From Cap Weekly….
Parra kicked out of Capitol office after budget vote
Assemblywoman Nicole Parra, D-Hanford, has been evicted from her Capitol office space today by the Assembly Democratic leadership. The move came one day after Parra failed to vote for her own party’s budget proposal.
That proposal needed 54 votes — the two-thirds majority needed to pass a budget in California — but got only 45 votes. The vote came after four hours of debate during a special Sunday session. Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles. Not a single Republican voted for the budget bill, AB 1781 by Assemblyman John Laird, D-Santa Cruz. Thirty of 32 Republicans voted against the bill.
According to Parra’s staff, the office will now be split up. Several staffers will move across N Street to the Legislative Office Building (LOB). Parra, chief of staff Derek Chernow and one other staffer will move across the fifth floor hall to a room described as a "closet."
August 18th, 2008 at 12:00 am
from the UT….
SACRAMENTO — Assemblywoman Nicole Parra has been booted out of her Capitol office for not toeing the party line.
The Hanford Democrat’s crime was refusing to vote for a budget Sunday night, demanding that lawmakers first negotiate a new water bond that could help her parched agricultural district centered between Fresno and Bakersfield.
In retaliation the next morning, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles, banished Parra to an office across the street from the Capitol. She was given a few hours to pack up before the state-paid movers were to arrive at 4 p.m.
“To me, this is about getting a crack at a bipartisan water bond,” Parra said.
She may get that chance soon. Democrats may have a water bond ready to roll out as early as Tuesday and some suggest they will push to leapfrog the budget and have a vote on the bond before the week is out.
Ironically, Parra’s abstention did not matter. Going in, lawmakers knew that Republicans opposed tax hikes so they would not provide enough votes for the Democrats to secure the required two-thirds majority to pass a budget.
Democrats insisted that the vote was for real, and not just show, noting it’s 800-page length. But, they were also missing two members, indicating that they expected failure to reach the magical 54-vote threshold for passage. One was on a plane and another is seriously ill.
Monday, Democrats openly attacked Parra for “holding the state hostage” in order to obtain money for taxpayer financed dams sought by corporate farmers. They also talked about showing solidarity as budget talks proceed. They said they delivered millions of dollars to Parra’s re-election campaigns, suggesting she owed them loyalty.
“We can’t let agribusiness corporations hold this state’s budget hostage,” said Assemblyman Paul Krekorian, D-Burbank.
Assemblywoman Patty Berg, D-Eureka, said “Nicole Parra has been elected three times in a row because of the kind of money we have put (in)…” Berg called Parra’s abstention “intolerable.”
Those comments steamed Parra. She countered that her district is suffering because of water supply cuts. The bond is as important to her constituents for their long-term well being as a budget, she suggested.
The state has entered its 49th day without a budget since the fiscal year started.
Banishment to other offices is a time-tested punishment in the Capitol. But usually the offender is just temporarily moved to an office about the size of a broom closet. This is the first time in about 25 years that a legislator was packed up and moved out of the Capitol.
Parra supports the central points of a $9.3 billion water bond put together by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, and U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from San Francisco.
In a statement approved by the governor’s top advisers, press secretary Aaron McLear said Schwarzenegger “commends” Parra for “putting California’s need for a comprehensive water plan ahead of partisan politics.”
Parra said she is ready to vote for the budget after the bond measure gets a chance to be aired.
Parra, who is termed out, has made no secret of her wish to become a lobbyist or consultant once she leaves office in November.
“If I am banned from the Capitol I will survive,” she said, referring to the potential of a freeze out in Sacramento if she comes to work in the capital. “This whole punishment will not scare me and I believe it will not scare my future employers.”
Posted by Michael Gardner August 18, 2008 02:07 PM
August 18th, 2008 at 12:00 am
To quote a 1960’s folk song lyric, “When will they ever learn?”
When will the Karen Bass’s of the world learn such actions
make THEM look weak, and Nicole Parra look strong?
August 18th, 2008 at 12:00 am
State-paid workers did the move, eh? How much did this cost the taxpayers on this petty move by Speaker Bass?
How childish of Speaker Bass!