When he became speaker of the state Assembly two years ago, Fabian Nu & #324;ez surprised many by standing up to the star power of Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, even as other Democrats were busy cutting deals. The personable lawmaker with a rags-to-riches story emerged as a key counterpoint to the celebrity actor-turned governor.

Nu & #324;ez’s resolve has spread. Democrats have taken on Schwarzenegger’s special election agenda and could hand the governor his first serious defeat at the polls next month. “Fabian is more willing to confront and fight than the governor anticipated,” said Darry Sragow, a longtime Democrat strategist who has consulted for Assembly Democrats.

But Nu & #324;ez’s aggressive stance has come at a price. He has few major accomplishments in his two years as speaker. Even as the state’s fiscal situation improves, little progress is being made in tackling the biggest problems: an overburdened infrastructure, inadequate health care and a lagging education system.

Several proposals to overhaul the state’s infrastructure, including a $10 billion bond measure from Nunez, failed to win enough Republican support. Democratic proposals for sweeping health care reforms died in committee or were vetoed by the governor.

And Nu & #324;ez failed to get through one of his own measures a tax break package for the film industry. Despite a furious publicity blitz and support from the governor, it stalled in the Senate just hours before adjournment, with the Speaker unable to round up a couple of Republican votes to offset some Democrat defectors.

“The 2005 legislative session won’t go down in history as a brilliant success,” said Timothy Hodson, executive director of the Center for California Studies at California State University Sacramento.

More fundamentally, Nu & #324;ez has not been able to erase the highly negative image Californians hold of their lawmakers. While Schwarzenegger’s favorability ratings have fallen to 36 percent, the Legislature’s numbers are even lower at 32 percent in the latest Public Policy Institute of California poll.

Nu & #324;ez supporters say that factors beyond his control a highly partisan atmosphere, Schwarzenegger’s insistence on a special election and term limits that reduced the inherent power of his office are largely responsible for the poor legislative showing. They also say that Nunez has had to deal with a governor who constantly shifts his politics.

But detractors say Nu & #324;ez bears some of the blame. They say he’s often not willing to buck organized labor to cut bipartisan deals, as previous speakers have done. (Before he ran for the state Assembly in 2002, Nunez had served as political director for the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor.)

The pressure from his own Democratic caucus was most intense in negotiations earlier this year as Nu & #324;ez and Schwarzenegger tried to hammer out a deal to avoid a special election. Nu & #324;ez admits that he and Schwarzenegger were pulled in opposing directions by their allies.

Ultimately, the talks failed to produce a “grand agreement,” and the special election went forward.

Some colleagues are disappointed that Nunez didn’t discipline several moderate Democrats who held up environmental bills. But Assembly Majority Leader Dario Frommer, D-Los Angeles, said that since he came to the Legislature in 2000, “we haven’t had a speaker as popular in the caucus as Fabian.”

Frommer said that’s despite Nu & #324;ez occasionally pushing the caucus to do things they were not inclined to do. “We didn’t like the budget deal and there were many who were uneasy about the gay marriage and immigrant drivers’ license bills, but he cajoled us into accepting these,” he said.

At the same time, Nu & #324;ez has been stymied by Republicans who see him as little more than a tool of organized labor. This prevented him from winning Republican support for his transportation bond and film tax credits proposals, despite both having business appeal.

“I’ve had Republican lawmakers tell me they think he’s labor’s guy who has to get permission from labor in order to sign off on any compromise,” said Allan Hoffenblum, a former GOP consultant.

Reinforcing this view was the revelation of a $35,000 consulting contract Nu & #324;ez had with the Voter Improvement Project, a voter-turnout organization tied to organized labor. Once the word was out, Nu & #324;ez severed the contract. (This was soon overshadowed by Schwarzenegger’s multi-million dollar consulting contract with two fitness magazines.)

If Nu & #324;ez is to rack up major accomplishments next year, he needs support from both Republicans and Schwarzenegger. And that won’t be easy, especially in an election year.

“The partisanship has really worsened in the Legislature over the last several years,” said Barbara O’Connor, a professor at California State University Sacramento. She added that Nu & #324;ez has potential to bridge differences.

Nu & #324;ez himself believes he will be able to cut some big deals next year, especially if the governor’s initiatives go down to defeat next month. “If those measures are defeated, the governor is going to have to reach out to Democrats if he wants a shot at the general (election). That’s what I’m hoping he will do.”