Gang of Five - Where Are They Now?

Gang of Five

I heard about California’s Gang of Five when I attended my first bail agent’s convention.  The year was 1988, the meeting was held in Monterey, and I had only recently decided to become a bail agent.  The keynote speaker was Rusty Areias, the best looking of the Gang of Five.  The attendees enthusiastically received Rusty as he took the podium.  When he regaled us with tales of epic battles against Willie Brown, then Speaker of the Assembly, fantastic images of dragons and dragon slayers floated through my mind.  As a young republican I had heard my share of horror stories about Willie Brown.

In 1987 and ‘88 Democrats held 44 seats in the Assembly, while the Republicans held 36.  The Gang of Five voted as a block, sometimes against the direction of the Speaker.  They were punished for their disloyalty, committee assignments stripped, staff reassigned, office space shrunk, parking privileges cancelled.  The Speaker tried to crush their will, but the Gang held tight.  Republican sponsored legislation continued to move, but Democrat sponsored bills were halted for fear that the Gang would cross the aisle and defeat those they had issue with.  In the Speaker’s words, “perception of power is reality”, and he did not want it to appear that he lacked power.

I was 22 years old, with a mortgage, a wife, a new-born, and a management job in my in-law’s small chain of paint stores.  If I was a bigger man (by that I mean more mature, less sensitive, and educated) I don’t think I would have felt so stifled.  But, I wanted to blaze my own trail, make my own mark, take the rewards, and taste the briny-sweet flavor of victory seasoned with risk.  Thank God the young are so naïve. Rusty Areias and The Gang of Five represented exactly what I craved.

I saw Rusty’s name on a Twitter feed the other day.  The FPPC levied a fine against him and others for engaging in “shadow lobbying”.  Shadow lobbying is seeking to garner support for a client’s cause or position without being a registered lobbyist.  I’m sure I’ve over simplified the issue. It seems to be a very fine line. I started thinking about the Gang of Five and wondered what they were up to.

Areias served as chair of the Coastal Commission.  Later, he was Director of the State Department of Parks and Recreation under the Gray Davis administration, serving from 1999 to 2002. Last year we learned that the State Parks Commission had been maintaining a secret fund for 12 years.  The official findings are that the fund’s existence was unknown to State Parks directors, including Areias. The same findings also show the fund grew most from 1998 to 2003.

The best known Gang of Five member was Gary Condit.  After a scandal that unseated Democratic Majority Whip, Tony Coelho, Condit won a special election to Congress.  Unfortunately, Condit, is known more for his relationship with Chandra Levy, than for his government service.  We know not what tomorrow brings so, make the most and best of today.

Jerry Eaves left the Assembly in 1992.  He served as a San Bernardino County Supervisor for 2 terms, his final term marked with scandal.  It was alleged that he received gifts from entities that had business before the Board then voted on their matters. Charges brought in Federal court were dismissed with an admonishment to the prosecutor for being overly zealous. Eaves entered a plea of no-contest to 7 reduced counts.  There is a fine soccer complex that bears his name.

Charles Calderon was the recognized leader of the Gang of Five. He currently sits in the Assembly. His son, Ian, is an Assembly member in the neighboring district.  Calderon was the first Latino Assembly majority leader.  He ran for Attorney General but lost to Bill Lockyer.  Two brothers, Ron and Thomas, both serve in the Senate. Ron has his own legal problems.  The FBI raided his Senate office early this summer and the case is pending.  A man stands apart from his brother.  Anyone that has siblings understands the import of that observation.

Steve Peace is an advisor to the San Diego Padres.  He is also the architect of California’s Top Two Primary system.  For that reason alone, he is one of my heroes.  Peace was also the writer and producer of the “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes” movie franchise.  There were three Killer Tomatoes movies.  Perhaps calling it a franchise is generous, but he is my hero, and heroes receive much benefit.

Incidentally, I have since met Willie Brown.  He was the guest of honor and entertainment at a salon dinner at Ramekins Cooking School in Sonoma. Ramekins is owned by Sacramento power broker, Darius Anderson. The menu was selected by Willie (it's uncomfortable calling him Mr. Brown). During each course Willie related the food to his story.  It was a fascinating experience with exquisite food, interesting people, and, of course, Willie.

I'm sad that so many members of the Gang of Five have been marked by scandal.  Not because I feel let down by their supposed failings.  Rather, because I too have failings and sometimes have been forced to eat only from the bitter bowl of brine. In those moments, it helps to remember that this too shall pass.

 

If Obama Was a Bail Agent

If Obama was a bail bondsman, would he attack Syria?

A few years ago, I bailed a man for the petty offense of public intoxication.  Usually, I get cosigners before I post a bond, but this time I did not.  He persuaded me that he was an otherwise responsible person. And, this being the age of cell phones that dial by name rather than number, he could not remember any of his friends’ or family member’s phone numbers.

The bond amount was small, only $1,000.  The premium he had to pay was $100.  He lived in the neighboring county and he promised he would call in a credit card number to cover the fee once he got home.  More often than many would think, I have bonded people out under similar circumstances, I’m rarely stiffed.  But, I’m a bail bondsman and over the years I’ve developed a sense of when to bend the rules of underwriting and when to hold firm.

This would not be much of a story if the man did as he said he would do.  He did not call me with a credit card number, nor did he send a check, a thank you note, or a bottle of wine.   He failed to appear in court, and, as is customary, the court notified me that I had 180 days to produce the body, or pay the $1,000 bond. The court does not use the word “body”, but I like the sound of it.   It conjures up a spirit of days past and people that hear me say it instantly understand that it’s no joke.

When things like this happen, I turn to the same bail investigator I’ve used for 13 years.  Steve, using methods he prefers to keep to himself, tracked the absconded client to a little town near Olympia, Washington.  From his office, Steve called the man.  He was surprised to hear from us and declined our request for him to return to Sonoma County.  He also, declined our request to pay the bond. Before hanging up, he said something like, “Go to hell.  What are you going to do, come here and get me?”

It costs a lot of money to pay two men to drive in a full-size SUV 1,500 miles, stake out a house, and arrest the fugitive when they find him. I’m a good boss, and feel like the people I hire should be able to eat meals and sleep in a motel when they are performing an extended service like this.  Two days later, when Steve and his partner knocked on the man’s door, he was surprised.  He expressed his surprise all the way back to Sonoma County.

Contrary to what many believe, the criminal mind assesses likely responses before it acts.  This is not true for every criminal, but it is true often enough that I count on it.  This man decided that it didn’t make sense for me to spend all that time, money, and energy to bring him back for such a small bond.  He figured he was out of my reach, and that the phone call to him was merely to express empty words. If my business was a publicly-traded corporation, where executives answer to a board of directors, and the board answers to shareholders, he may have been right. A corporate board has a tendency to seek the quickest profit, or the least expense.  But, my business is not publicly traded, it’s closely held by one shareholder, me. I can afford to take the long view.

In his assessment, the man overlooked the value of his story.  When he was booked into the Sonoma County jail, he couldn’t help but tell everyone he encountered, how that crazy guy at Romelli Bail Bonds chased him all the way to Washington for a mere $1,000.  For the rest of that year and into the next, not one person that I bailed out of that jail skipped court.

If Obama was a bail bondsman, he would take military action against Syria.  He would weigh the costs, the risks, the rewards, and then he’d act.  He’d know that the world is watching.  He would not risk the outcome on the deliberations of 435 people that answer directly to their own form of shareholders, voters. He would know that other regimes will be emboldened if he doesn’t act.  He would know that there are significantly less costs, however one measures them, dissuading others from engaging in the use of weapons of mass destruction than ignoring them when they do.  He would know the cost of empty warnings outpaces the cost of backing those warnings up with appropriate action.    

I believe congress will approve military action against Syria, but it will be by a slim margin, and that is enough to cast doubt in the minds of other regimes that our warnings lack strength.  If Obama was a bail bondsman, he’d understand that the criminal mind tends toward exploiting weakness and avoids challenging the strong.