Antonovich Enters GOP Race for Cranston’s Seat

Tossing his 20-year political resume into the ring, Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich on Wednesday officially became a candidate for the U.S. Senate seat held by three-term Democrat Alan Cranston.

A Republican whose views give him claim to being a conservative’s conservative, the 46-year-old Antonovich joined the crowd of GOP hopefuls in the race, confident that few if any of his rivals can match his experience in office, his relatively well-known name, his fund-raising ability and his political connections.

He is the fifth announced Republican vying for the right to challenge Cranston in the election 11 months from now. Another five or so Republicans are weighing their prospects.

During press conferences from Sacramento to San Diego, Antonovich stressed themes of free enterprise, immigration reform, reduction of federal budget deficits and a continued national defense buildup. Antonovich repeatedly underscored his long experience in California politics. He was elected in 1969 to the Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees, along with former Democratic Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr.; served three terms in the state Assembly, and is in his fifth year as a county supervisor. He lost one previous statewide election, a 1978 run for lieutenant governor.

In the Republican Party, Antonovich rose from a volunteer youth campaigner in the 1960s to serve a controversial stint as state GOP chairman, a job he now holds but will resign as of Saturday to pursue his Senate candidacy.

“Overall, if you look at the record, I have over 14 years of elective experience at the state and local level. . . . I have a proven record of support for law enforcement and business. . . . I have close ties to our President, our governor, and both have appointed me to high positions. . . . I have a grass-roots political organization,” he said.

One Antonovich strategist put it this way: “When compared to the other candidates, no matter what factors you consider, Mike is in the hunt.”

Antonovich also boasted that his hired campaign managers previously directed both President Reagan’s 1984 victory and Gov. George Deukmejian’s 1982 election.

Youthful Appearance

Despite his youthful appearance, Antonovich’s politics and his approach to campaigning in many ways are old fashioned, or at least quite traditional. Not once during his first day as a declared candidate did he mention “high-tech” industry, the darling issue of some newer political figures.

Instead, Antonovich focused heavily on his unhappiness with the federal budget and the large number of illegal aliens in California. He complained that more than 70% of the births at County-USC Medical Center and Harbor-UCLA Medical Center were to parents residing in the state illegally and that county welfare costs for these children reached $100 million last year.

He called for federal legislation making it a crime to hire an illegal alien and granting amnesty to long-term illegal alien residents.

As for the budget deficit, Antonovich dared to be critical of the President, saying, “He should have used his veto more.”

Antonovich said greater efficiencies could be achieved if the government contracted out routine tasks, such as running commissaries on military bases. This contracting of government work has been one of Antonovich’s pet projects on the Board of Supervisors.

Offshore Oil

On other issues, Antonovich was firmly noncommittal on whether to extend a moratorium on offshore oil drilling along the California coast. He repeated his support for a voucher system or tax-credit educational system so that parents can use tax money to put their children in either private or public schools.

For all of his years in California politics, however, Antonovich has not developed a rousing campaign style. He is occasionally brittle in the face of questioning and often tutorial. He proved no different Wednesday, as he traveled the state in a three-piece, pinstripe with spit-shined shoes, speaking in classroom monotones and offering unusually long and complicated answers to questions.

“He tends to teach too much,” volunteered one aide.

Apart from politics, Antonovich has been both a teacher and an 18-year reserve South Pasadena patrolman.

So far, public opinion samplings have shown Antonovich with high name identification, particularly in the Los Angeles metropolitian area. At the same time, he has not fared correspondingly well in early polls on the Senate race. Antonovich said he was unworried.

“We’re only starting,” he said.

Other announced Republican Senate candidates are: state Sen. Ed Davis of Valencia, economist Arthur B. Laffer of Rolling Hills Estates, Assemblyman Robert Naylor of Menlo Park and Rep. Ed Zschau of Los Altos.