REST STOP HERTZBERG AT RIDE'S END.

Byline: Rick Orlov Staff Writer

As a youth in the 1960s, Bob Hertzberg loved to ride horses through the Sepulveda Basin and across the area that would later become the San Diego Freeway.

It's been quite a ride.

Hertzberg rose to become speaker of the state Assembly and found himself spending eight days in Asia last month, discussing Pacific Rim issues with top leaders in Japan and Taiwan. Over the New Year's holiday, he found himself at the annual Renaissance Weekend with former President Clinton and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.

``Sometimes, I still don't believe it,'' Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, said in a recent interview. ``This job has been incredible. I have been going full speed all my life, but with this job you have to go even faster.''

With the selection Thursday of Assemblyman Herb Wesson, D-Culver City, as the next speaker, Hertzberg, 48, officially became a lame duck and next month will surrender the job he has held since April 2000.

The affable, hyper-energetic Hertzberg - who seemingly breathes, drinks and eats politics and has earned the nickname ``Huggy Bob'' for his penchant for embracing friends and strangers alike - has no immediate plans for public office. Friends say he's looking forward to some time in the private sector as a lawyer after what has been a whirlwind of activity - including dealing with security concerns, an energy crisis and a declining economy.

``While a lot of this has been devastating for the state, I have to say it's been a real challenge for me personally,'' Hertzberg said.

He finds himself on the downside of term limits, although Hertzberg never would have ascended to the top legislative spot in the state if it weren't for term limits.

With his emphasis on sharing credit - he did not put his name on any major bills last year - and his joy of governing, Hertzberg has been called a walking poster boy against term limits.

And while there is a measure on the March 5 ballot that would allow legislators to serve longer, it comes too late to benefit Hertzberg, who said he will devote his final year in the Assembly to helping elect Democrats and reflect on overall policies of the state.

``My view on term limits is: It is what it is. The voters decided this and I'm going to make it work,'' Hertzberg said. ``This was a sprint for me the whole way, from the first day I stepped on the carpet in the Assembly chamber until today.''

The siren song of politics remains there - Hertzberg said he is considering a run for attorney general in 2006 when incumbent Bill Lockyer would be forced out by term limits - but nothing else in the meantime.

``I want to reconnect with my family and look around to see what's out there,'' said Hertzberg, whose wife, Dr. Cynthia Telles, is on the faculty as the UCLA School of Medicine. They have three sons - Daniel, David and Raymond.

And, he said, if he does run again it will be with the knowledge he is financially independent.

``When I ran the first time (1996), I had raised more than $1 million and was beholden to no one,'' Hertzberg said. ``I like that independence.''

As for talk he will be a candidate for mayor if a new San Fernando Valley city is created, Hertzberg demurs.

``I am not a candidate for any office in 2002,'' Hertzberg said. Plans now call for candidates for a new mayor and 14-member council to be on the ballot at the same time as secession, tentatively on next November's ballot.

Hertzberg has brought a different style to the speakership - seemingly doing away with much of the ``imperial'' nature of it that was instilled from former Speakers Jesse Unruh through Willie Brown Jr.

``It is a different style,'' Hertzberg said. ``It's the way I happen to be built. I had a clear focus on what I wanted to do on the job and I got it done. Before, we had a speakership built on the personality of Willie Brown.''

But in between there were the speakerships of Cruz Bustamante and Antonio Villaraigosa.

Observers said Bustamante held a patrician attitude over members as he campaigned - and won - the lieutenant governorship.

Villaraigosa was more in the Brown mold - expecting aides to hold his coat or provide him with the perks of office. Villaraigosa only reluctantly gave up the speakership when his ambitious plans to run for Los Angeles mayor began to unfold.

Instead, Hertzberg focused on internal issues - providing modern tools to legislators and building up the legislative staff, offering child care facilities, advanced educational opportunities and better pay to keep them on the state payroll.

At the same time, he pushed through the most political of issues - reapportionment. Aides said he personally threw himself into the process during the final weeks, lobbying legislators to accept the plan.

``I am the first term-limited speaker to get reapportionment through with only minor lawsuits and bipartisan support,'' Hertzberg said.

Assembly Republican Leader Dave Cox of Sacramento said Hertzberg's personality and work ethic won him over.

``We had some rough times at the beginning that were probably more my fault than his,'' Cox said. ``And we had partisan differences, but he showed a lot of energy and fairness.

``The problem he has is the same that all new speakers have under term limits. The day you're elected speaker, people are talking about who will succeed you.''

But, Assemblyman Keith Richman, R-Granada Hills, said he saw no difference between Hertzberg and other Democratic Party leaders.

``I had hoped, not just for myself, that there would be more bipartisan cooperation,'' Richman said. ``There were a number of issues there were not handled in that manner.

``Under Bob Hertzberg, it has been absolutely business as usual. By its nature, if a Republican wants to get anything done, it has to be through the blessing of the other party. And, we didn't see much of that.

``My expectations were high because of what he said when he came in,'' Richman said. ``What I found is that they meant it was bipartisan if you agreed with their thinking.''

Hertzberg was born in Los Angeles in 1954, and grew up in various parts of the city. His family moved to the Palm Springs area when he was in high school. He graduated from the University of Redlands and Hastings Law School.

He has been politically active since he was a teen-ager. When he returned to Los Angeles after law school, he worked with his father, attorney Harrison Hertzberg, on constitutional law.

In the 1980s, the younger Hertzberg became involved in politics at the local level, particularly in the encouragement of Latino candidates.

In 1991, he moved to Sherman Oaks and began working locally to fulfill his own political ambitions. In 1996, he was elected to the Assembly.

``I went out and spoke to almost every group in the city,'' Hertzberg said. ``That's why, when I became speaker, I didn't have to go out to talk to those groups. I had already done that and could spend that time with my family.''

And, now, despite the energy rush, the power and all that goes with being one of the top politicians in the state, Hertzberg said he is ready for the next adventure.

``This job gives you incredible focus,'' Hertzberg said. ``I go to sleep at midnight and I'm up at 6 a.m. for breakfast meetings. I find I can remember names of people I only met once. It's the focus the job brings. You find yourself using more brain power than you ever thought you had.''

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Photo:

(color) California Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, left, earned the nickname of ``Huggy Bob'' for his penchant for embracing friends and strangers alike.

Bob Galbraith/Associated Press