How To Leave A Legacy As California's Longest-Serving Legislator...When You're In The Political Minority

In 1988, I was a high school senior who'd just won a statewide scholarship program when I met California State Sen. Jim Nielsen.

Since then, my career led me to the City of Roseville, where my role includes heading up public affairs and communications.

When a redistricting commission in 2012 put Roseville in Nielsen's new district, I was surprised and delighted to see the familiar name of a senator I first met at age 17.

For the past decade, Nielsen has been a solid partner, active in supporting the priorities in our city's annual legislative platform.

Later this month, he retires as the state's current longest-serving legislator. He leaves a legacy of results on some of the state's most important issues, all while being in the political minority.

In fact, it's a detail he doesn't pay much attention to.

What's behind his staying power?

Relationships, tenacity, and respecting the rules of the house

He's been an advocacy champion and a personal friend.

With his tenure coming to a close, I asked what drives him, how he's lasted so long, and what he's faced in his long career.

Here’s Sen. Nielsen’s story:

QUICK BACKSTORY:

• Elected in 1978, served 12 years in the Senate prior to term limits
• 4 years in the Assembly under old term limits
• Has served in the Senate since early 2013
• Served 10 years as Chair of the Board of Prison Terms

THE ODDS:

To say Nielsen, a Republican, was setup for success from the beginning would be an overstatement.

• When he first ran for state senate in 1978, his district was 30% Republican, 60% Democrat.
• His name identity was 2%, his opponent's was 80%.
• The Senate has had a Democratic majority from 1970 to today.
• Same for the Assembly, except for a brief period from 1995 to 1996.

Which means Nielsen’s success needed to be rooted in something other than party control.

PEOPLE AND POLICIES, NOT POLITICS

Relationships have been the key. He's relentlessly pursued policies that poise the state and its residents for success.

SECRET SAUCE:

• Focus on people first. Don't pay attention to party.
• Study the issues, spent time with the people affected, don't rely solely on staff analysis.
• Put residents' success ahead of personal standing.

"Introducing sexy bills or becoming prominent in the legislature wasn't my aim. While I've achieved that, it hasn't been my goal. I've always been the underdog."

He's well aware of the scrutiny that comes with the job.

In 1983, when he became Republican leader of the Senate, he was approached by the press as he exited a Los Angeles event and asked what the new role means for him.

An affable man, he broke the ice with what he said was his greatest comeback of all time.

"It means I'll have lousy pictures printed in the paper. What I say will be taken out of context. And I'll be mocked on a much grander scale."

Lacing humor with undeniable facts, Nielsen has built trust as he advanced policy.

PUSHING ROCKS UPHILL: POLICY WINS & LOSSES

WATER

He's a farmer by trade.

Nielsen's farmed the east and west sides of the San Joaquin Valley, the Delta, and the Sacramento Valley. Dairy cattle, beef cattle, and 15 types of field and row crops.

He studies water, needs water, knows water.

1. In 2014, he backed Prop. 1, the first statewide water project of that magnitude since the Oroville Dam. It's positioned to jumpstart construction of the new and desperately needed Sites Reservoir, which our City strongly supports.
2. In 2010, he supported expanding crucial context in the update to the California Water Plan:

• Expanded the Delta-centric focus of previous plans to include water in all corners of the state.
• Established that humans have a right to water, expanding from previous plans' narrower focus on the Delta and fish.

PUBLIC SAFETY

In 1980, Gov. Pete Wilson appointed Nielsen to chair the Board of Prison Terms.

The assignment to fix California's parole system lasted 10 years and the stress took a toll on his health. He suffered a heart attack, bypass surgery and a bleeding ulcer during that time.

He saw the worst in humanity. That fueled his drive to elevate victims' rights and prioritize the safety of the public.

The wins:

• Passage of the 1982 Victims' Bill of Rights with victims' advocate Harriet Salarno. This ensured crime victims had a voice and standing in the criminal justice system.
• Passage of Marsy's Law, which unequivocally states that all persons who suffer losses as a result of criminal activity shall have the right to seek and secure restitution from the persons convicted of the crimes causing the losses they suffer.

The losses:

In the years since, he's been frustrated that the parole system has declined in protecting public safety.

Nielsen points to voters for not paying close enough attention on critical public-safety issues.

He cites the passage of Propositions 36, 47 and 54 for:

• Removing consequences for crimes
• Making it hard to bring people into custody
• Making it easier to be released from custody

HIGHER EDUCATION

Nielsen authored the legislation to kickstart the State's 1987 Master Plan Update for Higher Education.

He also served on the 18-member bi-partisan joint committee that produced the 138-page report.

The effort took five years with 40 hearings throughout the state and intense dialogue with public and private colleges and universities.

• It stopped mission creep by aligning and clarifying roles of the community college, state university, and UC systems.
• It broadened access among the state's increasingly diverse population.
• It established the community college system as a full partner by statute, defining their vocational and transitional mission.

"Before that plan, community colleges were viewed as glorified high schools. Now they play a critical role in our higher education system."

A FAMILY FOCUSED ON SERVICE:

He met his wife, Marilyn Nielsen, when she was the contact for boards and commissions in Tehama County. They married and had three sons together, in addition to the two daughters Nielsen had in his first marriage.

He's proud of the life of service they've shared.

Marilyn served as deputy director of the Department of Consumer Affairs, where she mainstreamed alternative medicine, acupuncture, to become part of the health system's delivery of care.

She retired as the executive director of the California Arts Council.

She and her husband then helped establish the Asian Pacific Islanders American Public Affairs Council, a national non-partisan non-profit that promotes the advancement of API communities through increased leadership and civic engagement.

MY TAKEAWAYS:

The hard times never leave you but you keep going. Like when threats during his Prison Board term required police presence outside his home. He's seen things he's glad other people don't see as he learned how "unkind" people can be to each other.

Treat staff like family. They'll never forget it. Staff traveled from out of state, including some who started with him in 1978, to surprise him recently with a sendoff on the west steps of the state capitol.

Respect the rules of the house. "My way has been to comport myself for the good of the house, not to be partisan. There's no place for screaming, yelling, or naming calling in civil dialogue."

WHAT'S NEXT:

As he retires, Nielsen said he and his wife have been talking often about how much they're looking forward to more time to be together.

"I'm not riding off into the sunset, though. I'm riding off into the sunrise. There's more to do."