Lockyer Angered by Bustamante’s Support for Rival

SACRAMENTO — In a clash between the Legislature’s top brass, state Senate leader Bill Lockyer has accused Assembly Speaker Cruz Bustamante of springing a surprise on him by endorsing Lockyer’s rival for attorney general.

Lockyer indicated that as a result, he will reevaluate the pending appointment of Bustamante’s nominee to a prestigious state board.

The spat has rekindled differences that surfaced between the two Democratic leaders in the closing days of the legislative session in September, although Bustamante sought to downplay the importance of Lockyer’s flare-up.

Lockyer said in a statement that he was surprised to find out that Bustamante had endorsed state Sen. Charles M. Calderon (D-Whittier), the other leading Democrat in the attorney general race so far.

Bustamante can endorse anyone he chooses, Lockyer said, but “I was somewhat surprised I didn’t hear beforehand from the speaker about his decision rather than learning about it by accident. I would have appreciated the courtesy of a little advance notice.”

As for Bustamante’s nominee, labor executive Mike Quevedo, Lockyer said he is not making a connection between Bustamante’s endorsement decision and Quevedo’s appointment to the Public Employees Retirement System board.

However, Lockyer added with apparent sarcasm, “with a new understanding about the speaker’s criteria for rating candidates, it is fair to say that I think it would be a good idea to give this one additional review.”

By law, the position Quevedo seeks requires appointment jointly by the Assembly speaker and the Senate Rules Committee. Lockyer maintains firm control over Rules Committee decisions.

Bustamante conceded that he should have told Lockyer about the endorsement before the Senate leader learned of it in a Calderon mailer.

The speaker said late Friday that it had just come to his notice that Lockyer was upset, even though the two had talked by phone about the Calderon endorsement two weeks ago. Bustamante said he realized that Lockyer “had taken the issue personally,” and that was understandable for “anybody who is seeking office.”

Bustamante added: “I regret not having talked with him prior to the letter going out and wish I had had an opportunity to do so.”

In presiding over their respective houses, the two leaders split on some of the biggest issues before the Legislature in the final days of the session, including tax deductions and state employee pay raises.

However, they resolved those differences during final floor votes and afterward appeared together with Gov. Pete Wilson in a self-congratulatory news conference praising the session’s accomplishments.

In the race for attorney general, early assessments give Lockyer an edge in securing the Democratic nomination and running against the Republican nominee in November. The office is being vacated by Republican Dan Lungren, who is running for governor.

Lockyer is better known statewide and commands a heftier campaign war chest than Calderon.

In his rebuke to Bustamante, Lockyer said he “is not happy” about the speaker making an early endorsement because “any endorsement is premature and ill-advised from state Democratic leaders when it is not yet clear who’s in the field statewide.”

In response, Bustamante said his endorsement of Calderon came at a time when the courts appeared to have overturned term limits and that Lockyer would be running for reelection. Since then, however, court challenges have given new hope to adherents that term limits will survive.

Lockyer would be forced to leave the Senate next year if term limits are in place.

Despite Lockyer’s displeasure with Bustamante at the moment, the speaker said, he believes Lockyer will not hold up Quevedo’s appointment to the pension board when the Senate Rules Committee meets to confirm or reject the appointment in January.

He said he has known Quevedo, who is from Los Angeles, for several months. Bustamante said he met Quevedo in the course of reviewing applicants for the board appointment.

Bustamante said he considers the prospective appointee a friend but no more than other applicants for the position. Quevedo is simply the best qualified, he said.

Quevedo is business manager of the Southern District Council of Laborers and is vice president of the Laborers Union of North America.

Bustamante noted that Quevedo is co-chairman of a union pension fund worth millions of dollars, adding to his qualifications to sit on the board, which manages an investment portfolio worth more than $100 billion.

Public Employees Retirement System board members receive $100 a day when in session plus business expenses. They are appointed by a variety of state officials and other board members.