DORIS ALLEN OUT AS SPEAKER : Reaction Mixed on Setencich Leap to Speakership : Assembly: Former pro basketball player is liked for disarmingly homespun manner. But Republicans fault him for defying GOP caucus, and some say he is too young for the job.

By JENIFER WARREN

Sept. 15, 1995 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

SACRAMENTO — Not long ago, Brian Setencich was wearing sneakers to work. High-tops, the basketball kind. For six years, Setencich--who stands 6 feet, 5 inches--made his living as a shooting guard, wearing No. 40 and playing professional hoops in Europe.

On Thursday, that part of his life became a mere footnote. In the latest episode of this ever-so-bizarre year in the state Capitol, Setencich--who is just 33--was elected Speaker of the California Assembly. He is the youngest and, by all accounts, the tallest person ever to win the powerful job.

In brief remarks after he was sworn in, Setencich quickly displayed the sort of frank, Boy Scout charm that prompted one colleague to fondly call him the Forrest Gump of the Legislature.

“I get myself in the darndest situations,” he said from the Speaker’s dais, grinning and drawing giggles from the Assembly floor. His homespun speech also included a “by golly” and concluded with a warmhearted “God bless you all.”

“Brian is so likable,” observed Assemblywoman Kerry Mazzoni (D-Novato). “He’s very charismatic. You can’t help but pull for him.”

A Republican assemblyman from Fresno, Setencich (pronounced SET-in-sitch) was hoisted to power by Assembly Democrats. It was that same maneuver that gave the speakership to his predecessor, Republican Doris Allen of Cypress, who resigned Thursday after only three tumultuous months on the job.

Allen said she was stepping down to fight a recall launched by her GOP colleagues, who view her as a traitor for becoming Speaker after cutting a deal with Democrats. In nominating Setencich, who has been fiercely loyal to Allen, she praised him as a man of “unimpeachable integrity and honesty” who deserves “respect and support.”

Not everyone was so enthusiastic. Although his gee-whiz, happy-go-lucky nature makes him personally popular here, Setencich was criticized harshly Thursday by many Republicans. Specifically, they fault him for defying the GOP caucus, which favored Assemblyman and Republican leader Curt Pringle of Garden Grove for Speaker.

“Brian and I are friends, but I am very sorry he would not submit himself to the will of the caucus,” said Assemblyman James E. Rogan (R-Glendale). “It’s very tempting to have your opponents proffer the speakership to you. . . . I guess he couldn’t resist.”

Others said Setencich is simply too inexperienced for the job.

“He’s too young,” grumbled Assemblyman Tom J. Bordonaro Jr. (R-Paso Robles), who, like Setencich, is a freshman. “The Democrats keep putting inexperienced people in the speakership in order to keep us at our weakest. They’re going to eat him up.”

For his part, Setencich said his mission will be to unify the fractured Assembly, which has been bitterly divided by partisan battles all year. Republicans outnumber Democrats 41 to 39. Only two Republicans voted for Setencich on Thursday: Allen and Setencich himself.

“Above all, I want to be a fair Speaker,” he said in an interview. “I want to bring people together so we can stop this fighting and get on with the business of helping this great state.”

In a news conference earlier, he said he felt “blessed and a little apprehensive” about being Speaker and conceded that it would take time to win respect from fellow Republicans.

“[It’s] just like when . . . I go to a new team,” said Setencich, who enjoys sports metaphors. “Just because someone says I can shoot the ball well doesn’t mean I can. I’ve got to go out and prove it every day and I hope I do it here.”

The son of a Fresno grape grower, Setencich was elected to the Assembly in 1994, beating an opponent who outspent him and was expected to win. It was the second political upset of his short career, coming four years after his surprise election to the Fresno City Council.

On the council, Setencich was a maverick who was mocked for his high-pitched voice and often took heat for unpopular positions. When he supported the renaming of a section of road after the late farm labor leader Cesar Chavez, for example, his car was egged and the power to his house was mysteriously cut.

In Sacramento, Setencich has proven to be a fiscal conservative who is moderate on some social issues. He is antiabortion and opposed to gun control, and he co-sponsored a bill to make it easier to get a concealed weapon permit.

He has introduced 21 bills, none of which will become law this year. Many relate to agriculture; others ranged from efforts to provide tax breaks for oil companies in his district to legislation that would cut welfare benefits to alcoholics and drug users.

But it was another lawmaker’s bill that, until recently, brought him the most publicity. During a now-famous committee hearing, Setencich protested the number on a colleague’s innocuous bill about crab fisheries. The number was 666--”the mark of the devil”--and it made him uncomfortable.

Setencich failed to have the bill renumbered and ultimately voted for it on the Assembly floor.

When Allen became Speaker, Setencich--declaring himself sick of the vindictiveness displayed toward her by his Republican colleagues--became her chief ally.

“We’ve got the first Republican Speaker in 25 years, so why aren’t people giving her a chance?” he said at the time.

Since then, Setencich has occupied the tough role as Speaker pro tem, presiding over often-raucous Assembly floor sessions.

“I think he’s been very even-handed and has done a very good job,” said Assemblywoman Sheila J. Kuehl (D-Santa Monica). “To use a sports analogy, he really stepped up to the plate.”