.