2 Assembly Races May Liven Up Routine Election : Favored incumbents Gray Davis and Tom McClintock may pull out of the Assembly campaign to run for other offices.

There were no surprises in the Valley area Tuesday when the deadline for entering the 1986 race for the state Senate and Assembly passed, but two races may yet provide some.

All the incumbents from the San Fernando Valley and eastern Ventura County filed their official intentions to defend their seats in the upcoming primary in June, and most can be expected to win.

There is still a possibility, however, that exciting races could develop in the 43rd and 36th Assembly districts, even though the incumbents, Democrat Gray Davis and Republican Tom McClintock, are hands-down favorites to return to Sacramento.

Political sources say Davis (D-Los Angeles) may pull out of the Assembly race to run either for the Los Angeles County tax assessor’s post or a seat on the state Board of Equalization. That would undoubtedly trigger a stampede of Democrats vying for the coveted “silk stocking” district, which is heavily Democratic and covers West Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and Sherman Oaks and other hillside Valley areas.

McClintock’s Plans

Meanwhile, McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks) said he will vacate his Assembly seat and run for the 21st Congressional District seat if its current occupant, Bobbi Fiedler (R-Northridge), runs for the U.S. Senate as planned.

Fiedler and her chief aide, Paul Clarke, were indicted by a grand jury Jan. 23 on charges that they attempted to lure state Sen. Ed Davis (R-Valencia) out of the Republican U.S. Senate primary with an offer of a $100,000 contribution to help pay off Davis’ campaign debts. Fiedler has insisted that she will continue her run for the U.S. Senate, even though some political observers think the indictment has ruined her chances.

Some political experts say McClintock’s exodus from the Assembly race could cause a tug-of-war between moderate and conservative GOP forces to claim the hard-core Republican district.

Just what will happen in these two districts may not be known until at least March 7, the last day that Gray Davis could enter one of the other two races and Fiedler’s final opportunity to file papers to reclaim her congressional seat.

This week, in an interview at his office in Sacramento, the normally garrulous Davis politely sidestepped most questions about his political future.

“The strong probability is I will run for reelection,” Davis said.

Davis, who was chief of staff for former Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. and is a highly successful fund-raiser, has never hidden his ambitions for higher office. He has the funds to aim higher--the latest campaign disclosure statements show that he has accumulated more than $1 million. Political observers speculate that Davis might consider either post a good move if he wants to be state treasurer someday.

Davis’ challengers in the 43rd District are Republicans Lou Steeg of Sherman Oaks; Marc Philip Schuyler, a 21-year-old senior at Cal Tech and the Los Angeles County chairman of Young Americans for Freedom, and Peace and Freedom candidate John Honigsfeld of Los Angeles.

If either Davis or McClintock pulls out of his Assembly race, Assembly filing, which ended Wednesday, will reopen from March 8 to March 12. That would give some potentially strong candidates another opportunity to file.

Among those who may enter the race if McClintock drops out are former Assemblyman Charles Imbrecht, now chairman of the state Energy Commission, and Camarillo Mayor Sandi Bush, who said she will run only if Imbrecht doesn’t.

Marlee Means, McClintock’s administrative assistant from Thousand Oaks, has already filed for the seat with her boss’s endorsement. Others who have entered are Paul Golis, a Democrat from Thousand Oaks, and H. Bruce Driscoll, a Libertarian from Thousand Oaks.

39th District

Another lively race in the Valley area could be a rematch in the 39th District between three-term Democratic Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sepulveda) and his 1984 Republican opponent, Robert Thoreson, a detective with the Los Angeles Police Department.

Thoreson, a political neophyte, surprised many by waging an aggressive voter registration campaign against Katz, who is widely thought of as a hard-working legislator and a rising star in Sacramento. Katz won the last election with 54% of the vote to Thoreson’s 46%, but Thoreson immediately began preparing for the 1986 race.

The rematch is one of five Assembly races the Assembly Republican Caucus has targeted statewide.

Voters of the 39th District, which includes such diverse areas as Northridge and Pacoima, have always been fickle. During the last 10 elections, five candidates have won the seat, and it has seesawed between Republicans and Democrats.

None of the incumbents in these Valley-area districts expect stiff challenges:

20th Senate District: Sen. Alan Robbins (R-Van Nuys) will face Republicans Arra Haigazian of Sherman Oaks and Lynn Robert Davis of Granada Hills.

18th Senate District: Democratic Sen. Gary K. Hart, who represents a district that extends from Woodland Hills to Santa Barbara, will run against Republican DeWayne Holmdahl, a Santa Barbara County supervisor who represents Lompoc. Hart beat Holmdahl once before in an Assembly race.

40th Assembly District: Assemblyman Tom Bane (D-Tarzana), 72, will face three candidates in his campaign for a sixth consecutive term. Bane, who was sick part of the session last year, said he will retire “when they carry me out feet first.”

His opponents are Republicans Brian Dennis, 30, a law school graduate from North Hollywood, Bruce Dahl of Van Nuys and Peace and Freedom candidate Jean Glasser of Van Nuys.

37th Assembly District: Republican Assemblywoman Cathie Wright, who represents the Simi and Santa Clarita valleys, Chatsworth and parts of Canoga Park and Agoura Hills, will face Democrat William P. Hesse of Chatsworth and Libertarian Gregory P. Dull of Oak View.

38th Assembly District: Republican Assemblywoman Marian W. La Follette’s only opponent is Mark D. Lit, a Democrat from Northridge, in the horseshoe-shaped district that includes Northridge, Sylmar, Calabasas and Granada Hills.