California State Archives State Government Oral History Program Oral History Interview with HON. ALFRED H. SONG Deputy Attorney General of California, 1984 - present Member of the California State Senate, 1966-1978 Member of the California State Assembly, 1962-1966 August 18-19, 1986 Sacramento, California By Raphael J. Sonenshein California State University, Fullerton ~TRICTIONSONTIllSThITERvrnW None LITERARY RIGHTS AND QUOTATION This manuscript is hereby made available for research purposes only. No part of the manuscript may be quoted for publication without the written permission of the California State Archivist or the Oral History Program, History Department, California State University, Fullerton. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to: California State Archives 1020 0 Street, Room 130 Sacramento, CA 95814 or Oral History Program History Department California State University, Fullerton Fullerton, CA 92634 The request should include identification of the specific passages and identification of the user. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Alfred H. Song, Oral History Interview, Conducted 1986 by Raphael J. Sonenshein, Oral History Program, History Department, California State University, Fullerton, for the California State Archives State Government Oral History Program. Information (916) 445-4293 California State Archives March Fong Eu Research Room (916) 445-4293 10200 Street, Room 130 Exhibit Hall (916) 445-4293 Secretary of State Legislative Bill Service (916) 445-2832 Sacramento, CA 95814 (prior years) PREFACE On September 25, 1985, Governor George Deukmejian signed into law AB. 2104 (Chapter 965 of the Statutes of 1985). This legislation established, under the administration of the California State Archives, a State Government Oral History Program "to provide through the use of oral history a continuing documentation of state policy development as reflected in California's legislative and executive history." The following interview is one of a series of oral histories undertaken for inclusion in the state program. These interviews offer insights into the actual workings of both the legislative and executive processes and policy mechanisms. They also offer an increased understanding of the men and women who create legislation and implement state policy. Further, they provide an overview of issue development in California state government and of how both the legislative and executive branches of government deal with issues and problems facing the state. Interviewees are chosen primarily on the basis of their contributions to and influence on the policy process of the state of California. They include members of the legislative and executive branches of the state government as well as legislative staff, advocates, members of the media, and other people who played significant roles in specific issue areas of major and continuing importance to California. By authorizing the California State Archives to work cooperatively with oral history units at California colleges and universities to conduct interviews, this program is structured to take advantage of the resources and expertise in oral history available through California's several institutionally based programs. Participating as cooperating institutions in the State Government Oral History Program are: Oral History Program History Department California State University, Fullerton Oral History Program Center for California Studies California State University, Sacramento Oral History Program Claremont Graduate School Regional Oral History Office The Bancroft Library University of California, Berkeley Oral History Program University of California, Los Angeles The establishment of the California State Archives State Government Oral History Program marks one of the most significant commitments made by any state toward the preservation and documentation of its governmental history. It supplements the often fragmentary historical written record by adding an organized primary source, enriching the historical information available on given topics and allowing for more thorough historical analysis. As such, the program, through the preservation and publication of interviews such as the one which follows, will be of lasting value to current and future generations of scholars, citizens, and leaders. John F. Burns State Archivist July 27, 1988 This interview is printed on acid-free paper. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTERVIEW HISTORY i BIOGRAPHICAL SlJM\fARY vii 1. BACKGROUND 1 [Session 1, August 18, 1986, Tape 1, Side A] 1 Family History 1 Military Service and Asian-American Discrimination 3 Korean-American Community Life in Los Angeles 6 II. POLITICAL PARTICIPATION 9 Leadership in Monterey Park Government (1960-1962) 9 Campaign Management for State Assembly 11 III. LEGISLATIVE LEADERSHIP IN ASSEMBLY 20 Organization, Assignments, and Interns 20 Voter Challenge Bill 23 Relations between California Legislative Bodies 26 Democratic Party Ethics and Discipline 27 [Tape 1, Side B) 29 Campaign Management for State Senate 34 IV. STATE SENATE 37 Organization, Leadership, and Interns 37 Governor Edmund G. Brown, Sr. 41 Assembly Speaker Jesse Unruh 44 California Politics and Government since 1951 47 Lobbyists 50 Legislative Leadership, Hugh Burns versus James Mills 54 (Tape 2, Side A] 60 V. RONALD REAGAN AND STATE SENATE LEADERSHIP 63 Senate Majority Leadership 63 Law and Legislation Lobbying 65 Negotiations with Reagan 66 Administrative Procedure and Reagan Administration 69 Analysis and Comparison of California Governors 73 VI. ALFRED H. SONG AND LEGISLATIVE AUTHORSHIP 75 State Senate Judiciary Committee 75 California Evidence Law Code 78 Consumer Protection 81 [End of Session 1] 85 [Session 2, August 19, 1986] 86 Acupuncture Law and Legislation 86 [Tape 2, Side B] 90 Legislative Leadership and Political Planning 94 Political Questions of Judicial Power 97 Marshals versus Sheriffs 107 Medical Personnel Malpractice 110 VII. POLITICAL LEADERSHIP AND RECOLLECTIONS 114 James Mills and David Roberti 114 No-fault Automobile Insurance 116 Mervyn Dymally 121 [Tape 3, Side A] 122 Travel to Vietnam and East Asia (1967) 126 Impact of Proposition I-a (1966), Referendum 132 Office Management and Resource Allocation 136 Lobbying 139 [End of Session 2] 142 VIII. GOVERNOR EDMUND G. BROWN, JR. AND REFERENDUM 143 [Session 3, August 19, 1986] 143 Proposition 9 (1974), Referendum 143 Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Ability, Powers, and Duties 152 [Tape 3, Side B] 153 Appointments and Legislative Relations 156 James Mills and David Roberti 166 Willie L. Brown, Jr. 170 Wadie Deddeh 174 IX. ROCKY TIMES AND CAREER CHANGES 177 Inquiry by Federal Bureau of Investigation 177 [Tape 4, Side A] 184 Primary Campaign Management (1978) 189 Defeat and Emotions 192 Agricultural Labor Relations Board 194 Governor George Deukmejian 198 Deputy Attorney General 202 Ends and Means 204 APPENDIX 208 INTERVIEW HISTORY These interviews with former California State Assemblyman and State Senator Alfred H. Song (D., Monterey Park) offer insights into two important areas of California political history: the rise of minority political representation and the transformation of the California Legislature from a fellowship of part-timers into a more professional, visible, and impersonal institution. When Song, a Korean-American, was elected to the California State Assembly in 1962, he became the first Asian-American to join the legislature. With the current rise of Asian-Americans to political prominence, 1 Song's career takes on added importance. The first portion of the oral history traces the prejudice Song and his family experienced in his early years and in the U.S. Armed Forces. Since Korea was then under Japanese sovereignty, Song's family was subject to the widespread anti-Japanese feelings then prevalent on the West Coast. These experiences of prejudice obviously remained with Song, although he rarely saw himself as an ethnic politician. His concern for minority rights emerged in his successful legislative fight to outlaw arbitrary voter challenges against minorities. As he also points out, his minority status helped bring him liberal and labor support in his campaigns. 1. Judy Tachibana, "The Asians," California Journal 17 (1986): 535-43. i In the California State Senate, to which Song was elected in 1966, the conservative Democratic leadership seated him alongside Mervyn Dymally, the senate's only black member. Soon both were involved in an attempt led by Song to establish a progressive Democratic caucus in opposition to senate [Democratic] party leader Hugh Burns. The pitched battles and inconclusive endings of this important intraparty struggle are well described by Song. Song's career in the legislature spanned several eras separated by two watershed events: 1) the passage of Proposition I-a in 1966, setting up a full-time, well staffed legislature; and 2) the passage of Proposition 9 in 1974, establishing strict limits on interest group lobbying. In each of these years, unusual governors were elected: Republican Ronald Reagan and Democrat Edmund G. Brown, Jr., respectively. Song served in the legislature during three governorships, beginning with Edmund G. Brown, Sr., and dealt closely with State Senator George Deukmejian, currently the state's governor. Song discusses each man, as well as such other leaders as Jesse Unruh, Mervyn Dymal1y, Hugh Burns, James Mills, Rose Bird, David Roberti, and Willie Brown. In the legislative arena, Song quietly but effectively pursued