'COLLECTINATOR'S' TOP AIDE A GOOD CHOICE FOR THE JOB.

Byline: Lisa Friedman Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who created for himself the new super-hero role of ``Collectinator'' as he tries to scoop up more federal funds for the state, has a new sidekick.

As of this week, David Wetmore, 44, will head up Schwarzenegger's eight-person federal office in Washington, D.C.

Wetmore, who most recently was the director of government affairs for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, is no stranger to the challenge of fighting for California's interests and seeking consensus among the state's geographically and ideologically fractious congressional delegation.

He did the job once before, under former Gov. Pete Wilson.

``He was a marvelous director of that office, because he was both very bright about policy and street-smart and people-smart,'' Wilson said. ``If we had an issue with the Department of Interior, he could fully brief me and my staff as to whether we had an ally or an adversary and what we should do.''

Wetmore's new post was formerly held by Schwarzenegger's first D.C. director, Stacy Carlson, who went to work for the Motion Picture Association of America last year.

Wilson said when he heard Wetmore was a contender for the job, he sent a message through Schwarzenegger's staff.

``I said to the governor, 'Get him if you possibly can. I guarantee that you will be well-served.'''

Wetmore debuts in his $123,000-a-year job as Schwarzenegger is about to fly to Washington to meet with the state's congressional delegation and make yet another pitch for the state's fair share of federal dollars.

A report out Friday found California spent its 18th straight year as a donor state, now getting back 77 cents for every dollar it sends to the feds.

Wetmore's mission will be to even out that balance, but also to fight for California on a variety of issues, among them protecting California bases from the next round of closures, pressing Congress to retool transportation and health care formulas to give the state a larger share of the pie, and getting more money for the financial burden California bears from illegal immigration.

Perhaps most importantly, though, his job will be to make sure that Schwarzenegger eventually lives up to the ``Collectinator'' boast he made when he ran for office.

``David will be able to do a great job on that,'' said veteran lobbyist E. Del Smith, whose clients include Los Angeles County.

Smith described Wetmore as ``a fine, professional guy who can sit down and scope out a year's agenda,'' adding, ``He's well-known up on Capitol Hill.''

But not to everyone.

While Republicans widely praised Wetmore, some longtime Democratic lawmakers said they had no recollection of him.

Rep. David Dreier, R-Glendora, who also personally recommended Wetmore for the job, attributed the less-than-total recall to short memories and not partisanship.

``He worked with lots of Democrats,'' Dreier said. ``He made California the success it is today. He has a good grasp of the issues that are important to California.''

Paul Cunningham, congressional liaison under former Gov. Gray Davis, agreed. Cunningham was an aide to the late Rep. Julian Dixon, D-Los Angeles, when Wetmore served in the D.C. director position.

``He approached the job in a bipartisan manner,'' Cunningham recalled.

``Although we're of different parties, we all have a strong interest in California,'' he said, adding that in the governor's D.C. office, questions of party loyalty become secondary. The top question when an issue arises in the House or Senate, he said, is always ``is it good for the state or bad for the state?''

Before becoming Wilson's D.C. director, Wetmore served as a legislative assistant to Wilson when the Republican was in the U.S. Senate. Later, he served as senior legislative assistant to former U.S. Sen. John Seymour, R-Calif.

Wilson credited Wetmore with helping to create the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, a pot of federal funding to reimburse states for the jail costs of incarcerating illegal immigrants who commit crimes.

Lisa Friedman, [phone]

lisa.friedman(at)langnews.com