Making of a Cynic

It’s a bit ironic--if not, unfortunately, unexpected--that The Times’ Sept. 15 report of Sen. Larry Stirling’s diatribe against legislative ethics reform should appear in the same issue as a grouping of articles dealing with the effects of lobbying, special interests and self-interest on the state’s legislative process.

Stirling reportedly claims it’s a good thing that special interests, “which he defines widely as every California citizen or group with a common interest,” influence the Legislature and that these influences are sorted out in a “civilized, legitimate and fully exposed manner” in public hearings and debate.

An article in Part I, headlined “Legislators Throw Out the Textbooks in Last-Minute Frenzy,” notes that, “This time two years ago, (veteran lobbyist for California trial lawyers Donald) Green took part in a huge deal to overhaul the state’s civil liability laws. The segment was hatched behind closed doors and outlined on a white linen napkin at a restaurant near the capital.”

Another piece on the same page (“Senate OKs Legal Funds Loophole”) begins: “The Senate voted overwhelmingly Thursday to create a loophole in California’s campaign contribution laws so that elected officials and candidates would be allowed to raise unlimited amounts of money for their legal defense.”

And (“Watson Won’t Face Criminal Charges”): “Prosecutors announced Thursday that there is ‘insufficient evidence’ to seek criminal charges against state Sen. Diane Watson (D-Los Angeles) for using state-paid staff and equipment in preparing her Ph.D. thesis and managing a private rental property . . .

“(Dist. Atty. Steve) White attacked the state Senate’s system for keeping track of employee time, observing that ‘a cynic might think it designed for abuse.’ ”

A cynic might--and I’m afraid that watching our state Legislature in action is just the thing to turn one into a cynic.

MARY SHEPARDSON

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