Katcho Achadjian billed himself as a new, more flexible kind of Republican when he ran for an Assembly seat on the Central Coast last year.
Unlike nearly all of the state's GOP legislators, Achadjian, a San Luis Obispo County supervisor, had refused to sign a pledge to oppose raising taxes.
He told his local newspaper, "I'd rather not make promises when I don't know what the future will be, 100 percent."
That comment unleashed ridicule from a much-read conservative blog and from anti-tax activists, who called Achadjian an unreliable soldier in the war against big government.
Within weeks, Achadjian changed his tune and signed the no-tax pledge. He went on to his win his primary and the race.
While newly inaugurated Gov. Jerry Brown promised in his campaign to spur bipartisan cooperation, the commitments already made by many of the state's 120 legislators will complicate his task.
On Monday, the governor is set to propose a budget that includes deep spending cuts to higher education, welfare and other programs, and asks voters to extend taxes scheduled to expire in July. He has said he wants a deal on the package within 60 days.
But pressures bombarding legislators of both major parties, from anti-tax groups on the right and unions on the left, will make his job harder as budget battles gear up.
Democrat Richard Pan, for example, won a tough battle for a Sacramento Assembly district seat last year with more than $1.2 million in union support.
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