The Assembly Republican Majority - 10 Years Later

April 15, 1996 Heralded Major Tax Cut Passage by Assembly

Sorry for being a week late on this post:

On April 15, 1996 (Yes, Tax Day), the Assembly passed AB 2033 (Jim Brulte) on a 43-26 vote.  AB 2033 was Governor Wilson's proposed 15% across the board tax cut, phased in as 3 annual, successive cuts of 5%.

Of note, all 41 Assembly Republicans, plus Reform Party member Dom Cortese and one Assembly Democrat (sorry, I can't remember which) voting yes.  26 Democrats voted no, but perhaps most interestingly, 11 abstained, apparently knowing that voting against a tax cut was not a wise move.

Democrats, as you would expect, argued that a tax cut would cut money from schools.  But when Assembly Republican offered an amendment that would have guaranteed that schools would not lose any money under the bill, they still refused.

Sadly, AB 2033 was blocked by the Democrat-controlled Senate later that year (as will be a topic for a later post about the dynamic of the GOP controlling one house and the Democrats the other), but the message that Republicans stand for tax cuts was made clear on tax day, ten years ago.

Another Major Accomplishment - California Earthquake Authority

Another major accomplishment from ten years ago today from the "group that probably can't govern."

Seriously, the media and Democrats repeatedly questionned whether the Assembly Republican majority of 1996 could actually govern.  Event after event proved the answer was a resounding YES.

Ten years ago today, the Assembly passed a bi-partisan bill, AB 2086 (David Knowles) which established the California Earthquake Authority.  Remember that this was just two years after the Northridge Earthquake that had rocked the homeowners insurance market in California and threatened to make it impossible to get insurance, and thus, to finance a house.  AB 2086 stablized the market at a critical time.

There is still work to be done on how to insure risk against catastrophic loss, and this probably has to be a federal issue, but at the time, AB 2086, passed under the leadership of Assembly Republicans, was ahead of its time and another answer to the question of whether Assembly Republicans could lead.

Opportunity Scholarship Bill Moves Forward

OK, so in the last few weeks, there was a lot of "ten year ago" activity that I didn't have time to post.  Maybe I will do a summary.

But I do want to take special note of a major bill, authored by Speaker Pringle and sponsored by Governor Wilson, AB 3180, which passed out of the Assembly Education committee ten years ago today, April 17, 1996.

AB 3180 would have established Opportunity Scholarships, a grant equal to 90% of the per-pupil public school funding at the time, to students who attended the bottom 5% of public schools in California.

Few issues define the parties more clearly than a bill like this.  To Republicans, public education means providing children with a chance for a quality education.  To Democrats, it means setting up a massive bureaucracy that exists to support itself, regardless of the results.

Parents could have used the grants to attend another, better-performing public school, or a private school.

At the time, the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) report ranked California tied for last with Louisiana for the worst schools in the nation.  We haven't improved much from there.

We'll track AB 3180 through the legislative process from ten years ago, as it's fate tarcked much of what happened that year.

Speaker Pringle Shines Light on Employee Records

Ten years ago, the Assembly Rules Committee adopted new openness policies for Assembly payroll records, making it easier for the public to see how some legislative staffers moved back and forth from campaign to state payroll.

As a staffer who did split time between state payroll and campaign, the higher level of scrutony didn't bother me, and I'm not sure why the Democrats who used run the Assembly minded the disclosure either...

Jeff

Howard Kaloogian And The Doris Allen Recall

This post isn't directly related to the Assembly Republican majority of 1996, but it does directly relate to that seminal event that made it possible: the recall of Doris Allen. It also relates to Howard Kaloogian.

Now, there are enough former Kaloogian staffers around that we probably could form Kaloogian Anonymous:

Hi, my name is Matt and I worked for Howard Kaloogian. [Hi Matt!]

This is my story.

Following my surreal stint on the Mike Huffington for U.S. Senate campaign, I bounced around professionally for a few months. Then-CRP Executive Director John Peschong had wanted to bring me aboard as CRP Communications Director, but my hiring was blackballed by Gov. Wilson's political guy, Jeff Randle. The new CRP Chairman, John Herrington, had already had to fight Randle and the Wilson people for keep Peschong on board and just wasn't ready for another brawl over an operative (me) he didn't know.

That's the back story. Eventually, someone told me that freshman Assemblyman Howard Kaloogian had a position to fill in his Carlsbad district office. I was psyched because A) I needed a job and B) Kaloogian had acquired a reputation as a fearless fighter for conservatism. This reputation stemmed mainly from a Bob Novak column in which  Howard was quoted as saying something very critical of the Wilson Administration (though I can't remember what he actually said).

Howard later told me he thought he was speaking off-the-record and was mortified when the comment appeared in print. But I didn't know that yet.

I met with Howard and he hired me. I was actually an employee of the Public Employee Retirement System Committee, of which Howard was chairman under the power-sharing agreement then-Assembly GOP Leader Jim Brulte had negotiated.

Fast forward to that infamous day in June 1995 when Doris Allen stymied the gains of the Paul Horcher recall and sold herself out to Willie Brown -- making herself Assembly Speaker and postponing the GOP majority ascension to power.

I was in Howard's D.O. when it took place, and the first thing I did was to call Jeff Flint and ask, "When's the recall?"

"We're working on it," was Jeff's reply.

That's how things worked in Orange County.

Next, I drafted a blistering press release denouncing Doris Allen's political treason and calling for her recall. I faxed it up to the Sacramento office and awaited my boss's approval to send it out. Given Howard's reputation as conservative bomb-thrower, I figured it as a given that he'd be out in front of the coming Doris Allen recall.

A short time later, Howard called. He explained that although what Doris had done was terrible, what we needed to do was send out something much more conciliatory. After all, he didn't want to provoke Doris into taking away his PERS Committee chairmanship, and Howard reminded me that if he lost that chairmanship, then I would lose my job.

I was dumbfounded by Howard's response to the Doris Allen sell-out. Stupefied.

I told Howard that since the Democrats were now running the whole show he was doomed to lose his chairmanship in any case, and that it was only a matter of time before Doris's people went down the Assembly staff roster and fired me, in any case.

I assured Howard that Doris was as good as recalled -- Curt Pringle, John Lewis and Dana Rohrabacher were already putting the machinery together and Doris Allen would be out of office by the end of summer.

Howard disagreed with my analysis, and stated his belief the outrage would all blow over in a couple of weeks, and we needed to learn to live with Doris Allen as Assembly Speaker.

I responded by telling Howard he didn't know how things worked in Orange County, and that when politicians like Lewis, Pringle and Rohrabacher teamed up on a campaign project, they won.

Events, of course, proved me right -- as Howard later admitted. In the meantime, a merciful Providence intervened, and I began discussions with the International Jet Sports Boating Association to come aboard as their first government relations manager.

By the time Doris Allen was recalled in September 2005, I was happily ensconced in my new job fighting for personal watercraft owners' freedom to ride.

Prior, to the Doris Allen speakership and recall, I had viewed GOP politics as pretty basic. You had conservatives and you had squishes. I learned during those few months that the reality was more complex. Several conservatives you'd have expected to man the ramparts either headed for the tall grass (like Howard Kaloogian) or tried to cut deals for themselves with Doris (and her successor Brian Setencich) and the Democrats (like Bernie Richter and Bruce Thompson).

On the other hand, you had "squishes" like Brooks Firestone who adopted a "damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" attitude toward ending the Allen/Setencich speakerships and fighting for the Assembly GOP's rightful claim to the Speakership.

That ordeal illustrated for me that the color of a politician's ideology isn't necessarily indicative of the sturdiness of his (or her) character.

First Look at Assembly Finances

Ten years ago, the first findings of the Pringle-ordered audit of Assembly operations were revealed:

• The 1994 legally required audit of the Assembly was 15 months late
• The Assembly does not keep adequate records of fixed assets
• The Assembly does not maintain any credible internal accounting controls.
• The Legislature overspent its approrpiation by over $2 million.

From Speaker Pringle:

When I became Speaker of the Assembly, I directed Assembly Members Brooks Firestone and Steve Kykendall to make sure that Assembly finances and operations were audited and investigated....the initial results are not good news

It is clear to me that this audit raises many serious questions about the way the Assembly's financial operations were conducted in the past....This week, the Assembly Rules Committee has put a contract out to bid for an independent inventory report on the Assembly's fixed assets.  Next week, we expect to receive an independent audit on the performance and procedures of the fiscal operations of the Assembly, which we will also make public.

A full and open disclosure of how the California Assembly spends the taxpayers' money is a practice I intend to adhere to while I am Speaker.  Californians deserve no less.

The Pringle Team

Since I last posted, I looked over my ten year logs.  Early February was a relatively quiet month, with just a few items.  I see a fight over the Annual "Woman of the Year" event, in which Republicans wanted to hold the event nearer to Mothers Days and Democrats, apparently not.  I am sure it was a big fight at the time.

I also see we had a press conference on habeus corpos reform.  Don't recall the details.

Another press release from ten years ago that did stir my memory was the announcement, "Pringle names senior staff."

The announcement included:

Mark Watts - Chief of Staff
Jeff Flint (me!) - Deputy Chief of Staff
Deborah Gonzalez - Policy Director
Wendy Weber - Communications Director
Gary Foster - Press Secretary.

It was a testimony to Curt as a leader and the mission we were working on that they new staff and existing staff integrated so well, so quickly, and did a great job.  And there was plenty of chance for friction, almost non of which happened, as the Pringle staff grew from 5 ot 6 to dozens.

Prior to Curt being elected Speaker, I had held the title of Chief of Staff for him...granted, a much smaller staff.  And although I had spent more time in Sacramento, since Curt became Republican Leader, I was also busy in 1995 on the Doris Allen recall.  And honestly, at the time, I did not have the experience to be the Speaker's Chief of Staff.  I remember that Curt asked me about it a couple days before the announcement that Mark would be joining us, although he probably already had made the decision, and me advising him to bring Mark on. 

It also helped that I was going to be spending part time, and increasinhg time as the year wound on, working on campaigns, and would never be on 100% state payroll that year.

I also heard, later, that Mark had asked about whether I was OK with the announcement, and was happy to hear that I was on board. 

At the time, Dan Weintraub was with the OC Register and writing their weekly Buzz column on political tidbits.  He asked me if I considered it a demotion to not be designated Chief of Staff, and I recall saying something about how Mark was the obvious choice from his years of experience in the Capitol.  The best thing was, I meant it.

Mark and I are still close and collaborate on a couple projects to this day.

Similarly for Deborah, who had always run Curt's Capitol offices.  She also handled her role as policy director very well, accepted Mark as the new "boss", and continues to be the very best GOP legislative staffer today as Chuck Poochigian's Chief of Staff.

We did not keep in close touch with Wendy Weber, who did not stay in her position long, but Gary Foster was a huge asset.  He was so good at what he did, and not serves as Senior VP for Corporate Communications for Disney, and is still one of the best.

Wokring as part of a great team is one of the highlights of the 1996 year for me.  Many of my best work friends came from that year, and I was honored to be part of the team.

Jeff

More Fun with Appointments

Ten years ago, Speaker Pringle made the following appointments to the California Constitutional Revision Commission:

Larry Arnn (Republican) - then President of the Claremont Institute, and one of the great constitutional and public policy scholars around

Steve Frates (Democrat) - Formerly E.D. of the San Diego Taxpayers Association and a noted expert on government finance

Edward Erler (Republican) - Professor at Cal State- San Bernadino, member of the California Civil Rights Commission, and proponent of ending race-based goverment programs

Richard Rider (Libertarian) - Plantiff in landmark lawsuit that clarified requirement for local tax votes to geta two-thirds vote.

Although the Commissions work ultimately fizzled, at the time there were high hopes that it might propose some good fixes for California's structural problems.  Speaker Pringle felt the Commission should not have people who would defend the status quo, but instead make fundamental changes to some of the problams that then plagued - and unfortunately in may cases still plague, California government.

A Big Day

I was in Orange County yesterday to attend now-Mayor Pringle's Anaheim State of the City address.

But January 31, was a big day for the new Assembly Republican majority ten years ago.  As the day in which two-year bills need to be out of the house of origin, it was the deadline for all the Republican bills that had been held over in 1995 under the Willie Brown "power sharing" arrangement to get out of the Assembly.

It was also a chance for Curt and the Republican Caucus to demonstrate to a skeptical media that they could govern effectively during one of the busier times in legislative activity.

I will be blogging some details later, but January 31, 1996 turned out to be a huge win for the people of California on a public policy level and a huge win for Curt Pringle, Fred Aguiar, Jim Rogan, Jim Battin, and others in the Assembly GOP leadership team who clearly showed that they could manage and run the house.

Fun With Appointments

One of the more interesting ways in which the Speaker can impact public policy is through the hundreds if not thousands of appointments that the Speaker gets to make to various states Boards and Commissions.

In 1996, we had the stalwart John Nelson in charge of vetting and advising the Speaker on these appointments.

Ten years ago, plus or minus a day or two, Curt Pringle made one of his earliest appointments and sent a clear message that change wa sin the air, by appointing an advocate for property rights to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.

Our appointee - Rex Hime, then and now the CEO of the California Business Properties Association. 

The other day, when I was having lunch with Rex on much more current business, I mentioned to him that it was the tenth year anniversary of his appointment, and that I had a copy of the press release we had issued at the time, which I gave him. 

We had a good laugh about it, and Rex noticed the short bio at the end which read "...Hime resides in Sacramento with his wife and daughter."

He pointed out that, unless we knew something that neither he nor his wife knew about, he had two sons and no daughters...but hey, the point was still made!

What Difference Does a GOP Speaker Make?

Ten years ago today, Curt Pringle named Chuck Poochigian as Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Trice Harvey as Chairman of the Agriculture Committee, and George House as Chairman of the Labor Committee.  Compare and contrast with any others who have held these sopts in the ten years since.

All three of these legislators were at the Ten Year Reunion a couple weeks ago.

Chuck, now a State Senator and candidate fof Attorney General, continues to be one of the best legislators around.

Trice Harvey is still hard to understand...but a character and great guy all around.

And George House is still the living embodiment of "Salt of the Earth."

But most important of all was still the policies their provided leadership on in 1996.  Can you think of a bigger difference than at the Labor Committee and the days when George House chaired it?

Jim Rogan: Ten Year Rememberances

Former Assemblyman Jim Rogan asked me to post this rememberance of his first days in the Legislature, leading up to the election of Curt Pringle as Speaker:

When I won special election to the State Assembly in May 1994, I became the 33^rd Republican in an 80 member house dominated by Speaker Willie Brown. On the morning I was to take the oath, Republican Leader Jim Brulte led me into the Capitol for my obligatory meeting with the Speaker. When Jim escorted me to Willie’s office, he rose from his desk and greeted me warmly. The broad smile on his face looked a tad suspicious. Wrapping his arm around my shoulder, he walked me to the rear of his office: “Come, Judge, I’d like to show you something.” He opened a door leading directly to the Assembly floor. Pointing to the members now collecting at their desks for the start of session, he asked, “Do you know what most of those people are?” I replied, “Assemblymen?”
 

“Very good,” Willie responded. “Do you know what most of them did before coming here? They were lawyers. Do you know why lawyers come here? To get to know a governor who will appoint them to the bench. In this room, we have many assemblymen wanting to be judges; until now, I never met a judge wanting to be an assemblyman. So, Judge Rogan, I’m curious. What made you give up the bench to come here?” Assuming this was an esoteric question, I gave an esoteric answer: “Well, the legislature is where our laws are written. Although I loved the bench, I thought this opportunity would give me a chance to serve in a different venue. I wanted to have a hand in drafting laws to make our state a better place for my children.”

Like a cat playing with his mouse before eating it, Willie toyed with me before pouncing for the kill: “Judge, let me share with you some arithmetic: There are 80 members in this body. I lead 47 Democrats. Jim Brulte leads 33 Republicans. We have what we call a majority; you have what we call a minority. ‘Passing laws’ – we do those things. On a rare occasion when a bill requires a 2/3 vote, we may consult with a few members of your caucus.”

“Of course,” Willie added, “don’t feel you gave up the bench for nothing. You have an important role to play. Please show up on time, which helps the majority to make a quorum, so we can pass those laws that make better the lives of your children. And don’t forget to collect your salary and per diem check.” Then Willie, with his grin still intact, concluded the lesson: “Judge Rogan, welcome to the California State Assembly!”

For the next year and a half, we Republicans battled almost daily to retake the Assembly for our party and for the voters of California. We accomplished the victory with the election of Speaker Curt Pringle ten years ago today. Of all the political battles I have fought before and after, being part of the 1996 Republican Majority remains the one that I remember the most fondly. I will always be proud to be a part of your 1996 class and to have been your colleague. 

James Rogan

 

Dismantling the Imperial Speakership Part III

At the ten year reunion parties we held a couple weeks ago, one of the items Curt Pringle talked about was, on the night of Janaury 3, 1996, after we took partial control of the house by vesting authority in the Rules Committee and establishing Curt as Chair of Rules, we wanted to send a message for Session the next day that there was indeed a change by re arranging the seating assignments on the Assembly Floor.  This was done, as mentioned, primarily so members would completely understand that things had really changed.

Ten years ago today, we took another action to dismantle one of the apparati used by Speaker Brown to control the house...again signalling that those days were over.  We changed how Capitol Office space was assigned.

In the past, Speakers had used office room assignments as a tool to reward and punish.  Go along with Willie, get a bigger office.  Cross Willie, lose your view of the Capitol Park.  And so on.

To try to project a more fair system based on seniority, committee assignments, and the like, we asked then Assembly Member Marilyn Brewer to conduct a new system of office assignments, including a lottery, and reflecting the criteria like seniority, leadership posts and committee chairs, to equitably assign spaces.

On this day, the new system was put in place, rules were established, and the lottery was held.  When each members' name was pulled in the lottery, they had a limited time period to select their office space before they would have had to pass on their turn to select.

You would have had to to have been there to enjoy the spectacle.  When a members name was pulled, they quickly scurried off to inspect the offices still available, weight the various amenities of each, and run back to the Assembly Chambers in time to make their selection ahead of the clock.  The smart members had scouted out the offices in advance and knew which offices they wanted, and selected their "best available" ooptin left when their name was pulled. 

Suffice it to say that the NFL Draft Day had nothing on the wheeling and dealing and scampering around that day.

Brewer's then Chief of Staff, Flo (Sanchez) Kahn, got the job from her boss to run the lottery, and she swears to this day that she never did anything in her Legilsative Service that made her more enemies than this system. 

While the theatre that day was great entertainment, it did again serve the purpose to demonstrate that under Republican leadership, the house would be run in a more fair manner, withouth the reward and punishment elements of prior Speakers.  And I think it was a better system.

Rogan Elected Assembly Majority Leader

Also ten years ago yesterday (January 16, 1995), then Assemblyman Jim Rogan was elected Assembly Majority Leader.  For those of us who had the privilege of working with Jim, we knew he was a star long before the rest of the nation saw shine with dignity during the difficult times of the Clinton Impeachment trial. 

Jim has sent in some thoughts and rememberances of his own from ten years ago, and we will be posting those shortly.

Dismantling the Imperial Speakership Part II - The Cadillacs

Ten years ago yesterday (January 16, 1995), Assembly Republicans took another step in dismantling the Imperial Speakership of former Speaker Willie Brown - announcing that the three state-owned Cadillacs used by the former Speaker would be sold.  The Assembly Sergeant who drove the cars for Speaker Brown was assigned back to security duties.

Personally, this was one of the more fun press activities that we did in those early days.  It was a personal project of then Assembly Republican Caucus Chairman (now Senator) Jim Battin, who was so excited about the visuals of selling the Cadillacs that he personally wrote the press releases and had his name as the contact on the press release.

The Cadillacs, valued at nearly $100,000 in 1996 dollars, were displayed on the State Capitol grounds before being put up for sale.  Next to the Cadillac was the Dodge Spirit "pool car" that Speaker Pringle drove that year when he was in Sacramento.

I don't recall now what the cars actually fetched in the sale, but it was a fun PR drill at the time.

From the press release issued ten years ago, Curt said at the time:

"Willie Brown joked about Republicans, saying 'It will take them five years just to figure out how I misallocated the resources of the House.'" Pringle said.  "We don't think it's a joke, and I think we can do it in five weeks.  The money we raise from this sale will help us pay for an audit of Assembly resources."

Again, fun times, but hopefully with a purpose. 

Dismantling the Imperial Speakership

One of our goals early in the Pringle Speakership was to make it clear that the "Imperial Speakership" of Willie Brown was over.  One of the symbols of Brown's Speakership was the Los Angeles Speaker's Office, which was, as far as Republicans were concerned, just a  campaign office run with taxpayers dollars. 

On this day, ten years ago, Speaker Pringle closed the Los Angeles office of Willie Brown, saying in a statement that if he needed to conduct any state business in Southern California, his Garden Grove district office "would suit him just fine."

Remember The Brian Setencich Recall?

Neither do I.

But apparently, whoever wrote Brian Setencich's entry in Wikipedia does:

Outraged Republicans had Allen recalled, and shortly before her removal from office, she resigned, and Brown had Setencich elected Speaker, serving in the same capacity as Allen had. Republicans initiated recall proceedings against Setencich, too, and were successful.

Wikipedia is a terrific open-source compendium of information -- truly a showcase of the Internet's power to harness and distribute the accumulated knowledge of thousands and thousands of Earthlings. I rarely find errors in Wikipedia articles, but they do occur.

If I recall correctly (pardon the pun), the high-in-stature-and-voice Brian Setencich was justly defeated in the 1996 primary to a brilliantly executed blitz for Robert Prenter that occurred so late in the campaign that Setencich was unable to respond. 

I would urge someone with greater knowledge of that event -- and the brief, inglorious Speakership of Brian Setencich -- to amend the Wikipedia entry in the name of historical accuracy.

Fun Week of Ten Year Rememberances

We had a great week of Ten Year Rememberances last week, and I am hoping that we'll document the great year that 1996 was here.

The week started with a dinner on Janaury 3 of Curt Pringle's close personal staff from that year - the team that helped Curt put the votes together to be Speaker after a year of frustration for Assembly Republicans.

That evening, with a dinner at Chops Steakhouse in downtown Sacramento, which by the way, is owned by former Pringle staffer Trish Flynn.

At the dinner, each staffer in attendance rose and discussed their memories of those exciting days.  My personal reflections centered around the days leading up to the events of January 3 and January 4, after the Doris Allen recall, when Curt and I travelled around the state to make sure every Assembly Republican would vote for the Republican choice this time.  In addition to visiting every GOP member (and Reform Party member Dom Cortese), we were also not shy about asking anyone and everyone to help.  We asked CRP Chairman John Herrington, then House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and many others to call wavering members.  Through that hard work, strategy, and dogged determination, we were able to change the Assembly Rules on Jan 3 and follow up with Curt's election as Speaker on Jan 4.

The second event of last week was a big reception at the California Chamber with members of this years Assembly Republicans, the 1996 Assembly Republicans, and many members of the Capitol community.  Over 250 people celebrated the majority of ten years ago and wished for those days again.

Finally, the Assembly Republican members of 1996 and 2006 adjourned to a private dinner at the Hyatt Capitol View Room, where the two caucuses shared stories and advice.  It was great to see some many members from that group 10 years ago.

Jennifer Nelson On the 10th Anniversary

FlashReport Blog contributor Jennifer Nelson blogs about the terrific dinner Curt Pringle hosted Tuesday night for those of us who served on his staff during his Speakership:

I just returned home to Oakland after two fun days in Sacramento where I was lucky to attend a couple of events celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Republicans taking control of the State Assembly.  Ten years ago this month, Assemblyman Curt Pringle united his caucus and was elected speaker, giving then-Governor Pete Wilson a GOP majority to push through key conservative issues.  Today, Pringle is putting those same limited government, free market principles to work as mayor of the city of Anaheim.

You can read the rest of Jennifer's post here.

Capitol Weekly On the 10th Anniversary

Capitol Weekly's John Howard penned this story on the 10th Anniversay of the Republican takeover of the state Assembly, and the accompanying events organized to commemorate that brief, shining moment in California politics.

Republicans Recall the 10th Anniversary of Pringle's Assembly Speakership

By John Howard

It was 10 years ago this week that Curt Pringle, a Republican assemblyman nurtured in the rough-and-tumble of Orange County politics, became speaker of the California Assembly. His reign was brief, from January to November 1996, and outside the world of the Capitol and California's political class, his tenure is all but forgotten. But even a decade later, memories of the ferocious infighting that culminated in his ascension to the speakership are strong. And the impact of his role are is still felt in the Capitol.

"The bottom line is that it showed that anything can happen in politics," Pringle, now the mayor of Anaheim, told Capitol Weekly. Pringle was in Sacramento this week to attend a reunion of Assembly Republicans from that era and host a dinner with former staffers.

Pringle was the first Republican speaker backed by the GOP rank and file in more than 25 years, the first since Republican Bob Monagan was elected speaker at the end of Ronald Reagan's first term as governor. Two other Republicans, Brian Setencich of Fresno and Doris Allen of Cypress, briefly served as speaker in the year before Pringle took power, but they were figureheads of the Democrats led by Willie Brown, who bent parliamentary rules, wooed them to take the speakership, gave them the Democrats' support and retained power behind the scenes. Allen, now deceased, was denounced as a traitor to the GOP and booted from office in a recall election and Setencich was later defeated in the 1996 GOP primary by Robert Prenter.

You can read the rest of the article here.