Deukmejian’s Inner Circle Has Buttoned-Down Look

SACRAMENTO —  If there is a political message in the series of mid-term changes in Gov. George Deukmejian’s inner circle of advisers, it is this: Deukmejian likely will never do anything that would cause his Administration to resemble that of ex-Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr.

Brown surrounded himself with an odd mix of personalities, some highly colorful, like his philosopher-guru Jacques Barzaghi and his lively, outspoken chief of staff B. T. Collins.

Not so Deukmejian. His staff tends to run gray and grayer. From the beginning, Deukmejian has surrounded himself with a group of corporate-style advisers, and the recent changes tend to give his inner circle an even more buttoned-down, regimented appearance. The new aides talk about management styles, running a tight ship and orderly paper flow.

And this appears to be the way Deukmejian wants it as he passes the midpoint in his first term and looks ahead to his 1986 reelection campaign.

“We’re in great shape,” said Chief of Staff Steven A. Merksamer, who from the beginning has been Deukmejian’s chief of staff and now is even more secure in his role as the governor’s top aide as a result of changes on the senior staff and a mild reorganization.

Gone are some of the key players who helped influence policy for Deukmejian during his first two years. They also tended to be the ones who gave the governor’s senior staff a touch of personality and color.

Former Finance Director Michael Franchetti, a close associate of the governor whose willingness to speak out on issues was in sharp contrast to the tight-lipped style of most of the governor’s other advisers, left at the beginning of last year, his confirmation shot down by the Senate.

Political and media experts Doug Watts and Sal Russo, street-smart political gunslingers, left to start the political consulting firm they ran before joining the Administration.

Rodney J. Blonien, the governor’s lobbyist who seemed to relish the role that was given him of wearing the black hat for the Administration in its often fractious dealings with the Legislature, has transferred to an executive position in the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency.

The four were part of the original group of half a dozen or so advisers to the governor who formed the inner circle of Deukmejian’s senior staff. Their roles are either being phased out or taken over by aides with more of a bent toward management than politics.

Finance Director Jesse R. Huff, a low-profile budget cutter, replaced Franchetti. Michael Frost, who impressed Deukmejian with his handling of salary negotiations with employee unions, took Blonien’s job as legislative secretary. G. Mitchell Wilk, a former insurance company executive, assumed a bigger role on the senior staff as a top assistant to Merksamer.

Interviews with principal players indicate that while the makeup of the inner circle appears to have changed significantly, Deukmejian still retains the loyalty of the core group that was with him as attorney general and that helped elect him governor in 1982.

Franchetti, now a lawyer and lobbyist based in San Francisco, said he still considers himself one of Deukmejian’s closest friends and maintains close contact with the governor.

Watts, who with Russo coordinated Deukmejian’s television advertising in the latter stages of Deukmejian’s gubernatorial campaign, said he left on good terms and anticipates a role in the 1986 campaign. He left the Administration to get back into campaigning, leaving Deukmejian to direct media operations for President Reagan’s reelection campaign.

“I personally was getting very antsy (working inside government). I just really couldn’t hack government anymore, as opposed to campaigns and private business,” he said.

Of the original group of advisers, the two who now appear positioned to play even more influential roles than they did before are Merksamer and Larry Thomas, the governor’s press secretary who will take over some of the role played by Watts.

Merksamer plays the powerful role of gatekeeper to the governor. He controls access to the governor, and all requests to speak with Deukmejian go through him. He said he expects to take some of the political chores previously assigned to Russo and Watts.

Is he spreading himself too thin? Merksamer says no. He said Deukmejian is a “hands-on” governor who always has taken on the responsibility for “making the fundamental policy decisions in this Administration.”