Bradley Could Be Hurt by Bird in Governor’s Race--Deukmejian

Gov. George Deukmejian indicated Thursday that he believes Mayor Tom Bradley will be boxed in on the issue of retaining Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird if Bradley is the Democratic nominee for governor in November.

In a breakfast interview with reporters in Los Angeles, Deukmejian also said if Bird is rejected by the voters in November, the public will know the kind of chief justice that the Republican governor would choose because of appointments he has already made, including two judges to the state’s highest court.

“I think we have received some very good marks on the quality of my appointments,” Deukmejian said. “I think it also, though, raises another key issue and that is what Mayor Bradley’s position is going to be on Rose Bird. . . . I think the public is entitled to know where he stands as to whether she should be given another 12-year term, and I think it will be a very good indication of the kind of judicial appointments he would make if he became governor.”

Bradley is widely expected to oppose Deukmejian for governor again this year. He lost to the governor by only 93,000 votes in 1982.

No Position on Bird

The mayor has not taken a position on Bird’s confirmation this year. But many Democratic politicians are squirming about Bird’s being on the ballot because several statewide polls show that a majority of voters who have an opinion on the issue do not now favor retaining Bird.

Deukmejian, a longtime Bird critic, was asked if that issue would be eliminated in the gubernatorial campaign if Bradley came out against Bird.

“Well,” Deukmejian said, “I think it would clarify (for the) voters that he (Bradley) has viewed her decisions as not being in the best interest of the criminal justice system and the judicial system. It might raise in the voters’ minds some other concerns, again with respect to his changes of positions, because in the past he has been very supportive of her and her decisions.”

Asked if Deukmejian may “hang Bird around Bradley’s neck either way,” the governor smiled and responded, “It might be discussed.”

Earlier in the interview Deukmejian discussed recent Bradley statements on capital punishment and gun control and charged that the mayor is changing his positions--”I think that most voters realize that those changes are being offered at this time very close to the election for the purpose of getting votes. . . .”

“I can remember during all of the years that we have been fighting the death penalty issue, we never heard a word from Mayor Bradley,” said Deukmejian, who as a state senator wrote the basic California capital punishment law. “. . . But recently he has been talking rather strongly about how much he supports the death penalty.”

‘Always Supported It’

Deputy Mayor Tom Houston, a Bradley spokesman, said Thursday, “The mayor has always supported the death penalty but he has been more strongly in favor of it recently, as are many people.”

Similarly, Houston said, Bradley’s recent statement noting that voters in 1982 defeated a gun-control initiative that he had supported was an acknowledgement that “you don’t take the same initiative back to the voters after they’ve rejected it. You look for other avenues.”

The deputy mayor also said: “The governor is engaged in character assassination that is far below the conduct expected of the governor of California. If and when there is a gubernatorial campaign we would hope he would address the pressing issues of the state, such as the deplorable condition of our education system, the crisis in toxic waste cleanup and the bureaucratic incompetencies in state government.”

Bristles at Race Issue

At one point in Thursday’s interview, a reporter asked Deukmejian if he thought Bradley would be handicapped in a statewide political race because he is black.

“No,” the governor sternly responded, his face quivering with emotion. “And if I may make a comment: You see, that question is now asked of me by a reporter. And I hope you’ll write that down, because I went through this in 1982. And the only time that this question ever seems to come up is when reporters ask the question and then there is a story about it. That has all been discussed very thoroughly . . . in the last election and I don’t think (race) is a factor.”

In 1982, Deukmejian’s campaign manager, Bill Roberts, brought up the race issue in the closing weeks of the campaign, saying it was a possible plus for Deukmejian if the election were close. Deukmejian denounced Roberts’ comments and accepted his resignation five days later.