Guest Column
Arnold and Antonio's elevated politics
- The governor and mayor have set a new standard of leadership in California.
- By Tom Hogen-Esch
- January 24, 2007
-
It is clear that political leadership is creating new
political dynamics in Sacramento and Los Angeles. Together, Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger and L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa may represent what
voters see as a model for political leadership in California — the
charismatic consensus-builder whose powers of persuasion enable him to
transcend the institutional weakness of office and rise above partisan
gridlock.
During the last century, with a few notable exceptions, extraordinary
leadership skills were not as necessary in California. Voters expected
governors and mayors to be little more than competent managers, whose
power could be easily checked by other branches of government as well as
by a strong bureaucracy. For a time, the model worked, as the postwar
economic boom and the state's ethnic homogeneity transformed politics into
a question of how to divvy up a growing economic pie.
However, with the decline of the state's manufacturing sector, the 1980s
introduced a new era of economic and ideological division. The 1978
passage of Proposition 13, which placed a 1% cap on property taxes,
previewed the state's new politics of scarcity. Moreover, tensions from
years of unprecedented immigration have increased demands on the political
process even as political leaders commanded fewer resources.
Two decades of partisan gridlock followed, culminating in the 2003
campaign to recall Democratic Gov. Gray Davis. Although not fully
appreciated at the time, it now appears that voters elected Schwarzenegger
to harness his star power to help break the deadlock.
With the notable exception of his disastrous lurch to the right in 2005,
Schwarzenegger worked with Democrats to pass on-time budgets and to
protect the environment and raise the minimum wage. In November, the
governor completed a remarkable political comeback, helping to pass
several popular infrastructure bonds. Bipartisanship in Sacramento is now
flourishing.
Los Angeles' political history has followed a similar script. In the
1920s, reformers also envisioned executive power hemmed in by a strong
City Council and bureaucracy. The formula worked fairly well until
emerging class and ethnic fault lines erupted into violence during the
1965 Watts riots. Only the consensus-building skills of Mayor Tom Bradley,
who significantly opened city politics to minorities, helped to heal
divisions. However, a recession, the 1992 riots and Bradley's retirement
ushered in an era of political division.
Although Mayor Richard Riordan deserves credit for charter reform and
focusing attention on schools in the 1990s, he preferred to operate behind
the scenes and frequently alienated opponents. Riordan's successor, James
K. Hahn, though a competent manager, shunned the political limelight. In
contrast, Villaraigosa is careful not to antagonize opponents. And on
weekends, he can be seen planting trees, hosing sidewalks and feeding the
homeless.
What lies ahead for Schwarzenegger and Villaraigosa? Plenty of opportunity
for success and failure. In Sacramento, the governor's bipartisan
leadership could result in further public investments that may improve
quality of life for decades. In Los Angeles, the mayor's leadership on
education, transportation and housing could continue to make L.A. a
destination for upwardly mobile immigrants as well as help to retain the
city's dwindling middle class.
But their strengths could also prove to be their greatest weaknesses.
Schwarzenegger's healthcare plan and proposals for billions in additional
infrastructure spending are laudable. But his "borrow and spend"
philosophy leaves much of the bill to future generations. Ignoring the
state's multi-billion-dollar deficit will surely be considered a major
failure of leadership.
Similarly, Villaraigosa's education reform may never even get off the
ground if the law allowing his takeover of the Los Angeles Unified School
District is struck down in the courts. Even charismatic consensus-builders
have to know when to pick their battles.
With Schwarzenegger termed out of office in 2010, and his presidential
aspirations constitutionally nonexistent, rumors abound that he has set
his sights on Barbara Boxer's U.S. Senate seat. But one could also see the
Brentwood resident as a future mayor of Los Angeles, preferring the role
of chief executive to merely being one of 535 members of Congress. It is
widely assumed that Villaraigosa covets the governor's office, making a
scenario in which each endorses the other for his current job seem not so
far-fetched.
By replacing traditional candidates for governor of California and mayor
of Los Angeles with candidates of exceptional charisma,
consensus-building, stamina and, perhaps, vision, voters may have
significantly raised the bar for future political leadership in the state.
TOM HOGEN-ESCH is an assistant professor in the
political science department at Cal State Northridge and coauthor of
"Local Politics: A Practical Guide to Governing at the Grassroots" with
Terry Chris
Article at: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-hogen24jan24,0,6378838.story?track=tottext
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