Ueberroth Says He Won’t Be U.S. Senate Candidate

With the Republican U.S. Senate primary campaign reeling from the indictment of Rep. Bobbi Fiedler of Northridge, the “dream” candidate of many in the GOP--Peter V. Ueberroth--said Monday he will not run.

“No, absolutely no,” the commissioner of baseball declared in an interview.

Ueberroth emphasized that his message is the same he has been expressing over recent months. He said he has answered the question at least four times in public.

“I didn’t equivocate. . . . I said it then. And I’ll tell you again today. I’m not going to run for the U.S. Senate,” Ueberroth declared.

The former head of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee acknowledged that there is difficultly in being taken at his word on the subject. For more than a year, the U.S. Senate candidacy of Ueberroth has been a rumor that would not die, some of it of his own making.

In Monday’s interview, he repeated his answer, “no,” several times when asked about his candidacy, but added: “I have not shut the door on talking to people who want to explore issues and/or the discussion of political office.”

Did that mean he was inviting supporters to draft him into the race? Or that he might just succumb to such a draft? No, said Ueberroth, it’s just a statement that he wants to be accessible.

“Those who have come to me, I’ve said the same thing to--I’ve said no.”

Because of his success with the 1984 Olympics and his powerful public presence, Ueberroth has generated enormous interest among Republicans, who believe that his star would have been the brightest in the crowded field seeking the nomination to run against three-term Democratic incumbent Sen. Alan Cranston. Ueberroth, a registered Republican, maintains a voting residence in Orange County.

In recent weeks, Ueberroth’s non-candidacy has flared as an irritant among some of the other Republicans who are in or who are considering the race. They complained that important donors are refusing to give money on grounds that they want to wait and see if Ueberroth will run.

Many wondered if pressure would build on Ueberroth as a result of last week’s indictment of Fiedler charging that she offered $100,000 to rival candidate state Sen. Ed Davis (R-Valencia) to withdraw from the race and her counter-charge that she was a victim of political dirty tricks by Davis. This has deeply muddied the race.

“There are changes that have caused my name to come up from time to time,” said Ueberroth. “And recent developments (surrounding the indictment) may bring it up again. It doesn’t change my own position.”

An important Ueberroth associate, also interviewed on Monday, said the baseball commissioner has always viewed the U.S. Senate race as a complicated and weighty decision. And this associate said Ueberroth questioned why others seemed to see it as less so, urging him into the race or speculating on his candidacy without much exploration of his own views and philosophy.

“He was a little amazed people kept inviting him to the prom without asking if he could dance,” the associate said.