Wiggins curses pastor at hearing

<p>State Sen. Pat Wiggins, D-Santa Rosa, is attempting to apologize to a church pastor for a profane comment she directed at him during a committee hearing on global warming.</p><p>"The senator deeply regrets her comment, but feels that this issue is between her and the pastor to whom she is seeking to apologize personally," Wiggins' spokesman, David Miller, said Monday.</p><p>Miller said the senator was making no other public comment.</p><p>A video of the senator's exchange with Pastor Robert Jones of Oak Park United Methodist Church in Sacramento was posted on YouTube, the video-sharing Web site that has captured other politicians' gaffes.</p><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Rb7pkKc0peQ&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Rb7pkKc0peQ&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><p>Jones was testifying last Wednesday at an informal hearing on California's efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions, noting that some steps -- such as "fees or higher utilities" -- have an impact on minorities.</p><p>"Our communities are the ones who suffer more than any other community -- the poor and the underrepresented," Jones said.</p><p>He had been speaking for a minute and 51 seconds when Wiggins, not shown in the video, interjected: "Excuse me, but I think your arguments are bull----."</p><p>Jones was momentarily stunned, and committee chairwoman Sen. Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego, quickly interjected that Jones' comments were appreciated.</p><p>In a subsequent interview, Jones told the Sacramento Bee that Wiggins' comment was "extremely disturbing."</p><p>Jones could not be reached for comment Monday.</p><p>A call to Kehoe's office was not immediately returned.</p><p>Jones told the Bee that Kehoe had called to apologize on Wiggins' behalf.</p><p>Wiggins, 68, a former Santa Rosa councilwoman, held the 7th Assembly District seat for six years before she was pushed out by term limits in 2004.</p><p>Wiggins won the 2nd Senate District seat in 2006. The district includes Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, Lake and Napa counties, as well as all of Sonoma County except Rohnert Park, Cotati, Petaluma and a slice of Santa Rosa.</p><p>The video, titled "Senator Pat Wiggins Wigs Out," had attracted 6,203 views on YouTube by late Monday night.</p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Guy Kovner at 521-5457 or guy.kovner@pressdemocrat.com.</p>