“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”
From the PE: Sacramento newbie brings experience, open mind to tough political landscape
10:00 PM PST on Thursday, January 8, 2009
By JIM MILLER
Sacramento Bureau
Assemblyman Brian Nestande, R-Palm Desert, is no political tenderfoot. The longtime congressional aide and campaign worker is the son of a former state legislator and the brother of an Inland colleague’s top aide.
But the past six weeks have been quite an introduction to the state Capitol.
Since his Dec. 1 swearing-in, Nestande has been thrust into a rancorous budget fight complete with late-night floor sessions, votes on hastily crafted bills, and the GOP caucus being all but excluded from negotiations between fellow Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and majority Democrats.
But for all the partisan hostility on display, Nestande said he still sees opportunity.
“Most votes, you’re going to disagree on. That doesn’t mean you don’t find areas of commonality,” he said. “I’m not a confrontational person. I’m more willing to work within a body or a group to get something done. You have to negotiate. You have to give to get.”
His approach to politics, he said, reflects the imprint of his father, former Assemblyman Bruce Nestande, who represented part of Orange County in the late 1970s.
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Mark Zaleski / The Press-Enterprise
Assemblyman Brian Nestande, R-Palm Desert, meets with March Joint Powers Authority Executive Director Lori Stone in Riverside.
“I think that perhaps the comment I’ve made most to him is about how the members worked together when I was a member,” Bruce Nestande said. “You recognize that you have your viewpoint, the opposition has its viewpoints, and you work together and try to accomplish meaningful legislation. They weren’t so driven into ideological camps.”
Brian Nestande, who turns 45 tomorrow, is the second Coachella Valley resident in a row to represent the 64th, an ungainly district that includes most of the greater Riverside area. He succeeds John J. Benoit, R-Bermuda Dunes, a political ally who advanced to the state Senate.
Nestande, the brother of Benoit’s chief of staff, comes to the job with a long political resume.
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He cut his political teeth in Orange County, where he was raised and worked on his first campaign. Since then, he has been involved in politics and public policy on both coasts and served as chiefs of staff to late Rep. Sonny Bono and then his widow, Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Palm Springs.
A colleague described Nestande as soft-spoken, a description Nestande did not dispute.
“My disposition is to sit back and watch and learn,” he said.
Nestande is still crafting his legislative package for the coming year. Interests of his include healthcare, transportation, and spurring job creation, he said.
Dominating everything this year, though, will be fixing California’s estimated $40 billion budget shortfall. Some Republican lawmakers reject any possibility that they will support increasing taxes as part of an agreement with Democrats.
Nestande, though, is among those who leave the door open.
“I’m a conservative. I’m a Republican. I’ve been around these debates my whole life,” he said. “But one thing I didn’t go to Sacramento with was a closed mind.”
Reach Jim Miller at 916-445-9973 or jmiller@PE.com
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