Et tu, Darrell?
Despite state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata's admonition to his fellow senators not to jump the gun on internal campaigning to replace him when he terms out in 2008, the race is already underway.
Two incoming senators, Los Angeles City Councilman Alex Padilla and former Sacramento Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg, have been sizing up the terrain. Here's the early conventional assessment: Padilla's a smooth operator and the tougher pol (perhaps he has his own "mother of five" voice like Nancy Pelosi?) but he may be too much of a Sacramento neophyte to run the joint; Steinberg is well-liked around Sacramento and passionate about policy but might be too nice to corral the troops (insert "herding cats" cliché here).
Both are trying to improve their backhands: Padilla is bringing council aide Bill Mabie — who spent 12 years as one of former Majority Leader Richard Polanco's main operators — to be his chief of staff. Steinberg did some fund-raising for Perata to help one of the infrastructure bond campaigns this fall, and perhaps will strangle a kitten to prove he's up to the job.
Two current state senators, San Francisco's Carole Migden and L.A.'s Gloria Romero, are also said to be interested in the job, and have the advantage of already serving in the Senate. That's a disadvantage too: familiarity breeds contempt, and both have developed reputations in the Senate for sharp elbows. Romero is the majority leader, the No. 2 spot, which gives her some institutional clout, but despite that role she has not always been considered a team player. She can also be known to fly off the handle sometimes, and neither she nor Migden — especially Migden — are near the top of the list of staffers' favorite lawmakers. (Before you knock the power of the hired help, remember how staffers assisted the political suicide of Secretary of State Kevin Shelley.)
Migden is a talented legislative strategist and among the best money-raisers in the $enate. But she has pushed her colleagues' buttons repeatedly, both metaphorically and literally, such as last year when, during a close fight over one of her bills, she pressed the electronic voting button of an Assembly member in his absence. That was a big taboo in Capitol protocol and led Perata to strip her of her chairwomanship on the Senate Appropriations Committee and put her on double secret probation. Still, did we mention she can raise $$$$?
Geography may play a role too: If Romero or Padilla ran the Senate, both chambers of the Legislature would be led by Angelenos, something that wouldn't go over well in Northern California. Bottom line: It's too early to count anyone in or out.
Update: Sources have spotted Darrell Steinberg eating adorable, uncooked Romanian orphans.... Also, documents obtained by Political Muscle reveal Steinberg, during long committee hearings in the Assembly, often used a powerful magnifying glass to incinerate helpless ants as well as dissenting committee members. Beware, Alex, Gloria and Carol (& Bob & Ted & Alice)!
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