Steinberg powers through Senate’s ethics crises in his final year
By Laurel Rosenhall, The Sacramento Bee | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
It wasn't the kind of day the
It hasn't been the kind of year Steinberg would have chosen to end his legislative career.
After 22 years in public service negotiating tough budgets and championing mental health care and vocational education, the
The man who once feared an old traffic ticket would harm his first race for
More recently, Steinberg learned that
And in the midst of it all, the state's political watchdog levied a record-setting fine on a
"Do I have concern? Sure I do. I'm living this," Steinberg said Tuesday after presenting the measure to allow unpaid suspensions for legislators.
"I did not expect that these sets of issues would be so dominant in my last year of what has been a really great run. A difficult run, but a great run."
When Steinberg began his leadership of the
Since then he's pulled off numerous accomplishments. In his first year as
Steinberg helped Senate Democrats achieve a historic gain in the 2012 election, when they won a two-thirds supermajority that allowed them to pass tax increases and constitutional amendments without any Republican support.
Yet that power unraveled when Sens. Calderon and Wright took paid leaves of absence to fight their criminal charges. Weeks later -- when Yee was charged with corruption and conspiracy to traffic weapons -- Steinberg led his chamber in an unprecedented action by suspending all three of them but maintaining their pay.
"I don't think there is any pro tem in the history of
No one has publicly blamed Steinberg for the crimes alleged of the three Democrats. Each of them rose through political operations established outside Steinberg's sphere and came from solidly Democratic districts in
"These are isolated incidents that really don't have anything to do with his leadership," said
On that score, Steinberg has his critics.
Some say suspending the senators facing criminal charges wasn't a strong enough move because it maintains their pay and prevents constituents from choosing replacements.
"
When a jury in January found that Wright lied to voters about where he lived when he ran for office in 2008, Steinberg initially argued that Wright should remain in good standing in the
A handful of Republicans in the
"On a personal level, I like Darrell very much. On a professional level, I'm extremely disappointed that he continues to allow our resolution not to be debated on the floor to expel a senator who's been found guilty of eight felonies," said Sen.
"When you say that you're serious about ethics and yet you don't allow the debate to be heard on the floor, your actions betray your words," Anderson said.
As ethical crises in the
After Calderon was indicted on 24 criminal counts including bribery and money laundering, and 37 politicians received FPPC warning letters for benefiting from lavish -- and illegal -- fundraisers at the home of lobbyist
Their proposals -- currently working their way through
After Yee was charged with conspiring to import weapons from
Steinberg has said the problems provide an opportunity to improve the Capitol's culture, even while he maintains that he is not to blame for his peers' troubling situations.
"I'm angry. I'm angry on behalf of the people, and I'm angry on behalf of the 37 other members whose hard work every day on behalf of the people is being tarnished because of events outside of their control and outside of our control," Steinberg said the day Yee was charged.
A little more than a month later, Steinberg learned that Beard, the
When he learned from
Now Steinberg is investigating claims of nepotistic hiring by Lopez's mother,
The rules were introduced together by Steinberg and Sen. Kevin de León, the
"No policy was altered as a result of alleged illegal influence," de León said. "Despite the alleged actions of two members, Darrell and the
Another Democrat who is close to Steinberg, Sen.
"Yes, there are clouds over the
While he juggles the crises and his responses, Steinberg hasn't dropped his push for new policies he thinks will help Californians.
He is determined to pass a bill that would create public preschool for all 4-year-olds, and has appeared at numerous press events alongside the children who would benefit. He is making the rounds asking employers to participate in an effort to provide more career-oriented education in
"We're going to get a lot done," Steinberg said, "and I'm going to leave on a high note."
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