Jul 1, 2008

Senator worked hard for bill

Simitian originally proposed cell phone law seven years ago

By Edwin Garcia / Bay Area News Group

No one ever said Joe Simitian gives up easily.

When he proposed seven years ago that California become the first state in the nation with a hands-free cell phone law, the measure had little support and no hope of passage.

But as the landmark legislation takes effect today, it stands as an impressive tribute to the Palo Alto senator known for his far-reaching proposals, his brainy persona, and an occasionally off-putting personal style.

Bills he champions, such as a measure that bars companies from implanting microchips in workers, often draw attention.

But they are slow to materialize for a number of reasons: Some of his concepts seem too novel for most legislators.

His proposals often draw strong opposition.

And he sometimes seems to value his own concepts above the compromises needed to win the support of his colleagues.

In a political career spanning 25 years, Simitian, who came to prominence as a school board member, city council member and Santa Clara County supervisor, has carved a rare niche in a Capitol where politics almost always matters more than ideas.

Even as an education lobbyist opposed one of his bills at a hearing last week, she stated: "We really want to commend Sen. Simitian for being a man ahead of his time."

The phrase fits well for the 55-year-old bespectacled Berkeley law school graduate. "Some of the toughest challenges," Simitian said, ""are when you try and lead a little ahead of the curve."

Take the hands-free law, which prohibits drivers from holding cell phones to their ears (and bans teen motorists under 18 from using phones altogether).

When Simitian proposed the measure in 2001, fellow legislators and especially cell phone lobbyists opposed the idea - there were no similar laws in other states, let alone statistics on whether the ban would save lives, as Simitian promised. Yet the ambitious assemblyman pressed on.

"Frankly, that's why he's so successful, because he keeps at it," said former Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Kevin Murray, D-Culver City, who still takes pride in having killed early versions of the hands-free bill. "He's not just going to walk away because someone disagreed with him."

Simitian also developed a reputation as a lawmaker who didn't play well with others. Current and former colleagues found that characteristic surprising for a veteran politician who should have known that developing relationships is key to pushing a successful legislative agenda.

Often, they say, he seemed condescending. There was, for example, his addressing his colleagues with the phrase, "Now, members ..."

This same, almost professorial style served him well in the intellectual community of Palo Alto, where Simitian was a school board trustee for eight years, a council member for four years, then county supervisor.

"We have a lot of highly educated people here who are respected because of their ability to analyze situations," said Debbie Mytels of Palo Alto, a former PTA activist who first met Simitian in the 1970s.

"I can see that in Sacramento he might come across a little abrasive to people who have been elected to the state Legislature because of a different type of skill."

Simitian, elected to the Assembly in 2000 and the Senate four years later, says he has learned the Capitol is a different place.

"I realized early on, you can't be a one-man band in a legislative body, particularly not if you need to round up 41 votes or 21 votes to move a good idea through the system," Simitian said last week in his Capitol office.

"I'd like to think that I am better at sort of building partnerships with other members, and on both sides of the aisle."

Yet at times he still compounds his troubles.

At a Senate budget committee hearing in February, where Democratic leaders had decided beforehand how much money to cut from public education,
Simitian nonetheless engaged in a half-hour public disagreement with his colleagues over their approach to school funding.

An angry Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata bounced Simitian from the committee for having the temerity to challenge Perata ally Denise Moreno Ducheny, the committee chairwoman.

"Actions have consequences," Simitian said, when asked if the duel was worth it. "I think the folks in the district sent me here to speak my mind."

Simitian is intense not only about his own proposals, but everyone else's, too.

He orders his staff to analyze each of the 5,000 bills presented over the two-year session, regardless of the time required, even though the legislative committees and the Democratic Caucus already provide printed analyses for legislators.

Even while away on vacation, "he wants to know how other countries organize their governments and deliver their water, how their schools work," said his wife, political consultant Mary Hughes. She calls his appetite for details, "exhausting sometimes, but genuine."

Encouraged by the hands-free bill, approved in 2006 after other states enacted similar laws, Simitian is now working on a new proposal that would ban drivers from texting and e-mailing.

Not that he would ever get pulled over for typing or talking. Simitian says he always used earbuds while driving, and lately has tried to avoid the phone completely.

The hands-free bill has raised Simitian's profile considerably. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has since invited the senator to several public and private events to tout Simitian's work on the cell phone issue, elder abuse prevention and an oil-spill measure.

"I have had the pleasure of working with Sen. Simitian on several important pieces of legislation," Schwarzenegger said in a statement, "and he is a true leader and dedicated public servant who keeps the best interests of Californians as his highest priority."

Bay Area News Group reporter Mike Zapler contributed to this report.