Marks Defection of Little Concern to GOP Senators

SACRAMENTO —  For years, Republican state Sen. Milton Marks of San Francisco has spoken like a Democrat, voted like a Democrat and won election in Democratic-dominated districts.

On Wednesday, the veteran lawmaker, who has been a member of the Legislature for 25 years, made it official, formally quitting the Republican Party and joining the Democratic Party.

Within hours of his defection, the Senate Democrats welcomed Marks to their fold by naming him their caucus chairman, the No. 3 party leadership post.

Senate Republicans, however, were hardly heartbroken over their loss.

“He’s always been a Democrat,” said Sen. John Seymour of Anaheim, chairman of the Senate Republican caucus. “His voting record shows that, his registration shows that and now he’s just come out of the closet.”

Agreed Senate Republican Leader James W. Nielsen of Woodland: “I don’t see a lot of remorse around here. We might even break out some champagne later.”

As caucus chairman, one of Marks’ first tasks will be to help raise money and plan strategy in the upcoming elections in which 16 Democratic Senate seats are on the line.

Marks’ switch and unprecedented elevation to caucus chairman was engineered by Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles) to increase the Democrats’ numbers as they head into a crucial election year.

Marks’ move gave the Democrats a majority of 26 to 14, one shy of the two-thirds needed to override gubernatorial vetoes or approve spending legislation without aid from the GOP.

But both Democrats and Republicans agreed that in practice, Marks’ defection will have little bearing on major votes since he so frequently sided with Democrats anyway.

During his 18 years in the Senate, Marks, 65, has built a reputation as a tireless campaigner but a sometimes indecisive lawmaker who often has depended on Democratic colleagues to guide him on politically sensitive votes.

Regarded in the Capitol as dedicated, he also is seen as abrasive. In 1973, he was punched in the jaw by conservative Sen. H.L. Richardson (R-Glendora) over a procedural matter.

But his high profile in his district caused Senate colleagues to joke that if more than three people gathered on a street corner in San Francisco, one of them was sure to be Milton Marks.

Roberti said that Marks’ repeated success in winning election in a district where less than 25% of the voters were Republican makes him an excellent choice to become the Democratic caucus chairman.

Marks said that he switched parties because he became dissatisfied with the increasing conservatism of the GOP. “The party has moved too far to the right for me to remain one of its members,” he said at the press conference.

Marks takes over the caucus chairmanship from Sen. Paul Carpenter of Cypress, who resigned Wednesday because he is running this year for a seat on the State Board of Equalization.