It was an unexpected glimpse at what went through Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's mind the night the fragile state budget vote was in jeopardy.
Schwarzenegger said in his weekly radio address that he was in his office at 2 a.m. when an aide told him fellow Republicans were blocking his pension reform measure; the governor was short Republican votes.
"You mean Democratic votes," Schwarzenegger said he told Legislative Secretary Michael Prosio. "He replied, 'No, no, no, no. We are short of Republican votes.' "
Schwarzenegger eventually prevailed, but not until dispatching his personal assistant, Daniel Ketchell, to Secretary of State Debra Bowen's house, knocking on her door at 3 a.m. to obtain a signature needed to call a special session of the Legislature.
The proposal to change the state pension system was folded into a special session bill and approved by a simple majority, circumventing the need for a two-thirds vote. After an all-night session, lawmakers approved the budget Oct. 8, and Schwarzenegger signed it on the 100th day of the fiscal year.
Still, the lame-duck governor was upset enough by the opposition from within his own party that he brought it up in his weekly radio address. He said he expected opposition from Democrats but was surprised that Republicans, too, were "in bed with the same unions, only hidden under the sheets."
The legislation at issue rolls back retirement benefits for new employees to pre-1999 levels and increases employee retirement contributions. It also authorizes the governor to continue furloughing state workers whose unions have not agreed to contract concessions. The state prison guard union, which has no such agreement, lobbied against the bill.
"Maybe these Republicans just simply sold out because they got campaign contributions from the state prison guard unions," Schwarzenegger said.
He estimated savings from the pension reform of $100 billion "over the next few decades."
Schwarzenegger singled out six Republican lawmakers by name, including GOP Senate leader Bob Dutton of Rancho Cucamonga, Sen. Sam Blakeslee of San Luis Obispo, and Assemblymen Kevin Jeffries of Lake Elsinore and Paul Cook of Yucca Valley.
Schwarzenegger said some Republicans, including Assemblymen Jeff Miller of Corona, and Dan Logue of Linda, changed their votes to take political cover once it passed.
"Not only did they try to block reform, but then they did not even have the courage to publicly stand behind their action," Schwarzenegger said.
The record shows Logue abstained until the measure passed, then voted aye.
"I voted for it," he said. "It's on the record."
But Logue said he was critical of the pension measure because of a contract agreement that Schwarzenegger reached with California's largest state employee union, the Service Employees International Union, just before the budget vote.
"He's the one who continues to roll over to the unions," Logue said. "He's trying to cover his rear end by not doing what everybody thought he was going to do, and that was to create real reform."
Schwarzenegger has long had a difficult relationship with his own party, but for a governor to speak out so critically is rare, particularly in scripted remarks.
"It's unusual for it to come out, not only in public, but in a prepared presentation … for the criticism to be that harsh, direct and premeditated," said Jack Pitney, a government professor at Claremont McKenna College.
Of the Republicans singled out by Schwarzenegger, perhaps none returned fire more furiously than Jeffries, who chided Schwarzenegger for his failed measures to reform government in 2005 and for a relationship with lawmakers so distant that Republicans once had to wear name tags to a meeting with him.
"I have enjoyed working with the governor, and appreciate that he has finally decided to stand and fight for something – anything – even something he abandoned and apologized for after losing in the 2005 special election, leaving those of us who supported him and his efforts out to hang and dry," Jeffries said in a written statement. "And despite the misrepresentations in his remarks, it was very impressive to see that he was actually able to name six Republicans currently serving in the Assembly."
Jeffries went on, "He has been a very entertaining governor, and I wish him well in his renewed acting career."
Dutton, one of the senators who opposed the bill, said it would damage the state's ability to recruit and retain qualified prison guards.
"I would have been happy to vote for real reform, but once again, Gov. Schwarzenegger merely conjured up smoke and mirrors," Dutton said in a written statement. "His so-called pension reform is a result of his inability to reach an agreement with California's correctional peace officers, and will result in the best and brightest going to local police, fire and sheriff's departments."
Renee Van Vechten, an assistant professor of government at University of Redlands, said Schwarzenegger's address was "really unusual." But the governor has little, if anything, to lose, she said. "He's moving on," Van Vechten said. "He doesn't depend on their votes for anything at this point."
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