Assemblywoman Cathie Wright

Assembly Speaker Willie Brown asserted Thursday that Ventura County Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury acted irresponsibly in his investigation that concluded that Brown and Assemblywoman Cathie Wright improperly sought to intercede with authorities in traffic cases involving Wright's frequently ticketed daughter. "I don't know any prosecutor anywhere in the world who conducts an investigation, returns no action on his part . . . and then uses it as a tool for the purposes of condemning other people," Brown, a San Francisco Democrat, told reporters in Sacramento.

Assembly Speaker Willie Brown apparently "violated the professional rules" of the State Bar of California by seeking to intercede with a judge regarding traffic charges against Assemblywoman Cathie Wright's daughter, the Ventura County district attorney said Wednesday. Brown, a lawyer, is under investigation by the Bar Assn. for contacting a Ventura County municipal judge last year about a pending traffic case against Wright's daughter. Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury also said Wright "demonstrated a clear pattern of attempting to obtain special treatment for herself and her daughter with the police, the courts and the Department of Motor Vehicles."

Ventura County Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury released the findings Wednesday of a 10-week investigation by his office of reports that Assemblywoman Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley) used her clout to keep her frequently ticketed daughter behind the wheel. The 97-page report asserted that Wright "has demonstrated a clear pattern of attempting to obtain special treatment for herself and her daughter with the police, the courts and the Department of Motor Vehicles." Bradbury's office found that Wright improperly intervened to keep her daughter, Victoria, from losing her driver's license or going to jail as the result of 28 traffic violations since 1981.

Robert Wilcox, a San Fernando Valley Republican activist who was weighing a 1990 primary challenge to Assemblywoman Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley), said Tuesday that he has decided not to run. Wilcox, a former aide to Assemblywoman Marian W. La Follette (R-Northridge), said he based his decision on the emergence of two other prospective Republican candidates and his unwillingness to leave his lifelong hometown of Northridge to move into Wright's 37th District. "It's not my seat, it's not my district, it's not my area," said Wilcox, 23, who resides in La Follette's 38th District.

Anew Department of Motor Vehicles office will open in Simi Valley on Monday in the Simi Valley Civic Center complex. The office, at 3855D Alamo St., will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, with hours extended to 8 p.m. Thursdays. Test drives will be given by appointment only. Motorists should call (805) 527-7960 for an appointment for all other licensing and registration needs, according to Lillian Williams, office manager. The formal opening of the office is scheduled for May 16 at 10:30 a.m. Assemblywoman Cathie Wright and Simi Valley Mayor Greg Stratton are expected to attend.

Bob Larkin, a longtime Republican activist and former Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce president, announced Friday that he has decided to oppose beleaguered Assemblywoman Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley) in the 1990 primary. "I've decided that I think there's enough support to start a good, hard campaign," said Larkin, who owns a State Farm Life Insurance Co. agency. "I'm in it for the long haul." Larkin, 52, first vice chairman of the Ventura County Republican Central Committee, filed papers earlier this month to run, but he said he had not made a final decision.

Victoria Wright, the oft-ticketed daughter of Assemblywoman Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley), was transferred from the Ventura County Jail to the county Work Furlough Facility at Camarillo Airport on Tuesday. Wright, 24, who had been conditionally accepted into the work furlough program April 3, had failed to submit follow-up paper work until Monday when her 30-day jail term began. The paper work was approved Tuesday, said Richard Humeston, the work furlough division manager. Wright will be allowed to leave the minimum-security facility to continue in her job as a cashier at a Thousand Oaks supermarket and will be required to return to the facility when she is not at work.

Bob Larkin, a veteran Republican activist and former Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce president, has filed papers to oppose embattled Assemblywoman Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley) in the 1990 primary. He said Tuesday that he was leaning toward running but planned to make his decision this weekend and announce it Monday. He would be the first candidate to challenge any San Fernando Valley area lawmaker in next year's election. "I need to talk to a few more people," said Larkin, who added that he has been considering a possible GOP primary bid in the far-flung and strongly Republican 37th Assembly District since January but began exploring it seriously only this month.

Amid the scores of political buttons displayed in Assemblywoman Cathie Wright's spacious office is one that, until recently, could have been the Simi Valley Republican's credo: "I don't get headaches. I give them!" Wright, 59, has succeeded by tenaciously bird-dogging the interests of her sprawling 37th District--from prying loose state funds for local projects to showing up at myriad community events. But her combativeness--and some say her willingness to put personal interest above all else--has also earned her the enmity of many colleagues, including numerous fellow Republicans.