His Is a Tale of Timing and Gradual Change Political Evolution
SACRAMENTO — In his early years as an assemblyman from Fresno, Democrat Cruz Bustamante seemed to fit his farm belt district like a beloved slipper: He did all he could for agriculture, made environmentalists nervous and sidestepped votes on controversial issues -- such as abortion -- that might have distressed his conservative constituents.
But as he bounded up the Democratic leadership ladder, ultimately landing the powerful Assembly speaker's job in 1996, those moderate positions began to shift, an analysis of his record shows, winning him new loyalists on the left but offending some early political friends.
Now in his second term as lieutenant governor, Bustamante is seen by opponents as wishy-washy, a man whose internal compass is guided by whatever interests he is serving at a particular time. Who, they ask, is the real Cruz Bustamante?
But backers insist he's a fair-minded pragmatist who, like many Democrats from rural areas, initially staked out ground reflecting his conservative district's needs and later, as Assembly speaker and lieutenant governor representing all of California, took a more holistic view.
In an interview, Bustamante acknowledged that "people have never been able to figure out who I am. I was hard to categorize with the existing labels. People thought I was vacillating, but for me it was natural. That was my politics."
Exhibit A is Bustamante's stand on driver's licenses for illegal immigrants. Today, he is a vigorous supporter of a newly signed law allowing an estimated 2 million illegal residents to become licensed drivers. But as an Assembly freshman a decade ago, Bustamante -- a grandson of Mexican immigrants -- held the opposite position, voting to require that applicants show proof of legal residency to obtain a license.
His credentials as an environmental defender are newly earned as well.
Early on, Bustamante delighted developers and farmers by pushing legislation making it harder to list a species as endangered.
But once he was elected speaker, he became a reliable vote for environmental protection, earning a perfect 100% rating on an annual scorecard compiled by the California League of Conservation Voters. And today, he strongly supports a controversial package of bills to regulate air pollution from farms.
