University of California Berkeley California Regional Oral History Office University of The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California Willie Lewis Brown, Jr. FIRST AMONG EQUALS: CALIFORNIA LEGISLATIVE LEADERSHIP, 1964-1992 With an Introduction by John De Luca Interviews Conducted by Gabrielle Morris in 1991 and 1992 Copyright 1999 by The Regents of the University of California Since 1954 the Regional Oral History Office has been interviewing leading participants in or well-placed witnesses to major events in the development of Northern California, the West, and the Nation. Oral history is a method of collecting historical information through tape-recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well- informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. The tape recording is transcribed, lightly edited for continuity and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewee. The corrected manuscript -ts indexed, bound with photographs and illustrative materials, and placed in The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, and in other research collections for scholarly use. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account, offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is reflective, partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ************************************ All uses of this manuscript are covered by a legal agreement between The Regents of the University of California and Willie Lewis Brown, Jr., dated January 26, 1992. The manuscript is thereby made available for research purposes. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. No part of the manuscript may be quoted for publication without the written permission of the Director of The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to the Regional Oral History Office, 486 Library, University of California, Berkeley 94720, and should include identification of the specific passages to be quoted, anticipated use of the passages, and identification of the user. The legal agreement with Willie Lewis Brown, Jr., requires that he be notified of the request and allowed thirty days in which to respond. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Willie Lewis Brown, Jr., "First Among Equals: California Legislative Leadership, 1964-1992," an oral history conducted in 1991 and 1992 by Gabrielle Morris, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 1999. Copy no. - photo Dennis DeSilva i Willie Brown as Mayor of San Francisco, 1996. Cataloguing information BROWN, Willie L., Jr. (b. 1934) Lawyer, legislator First Among Equals; California Legislative Leadership. 1964-1992. 1999, ix, 331 pp. Boyhood in Texas; education: San Francisco State University, 1951-1955, Hastings Law School, 1955-1958; early Democratic party activities; election to state assembly, 1964; legislative issues and politics, 1965-1992; Ways and Means Committee chairmanship, 1969-1974; state assembly speaker, 1980- 1993, leadership concerns: government organization, revenue and taxation, African American equity; managing Jesse Jackson's presidential campaign, 1988; working with Phillip Burton, Jesse Unruh, Robert Moretti, Edmund G. Brown, Jr., and other political leaders of the era. Interviewed 1991-1992 by Gabrielle Morris. Introduction by John De Luca, President and CEO, Wine Institute. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Regional Oral History Office, on behalf of future researchers, wishes to thank the following individuals and organizations whose contributions made possible this oral history of Willie L. Brown, Jr. Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. Henry E. Berman Judge and Mrs. Jack K. Berman Willie Brown California Teachers Association Ronald H. Cowan John and Josephine De Luca Arthur Edelstein John Gardenal Green & Azevedo Jackson R. Gualco Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, Inc. Peter D. Kelly John T. Knox Frank Murphy, Jr. Nina M. Ryan Phillip Scott Ryan Kathleen Snodgrass Maxine Waters, Member of Congress Wine Institute Wine Spectator Scholarship Foundation TABLE OF CONTENTS- -Willie Brown INTRODUCTION by John De Luca i INTERVIEW HISTORY vi BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION ix I GROWING UP IN MINEOLA, TEXAS 1 Memories of Mo 'Dear 1 School Days; Looking After Folk 7 Neighborhood Social Contract; Segregation 9 Mother's Treats 12 High School; Civic Affairs 15 II COMING TO SAN FRANCISCO, 1951 18 Uncle Itsy Collins; Family Card Games 18 Thoughts of Stanford 21 III SAN FRANCISCO STATE COLLEGE, 1951-1955 25 Duncan Gillies' Encouragement 25 Social and Family Connections 27 Student Housing, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Leadership 30 Student Politics 32 IV S.F. DEMOCRATIC PARTY IN THE 1950s AND 1960s 33 Phil Burton Challenges the Old Order 33 Early Black Political Figures 37 Voting Trends and Constituencies; Regulation in the 1980s 38 V HASTINGS LAW SCHOOL, 1955-1958 43 VI PRACTICING LAW, 1959-1964 47 Independence, Friendships, Testing One's Skills 47 Eyewitness in the Courtroom 48 Oakland Raiders: Suit and Countersuit 49 The Missed-Nose Defense 51 Defending Prostitutes 52 Partner and Friend John Dearman: Pro Bono Work 53 Remembering Adolph Schumann 58 VII PUBLIC POLICY ISSUES 60 Legislators' Role in an Emergency [1991] 60 Impact of Prop. 13 [1978]; Code Compliance 62 Lobbying in the Public Interest 63 VIII EARLY POLITICAL CAREER 65 Fair Housing Legislation Campaign, 1956-1959 65 Starting a Family 68 Women and Minority Leaders 69 County Central Committee 70 Running for the State Assembly, 18th District, 1962 71 Attitudes of Jesse Unruh and the Media 73 Carleton Goodlett and His Support 76 1962 Campaign Team 78 Visit to the Tenderloin District, 1992 81 IX ELECTION TO THE ASSEMBLY, 1964 87 Observations of Speaker Jesse Unruh 87 Party Caucus District Services Then and Now 88 Defending Golden Gate Park; Freeway Issues 89 Party Appointments; Slate Cards 92 Finances; Polling 94 Auto Row and Free Speech Demonstrations 95 X FRESHMAN LEGISLATOR OF THE YEAR, 1965 99 Brown's Issue Agenda 99 Voting Against Unruh 101 Fellow Freshmen; Bob Moretti's Ambitions 103 Republicans with Social Conscience 105 XI LEARNING FROM PHIL BURTON AND JESSE UNRUH 107 New Democratic Talent in 1966; Full-time Legislature 107 Black Candidates; Attorneys as Legislators 109 Burton's Political Skills 110 Unruh 's Weaknesses 112 Some Reagan and Brown Technical Experts 114 XII BOB MORETTI AS SPEAKER 119 Brown Chairs the Government Efficiency Committee 119 From the Bipartisan Sixties to The Cavemen of Proposition 13, 1978 123 Moretti's Background 124 Electing a New Minority Leader, 1969 126 XIII WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE CHAIR, 1969-1974 132 Foundation for a Good-Government Career; Reagan Oversight 132 Procedural Flourishes 134 Policy Innovations; the Speaker's Political Chores 135 Medi-Cal Program Evolution 137 Relations with Reagan Staff 138 Learning Budgeting from Frank Lanterman; John Knox's Leadership on Local Government 140 Taking the Budget on the Road 143 Education and Health Challenges 143 XIV FIRST TRY FOR THE SPEAKERSHIP, 1974 147 Black Caucus Defection; Waxman and Berman Maneuvers 148 The Berman Brothers; 1971 Reapportionment 152 Banishing of Willie Brown 154 Return Via the Revenue and Taxation Committee 157 XV RELATIONS WITH THE MEDIA AND THE PEOPLE 159 Maintaining a Law Practice 159 Observations on the Press; Quality of Information 164 Speechmaking, Image; Friendships with Herb Caen and Wilkes Bashford 170 Polling vis-a-vis Constituent Contact 173 Demise of Newsletters 176 XVI ISSUES AND LEGISLATION, 1975-1978 178 Prestige vs. Public Policy Committee Assignments 178 Transportation, Rev and Tax Matters 180 Brown's Constituencies 182 Lobbying Fellow Assemblymen 184 Handling Controversial Issues: Abortion 186 XVII RACIAL MINORITY NETWORK 189 United Political Action Statewide 189 Higher Education: Admissions Equity 191 State Contract Preference 193 Developing Candidates; Ongoing Contacts 194 XVIII WORKING WITH JERRY BROWN; ADVANCING EQUITY ISSUES 197 The Governor and the Regents 197 Black Panthers' Social Advocacy 198 Conservative Response in Sacramento 199 The Governor and the Legislature 202 Leo McCarthy's Leadership 204 XIX BECOMING SPEAKER OF THE ASSEMBLY 208 Brown as Majority Leader; 1980 Primary Campaign 208 Conversations with Berman and McCarthy 211 Negotiating Republican Support 214 Putting the House in Order; Reapportionment 217 Supreme Court Appointments 218 Law-Enforcement Concerns 221 XX ONGOING CRITICAL POLICY ISSUES, 1981-1991 223 Health Care, Growth Management, Affordable Housing, Environmental Protection 223 Individual and Agency Resistance to Integrated Services 225 Local-State Confrontations; Permit Complications 227 Educating Local Decisionmakers 229 First Funds for AIDS Research; Finding Resources for New Programs in a Tight Budget 230 Grassroots Politicking Pro and Con; Public Schools and Property Taxation 233 XXI THREATS TO DEMOCRATIC PROCESS AND INSTITUTIONS 238 Negative Campaigning; Campaign Reform Measures 238 Anti-Government Legislative Cavemen 243 Insider Politics; FBI Corruption Investigation, 1985-1988 246 1991 Reapportionment; Privacy of Court Deliberations 254 XXII PUTTING DOWN THE GANG OF FIVE, 1988-1989 260 Ambition and Expediency 260 Power of the Speaker 263 Efforts to Vacate the Chair