Willie Brown (politician) - California State Assembly

California State Assembly

Brown was one of four African Americans in the Assembly in 1964. He continued to be reelected to the Assembly until 1995. In the 1960s, Brown served as the Chair of the Legislative Representation Committee, a powerful Assembly position that helped Brown climb the Assembly ranks. He became the Democrats' Assembly whip in 1969. Brown also served on the Assembly Ways and Means Committee. In 1972, he delivered a speech at the Democratic National Convention. He lost his bid for the speakership in 1972. In 1975, Willie Brown authored and lobbied the successful passing of the Consenting Adult Sex Bill that legalized homosexuality in California, thus earning the strong and lasting support of San Francisco's gay community. During the 1970s, Brown continued to expand his legal practice that was representing several major developers. He won the Speakership in 1980 with 28 Republican and 23 Democratic votes.

Brown was California's first African American Speaker of the Assembly, and served in the office from 1981 to 1995. In 1990, Brown helped negotiate an end to a 64 day budget standoff. In 1994, Brown gained the vote of a few Republicans to maintain the Speakership when the Democrats lost control of the Assembly to the Republicans led by Jim Brulte. Brown regained control in 1995 by making a deal with Republican defectors Doris Allen and Brian Setencich, both of whom were elected Speaker by the Democratic minority. During their tenures, Brown was the de facto Speaker.

Brown's long service in the Assembly and political connections, his strong negotiation skills, and the Assembly's tenure system for leadership appointments, combined to give Brown nearly complete control over the California Legislature by the time he became Assembly Speaker. According to The New York Times, Brown became one of the country's most powerful state legislators. He nicknamed himself the "Ayatollah of the Assembly".

Brown was extremely popular in his home of San Francisco, though less so in the rest of the state. Nevertheless, he wielded great control over statewide legislative affairs and political appointments, making it difficult for his conservative opponents to assail his power. Partially to remove Brown from his leadership position, a state constitutional amendment initiative was proposed and passed by the electorate in 1990, imposing term limits on state legislators. Brown became the focus of the initiative. Brown raised just under US$1 million to defeat the initiative. The California Legislature challenged the law but it was upheld by the courts. California Proposition 140 also cut the legislature's staff budget by 30 percent, causing Brown to reduce legislative staff by at least 600. After term limits forced Brown out of office, the Assembly re-structured its rules to give most of the powers formerly held by the Speaker to a leadership committee made up of senior members of both major parties.

Brown gained a reputation for knowing what was occurring in the state legislature at all times. In 1992, he gave US$1.18 million to the Democratic Party to help with voter registration and several campaigns, some of which was from contributions from tobacco companies and insurance companies. As Speaker, he worked to defeat the Three Strikes Law. Critics have claimed Brown did not do enough to raise the legislature’s ethical standards or to protect the environment. During his time in Sacramento, Brown estimates he raised close to US$75 million to help elect and reelect state Democrats.

Brown lead efforts in the Assembly for state universities to divest from South Africa and to increase AIDS research funding. Brown helped attain state funds for San Francisco, including funding for public health and mental health funds. Brown held the 1992 state budget for 63 days until Governor Pete Wilson added another US$1.1 billion for public schools.

Brown had a reputation in the Assembly for his ability to manage people. Brown attained the vote of Doris Allen by treating her with the respect she thought she deserved. Republican State Senator Ken Maddy of Fresno noted Brown’s ability to “size up the situation and create, sometimes on the spot, a winning strategy.” According to Hobson, "He was a brilliant day care operator. ... He knew exactly how to hold the hand of his Assembly members. He dominated California politics like no other politician in the history of the state".