"This morning, I kissed my children goodbye, dropped my daughter off at school, got on a plane, got here, found out I was locked out of my office," said [Senator Lou] Correa, D-Santa Ana.
This is what Lou told Brian Joseph at The OC Register when asked about the lockout. Yes, you heard me right- Lou Correa, along with Sens. Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-Chino) and Ron Calderon (D-Montebello), were locked out of their own offices. And why? Because Don Perata was being a brat.
Follow me down below for more on this nonsense...
(Cross-posted at Calitics)
So why, again, did Senate President Pro-tem Don Perata lock my State Senator out of his office? And why were the other two locked out? Well, the three of them committed the "horrible sin" of attending a fundraiser for fellow moderate Democrats.
Perata, D-Oakland, declined to discuss the matter with reporters, saying it was an internal matter. But the Capitol buzz, including an Internet posting by Orange County Republican Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, said Correa and Sens. Ron Calderon and Gloria Negrette McLeod were shut out because they attended an event for moderate Democrats last week.
Moderate Democrats like Correa and the others sometimes support positions that are contrary to the official stance of the Democratic Party or its leaders. Perata has said he would not tolerate any members of his party organizing to block its agenda.
OK, so Lou's a moderate Dem. And yes, he sometimes votes against legislation that I and other progressive Democrats support. Yes, we may not always agree with Lou. But lock him out of his office? Is that really a proper, grown-up response? And oh yes, this wasn't even about a vote... It was about some silly fundraiser!
So why is Perata punishing Lou like this? Even after Calderon's office was reopened yesterday, and McLeod's office was reopened yesterday, Lou's office remains locked. So long as Lou's office remains locked, he can't work for all of us in Orange County very effectively. He can't receive our phone calls, or work on writing response letters to us. He and his staffers can't decide on what legislation to support. Basically, we can't have our Senator work for us, and we have Don Perata's ego issues to blame.
Now I first found out about this lockout on Red County/OC Blog. And while I usually don't agree with any of their right-wing agenda, I do have to thank Assemblymember Chuck Devore (R-Irvine) for his graciousness and compassion here.
Since my office is on the same floor as Sen. Correa and Sen. Calderon, I walked by a couple of minutes ago to check, and, sure enough, Sen. Correa’s office was locked. I stopped by Sen. Calderon’s office next and found it just opened and staffed by one tight-lipped staffer who seemed none too pleased.
I’ve called Sen. Correa on his cell phone to offer him use of my office as a place to hang his hat and make some calls, if need be.
Crazy place to work, Sacramento…
How nice of him. Really. Devore doesn't have to do that, but he is. Too bad that Don Perata can't act that mature, and work out his differences with Correa, Calderon, and McLeod in a mature, responsible manner. Nope, instead Perata has to act like a brat... And my Senator has to be punished for it.
Maybe Don Perata needs to face some type of consequence for his petulant, childish behavior. After all, it's not like he's the most blameless or most progressive pol of them all...
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