It's a tale of two reactions. When Nicole Parra, Kings County's Democratic representative in the state Assembly, refused last week to vote on a budget package crafted by her own party, the discipline was swift: Banishment the next day to a nameless office across the street from the Capitol in a building where no other legislators are housed. But in Kings County, the popularity of the soon-to-be-termed-out assemblywoman has soared. The reason? Parra vowed she wouldn't vote on a budget package unless legislators agreed to put a water bond on the Nov. 4 ballot -- something farmers in the area have long sought to address mounting shortages.

A key element of such a bond would likely be more above ground storage, such as the proposed reservoir upstream of Millerton Lake at Temperance Flat on the San Joaquin River.

Parra kept her promise Aug. 17 amid intense pressure, and she paid the price.

"I really appreciate what she has done. I think she has a conscience," said Russ Waymire, a Kings County farmer and an agricultural consultant active on water issues.

Kings County supervisors were equally effusive.

"She's standing up for her district, which is also part of the state of California. The accusations they are making against her are totally false," said Supervisor Joe Neves.

The accusations Neves was referring to came from some Democratic legislators who expressed outrage at Parra's refusal to side with her party at a time when they need every vote to break a nearly two-month standoff with Republicans over the budget.

"They're treating her like a second-class citizen, unfortunately like Sacramento treats the San Joaquin Valley. We don't have the Silicon Valleys or the shipping hubs or the entertainment mecca down south, and yet we produce a lot of food and fiber and that sort of thing," Neves said.

Some, like Waymire, don't think that Parra, now in the waning months of her last term, had much to lose.

Waymire noted that Parra faced similar pressure over an infrastructure bond in 2006 that originally included a provision for the Temperance Flat project.

Parra ended up voting for the bond after the Temperance Flat provision was removed, according to Mills.

The same year, she faced a stiff re-election challenge from upstart Republican Danny Gilmore, who made the race interesting before losing by 3 percentage points.

Gilmore, who is running again this year -- this time against Democrat Fran Florez -- has said that he will make water storage a top priority if elected.

"Maybe (Parra's) stand today will cause others to develop some backbone and spine," Waymire said, calling the local ag picture "bleak" without increased water storage capacity.

Parra, reached by phone this week, seemed somewhat amused by her banishment.

When asked why other Democratic legislators from the San Joaquin Valley hadn't joined her, Parra said, "You're ostracized, punished ... look what happened to Juan Arambula."

Arambula, D-Fresno, did not support the infrastructure bond in 2006, and leadership forced him to move into smaller quarters inside the Capitol.

Arambula couldn't be reached this week for comment.

Parra said she expected some disciplinary action but didn't anticipate getting booted from the Capitol grounds.

Parra also said that leadership has told her that she will not get any more of her bills voted on for the remainder of her term.

Parra said she's meeting with constituents in other legislators' Capitol offices and is planning to spend more time at home in the 3Oth district, which includes all of Kings County.

She'll likely get a warm reception from local farmers and water officials.

And that's not the only positive feedback.

Assembly Republicans are giving her kudos, and Parra said she's received hundreds of affirming calls from "independent, moderate people."

"Because of this, my profile has definitely heightened, and I've gotten more people who want to meet with me when I'm finished than ever," she said.

Parra has signaled her intention to become a lobbyist after her final Assembly term wraps up Nov. 30.

She'd do well to start looking for work among ag and water interests.

"The water community and the ag community is in 100 percent with what Nicole Parra did. She's got more guts than all of them put together," said Don Mills, general manager of the Kings County Water District.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2432.