Honig Enlists as Democrat; Governorship May Be Goal

SACRAMENTO —  State Schools Supt. Bill Honig announced Monday that he has switched his registration from independent to Democrat in what could be a first step toward running for governor in 1990.

Honig said he will not make a decision on whether to seek the office until the beginning of next year but acknowledged that registering as a Democrat puts him one step closer to running: “I assume it’s hard to run as an independent,” he told reporters.

‘It’s a Possibility’

“My statement on (running for) the governorship is exactly what it has been: It’s a possibility. It’s something I’m thinking about,” said Honig, who nevertheless had some harsh words about Republican Gov. George Deukmejian’s handling of the state’s current budget crisis.

One immediate benefit of joining the Democratic Party is that Honig will be able to attend the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta as a delegate for presidential candidate Michael S. Dukakis, whom he praised as a friend of education.

Honig said that as a Democrat he will be able to rally more support for the cause of better school funding.

A longtime Democrat, Honig changed his registration to decline-to-state in 1982 before running that year for the nonpartisan office of schools chief. He said he re-registered as a Democrat 1633841013Proposition 71, the initiative he sponsored to allow more spending on education, was rejected by the voters.

Last year, Honig became embroiled in a nasty feud with Deukmejian after he called the governor’s budget a disaster for education. The Republican governor responded by likening Honig to a “snake-oil salesman” and a “demagogue.”

Deukmejian also suggested that Honig’s attack was inspired by partisan politics and that the schools chief had his eye on the governorship. The two eventually patched up their differences over lunch--but only after Deukmejian had slashed the budget of Honig’s Department of Education.

“I don’t think anyone was surprised to hear today that he (Honig) registered as a Democrat,” said Tom Beermann, a spokesman for the governor.

In announcing that he had rejoined the Democratic Party, Honig lashed out at the governor for abandoning his own plan to raise taxes to make up a portion of the state’s projected $2-billion shortfall for the current fiscal year and next year. “The fact is, he changed his position because of political pressure,” Honig said. “I think that’s a major mistake.”

The superintendent also charged that the budget shortfall was actually a windfall for a few wealthy taxpayers who benefited from changes last year in the state tax law. Under Deukmejian’s latest budget plan, Honig said, this windfall will be paid for by cutting programs such as education, health care and highways.

Beermann defended the governor’s spending plan saying, “I think it would be a major mistake to go forward with a proposal that had been branded as a tax increase.”

Nevertheless, Beermann said, Honig’s new attack will not damage the cooperative working relationship now shared by the governor and the schools chief.

“The relations between the governor’s office and Bill Honig’s office are very good,” he said. “The lines are open. Certainly he’s entitled to his opinion on the budget. The bottom line is we’re working together this year rather than at odds.”