Tribes rise as guard union fades
By Dan Walters - dwalters@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
12:00 am PDT Wednesday, March 12, 2008
One of the most interesting - and perhaps significant - twists of
Capitol politics has been the rise of the prison guards' union and the
casino-owning Indian tribes from utter obscurity to vast political
power.
The California Correctional Peace Officers Association and the casino
tribes spent tens of millions - perhaps hundreds of millions - on
campaign contributions, lobbying and advertising campaigns, especially
in the 1990s, to establish themselves as political powerhouses.
They assiduously played both sides of the partisan aisle, used ballot
measures to enhance their economic and political positions, and even
merged forces on occasion. But whether together or singly, the CCPOA
and the tribes joined the very select circle of political interest
groups that were virtually unbeatable on issues they considered vital.
The CCPOA's hegemony has faded markedly in the past couple of years,
especially since its longtime leader and resident political genius,
Don Novey, retired from active involvement. Rapidly growing prison
spending chafed on others wanting pieces of the fixed state budget
pie. Liberal lawmakers began questioning the lock-'em-up philosophy
that sent the prisons soaring past 170,000 inmates and drew federal
court intervention.
The union also lost its very profitable pipeline to the governor's
office after playing major roles in the election of Republican Pete
Wilson and Democrat Gray Davis. Arnold Schwarzenegger didn't need or
get the CCPOA's help, and he's been an advocate - some of the time,
anyway - of prison reform. Last year, Schwarzenegger and the
Legislature enacted a reform and construction bill over CCPOA's bitter
objections. This year, the governor wants to reduce prison pressure
through parole reforms.
CCPOA retaliated, perhaps foolishly, by bankrolling the campaign
against Proposition 93, which would have modified legislative term
limits and allowed the Legislature's leaders to extend their careers.
While voters rejected the measure, the union's relations with those
leaders dropped to rock-bottom.
As CCPOA's clout in the Capitol was plummeting last year, the casino
tribes' almost total power was underscored when Democratic leaders
brushed aside objections from their longtime allies in labor and
ratified new compacts with four Southern California tribes that
sharply expanded their gambling operations. One factor in the
Assembly's abrupt reversal on the compacts was a fear that the tribes
would spend millions to oppose Proposition 93.
Tribal clout was demonstrated anew on Tuesday when the Assembly Public
Safety Committee, after a hearing that lasted but a few minutes,
unanimously approved a bill that would empower tribes to banish
individuals from their reservations and have local law enforcement
officials enforce the ban.
Ostensibly, the legislation, Senate Bill 331 by Sen. Gloria Romero, D-
Los Angeles, has to do with trespassing, but trespassing on posted
land is already against the law. SB 331, as a committee staff analysis
implies, is really aimed at one of the darker aspects of tribal casino
operations - the tendency of dominant tribal political factions to
"disenroll" members who fall out of favor and thus make them
ineligible for shares of multibillion-dollar casino revenues.
The state has no power to enforce democracy and non-discrimination in
tribes since they claim the status of "sovereign nations." But with SB
331, local police would be used to enforce banishment by creating a
new infraction, punishable by a fine, that could be applied to any
individual specifically named by a tribe.
It's bad policy. The bill sailed through the Senate as a "consent"
item, and the Legislature's eagerness to make it law is shameful, even
as it testifies to the casino tribes' clout.
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