You have to admire the political magic that Assembly Member Nicole Parra has spun to become the darling of San Joaquin Valley political scene. This was a termed-out California legislator who'd made enemies in her own party and was just counting the days until she could fishtail out of the Capitol parking garage.In a matter of hours last weekend, it all turned Parra's way, even as fed-up Democratic leaders were "punishing" the maverick Democrat from Hanford for not being a good soldier. Parra, once considered too liberal for San Joaquin Valley politics, is now being embraced by conservatives and toasted on talk radio shows.She stood up to the ruffians in Sacramento by demanding a water-bond measure as a price for her vote on the state budget. The Democrats need every member of their party to support the budget and then coax a few Republicans to come over to get the two-thirds vote required to pass a spending plan.But Parra said no water bond, no budget vote. That made this a leadership test for Assembly Member Karen Bass, who just took over as Assembly speaker. It would have been wise for her to leave this alone, especially considering that Parra's vote is still needed to get a budget. But Bass decided that she would not allow Parra to get away with such a public, in-your-face gesture.The speaker decided to drop a medium-range missile -- tossing Parra out of her Capitol office and sending her across the street into less flashy digs. It was intended to be a strong message to Parra that she needed to be a team player. But the move garnered nothing but sympathy for Parra, and the lame-duck lawmaker is back in the political game.Bass got outmaneuvered, just as she has been outmaneuvered by Republicans during the budget standoff. The interesting thing is that Bass still doesn't realize how unwise the party disciplinary move was for the Democrats. A crisis can make a leader look incredibly strong, or it can reveal weaknesses. So far, it's been the latter for Bass.The Parra punishment has only made the Valley lawmaker stronger in the eyes of her constituents. It also sets her up nicely for a possible job next year with a conservative organization such as the Farm Bureau or even an appointment in the Schwarzenegger administration. She's also toying with the idea of one day running for Congress.But let's look behind the curtain at the full story of this drama. It has less to do with Parra's budget vote last Sunday, and is more about her continual promotion of the Republican candidate who wants to succeed her in the 30th Assembly District. GOP nominee Danny Gilmore is running against Democrat Fran Florez, the mother of Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter.This is where old political scores are determining the events. Parra and Dean Florez have a long-running feud that was highlighted by Florez running a staffer against Parra's father, longtime Kern County Supervisor Pete Parra. That's ex-supervisor now, with the Florez candidate defeating Parra's father. That made this very personal.Nicole Parra isn't going to hand over her seat to Florez's mother. It's time for political payback: You took out my father, I'm going to do the same to your mother.Parra has been escorting Gilmore around the district, and says the Republican would be a fitting successor. Now that makes the Democratic leadership angry. Democrats spent millions in each of Parra's three Assembly races, propping her up each time against GOP charges that she was too liberal for the Valley district.The irony is that Parra is one of the most conservative Democrats in the Assembly, but candidates with a "D" after their names in the Valley are considered lefties by the Republicans. Parra barely won her elections, and it was the Democrats who pushed her over the top each time. The previous speaker gave her good committee assignments, and let her carry major legislation -- particularly high-profile public safety bills -- to improve her conservative credentials for Valley voters.That's why Democratic leaders are so angry with Parra's actions the past year. Last week's vote on the budget, which wasn't a serious proposal in the first place, was only a small part of it.The controversy has turned out to be an ongoing advertisement for Parra's job search. Parra couldn't have scripted this any better.(Jim Boren is The Fresno Bee's editorial page editor. E-mail him at jboren@fresnobee.com.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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