A Republican party stalwart, Deukmejian twice defeated L.A. Mayor Tom Bradley in Governor's races in the years between Democrat Jerry Brown's first administration and Republican Pete Wilson.

Throughout his career, Deukmejian consistently emphasized public safety as government's top priority. He backed enhanced criminal sentences (including CA's "use a gun, go to prison" law) and supported the death penalty. He was a fiscal conservative, vetoed over 2,000 bills sent to him by the Dem-majority state legislature, and opposed increased spending and higher taxes (prompting fights over school funding.) He supported the successful campaign to recall three CA Supreme Court Justices (Rose Bird, Joseph Grodin and Cruz Reynoso) appointed during Gov. Jerry Brown's first terms, but found common ground with Dems on certain issues.

Deukmejian supported a statewide state transportation plan (funded in part by a gasoline tax increase.) After initial opposition, he favored divesting UC retirement funds from firms that did business with South Africa's then-race-segregating apartheid regime. And after a gunman used an AK-47 assault-type rifle to kill five schoolchildren, Deukmejian said he saw no reason why anyone needs to have a military assault-type weapon (a stance ultimately leading to CA legislation banning assault-style weapons.)

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In later years, retired Gov. Deukmejian was a visible LB civic presence but remained mainly quiet on local politics until 2006 when Vice Mayor Frank Colonna ran for Mayor...and Colonna was significantly outspent and forced into a June runoff with former SCE President Bob Foster, who finished ahead of Colonna in April.

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In early May 2006, LBREPORT.com received a phone call from Robert Garcia, then a Council-office aide to Colonna who also assisted in Colonna's Mayoral campaign. Garcia, who a few months earlier publicly announced that he was leading efforts to revitalize LB's Republican Party, said he had "big news": former Gov. Deukmejian would be present at a Belmont Shore fundraiser for Colonna. LBREPORT.com attended the event and heard retired Gov. Deukmejian and outgoing Mayor Beverly O'Neill (a Dem) offer strong support for Colonna (a Repub) hoping to reverse Foster's monied momentum.

Gov. Deukmejian told the crowd, "[W]ith this kind of support, we can do this," adding "we've got to be able to spread the word, there isn't an awful lot of time between now and election day, but with help and with resources, that can happen."

After his remarks to the crowd, we followed-up with Governor Deukmejian. "Some people say [Foster] had 48% of the vote [in April] and the election's over, it's done. You've run in a few elections. What have they got wrong?" we asked. "Well it isn't over," Gov. Deukmejian replied politely, adding with a smile, "I went through a race for Governor in which I was trailing in the polls throughout the entire campaign. And a week before the election, I was still behind in the polling. And on election night, some of the TV broadcasters came on and actually predicted that my opponent had won. When all the votes were counted however, I won, and so I think it's a good example that nothing is over until all the votes are actually counted."

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But when the June votes were counted, Foster prevailed. After the outcome, Gov. Deukmejian adhered to his political principles while Garcia abandoned his publicly announced GOP efforts, moved into the 1st Council district where incumbent Bonnie Lowenthal was preparing to seek an Assembly seat that would create a Council vacancy, flipped his party registration to match the district's and the city's Dem political leanings and rematerialized as a party-loyal Democrat.

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In January 2012, Deukmejian -- who supported Foster's recession-triggered budget-tightening/pension-cost reduction moves -- told a gathering of Republican loyalists at LB's Lincoln Club that the Party was becoming a numerical minority amid a large number of independent or decline-to-state voters and has "got to do some things to attract the independent voters if we're going to elect Republicans to office." Addressing a capacity crowd at LB's Yacht Club, Deukmejian said Republicans "have to identify ourselves with working men and women and not be tied to just to corporate executives." He also urged the Party to "adopt a policy of Republican friendship and identify with ethnic communities" and with women, "especially women in the workforce." The state's 35th Governor said he believes this can be accomplished without abandoning core Republican principles but "we can't keep going down the path we've been on because it isn't succeeding."

At one point during his remarks, Governor Deukmejian said bluntly: "[W]e're in bad shape...I don't know how much further we can go...We have to change, we have to turn it around."

Below is exclusive LBREPORT.com video coverage of his remarks with extended transcript excerpts below.

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LBREPORT.com provides extended transcript excerpts below:

There are some in our Party who say "well, it's the public that's at fault, it's not the Party...We just need to hang in there, dig our heels in deep, and still push for these issues and positions that we feel are important, that they're right and sooner or later somebody will see the light."

Well, I gotta tell you, I think there's been some significant changes going on. Our Party is becoming more and more of a minority Party, and there is a very, very large segment of the electorate that are independents or decline to state and they're considered to be independent voters. And those independent voters have become a very big factor in all of the elections today.

So we not only have to have support from our base, but we've got to do some things to expand that base and we've got to do some things to attract the independent voters if we're going to elect Republicans to office. We can't just keep going down the path we've been on because it isn't succeeding.

Governor Deukmejian advised his fellow Republicans as follows:

In the next few years, we have to identify ourselves with working men and women in our country. We have to recognize that the leaders in the large corporations and businesses are playing both sides. This is something that went on even when I was Governor, probably even more so now...

I'm saying that while the business community should recognize that the principles of most Republicans are in tune with the private enterprise system, unfortunately a lot of decisions are made by some of the business leaders listening to political consultants and all they want to do is have access. And they're told by their political consultants if you donate to the Democrats who are going to win or are in the majority, it's going to gave you access whenever there's an issue that you're interested in. As a result, they contribute to both sides.

And all I'm saying is, we want their support and we will continue to hold to the principles of free enterprise, but at the same time we have to identify ourselves with working men and women and not be tied to just corporate executives.

We need to adopt a policy of Republican friendship and identify with ethnic communities, because when you take all the ethnic communities and combine them, they're now the majority in California. And we have to identify with these communities and take steps to reach out to them and let them know that we are interested in advancing their lives and their careers for themselves and their children and anybody else.

We have to identify ourselves with women, especially women in the workforce, and we have to demand that women be treated equally at all levels in the workplace.

We have to identify ourselves with fiscal responsibility...I have to tell you, we had a couple of, one or two, recent Republican Presidents who did not adhere to fiscal responsibility as we know it. We have to establish a policy in government that prohibits spending more than we receive and to do away with the pork barrel spending.

...We have to have a well educated and a well trained workforce, so education is extremely important for the benefit not only of the individuals and their families but for society, for all of society...It's extremely important that we identify ourselves with educational opportunities, improvements and accountability.

We've always been identified with public safety issues. We just need to reinforce that...[W]e need to make sure we don't lose that.

We should be committed to a strong ten year program for improving the infrastructure throughout the state and in local communities...We need to make it clear that Republicans are in favor of rebuilding our infrastructure, helping to create jobs, helping to improve the economy.

We need to seek women and members of minority communities to be candidates for office and for Party leadership as well.

I don't know how much, how much [stops himself], I mean we're in bad shape, we're in bad shape, I don't know how much further we can go...We have to change, we have to turn it around.

And I'm simply saying that we can do all these things that I've mentioned, still adhering to our basic Republican principles of fiscal responsibility, strong support for the private enterprise system, a growing economy and job creation..."