GOP Views on Fiedler, Davis: ‘Murder-Suicide’

The indictment of Rep. Bobbi Fiedler on charges of attempting to entice state Sen. Ed Davis out of the U.S. Senate race was a “murder-suicide” that could cost both politicians the Republican nomination, GOP state legislators said Thursday.

Both Davis and Fiedler should consider dropping out of the race to prevent further political damage to their party and the campaign against Democratic Sen. Alan Cranston, several Republican lawmakers said in interviews following release of grand jury transcripts in the case.

“It’s a murder-suicide, just as simple as that,” said Assemblyman Richard L. Mountjoy (R-Monrovia), a comment repeated by other Republicans in Sacramento.

“I think they’re both dirty in it. I think it’s all over for both of them. Both of them would do the party well if they both just got out of it.”

Assemblyman Ross Johnson of La Habra said, “It’s diverting attention away from what ought to be the focus, and that is the record of Alan Cranston. I think it’s awfully difficult to see how either Fiedler or Davis can conduct an effective campaign on the issues now. I think they would both be well-advised to consider dropping out.”

Assemblyman Gerald Felando of San Pedro, chairman of the Assembly GOP caucus, added:

“Neither one of them comes out ahead on this thing. It’s the old skunk story. They both end up smelling pretty stinky.”

Until now, most Republicans have eschewed any critical comments on the Fiedler case, preferring instead to stand by the GOP’s traditional “11th Commandment” not to speak ill of another member of the party. Thus, their comments Thursday represented a clear departure from precedent.

Fiedler and her top aide, Paul Clarke, were indicted by a Los Angeles County grand jury Jan. 23 for allegedly offering Davis a $100,000 contribution to quit the Republican Senate primary race and support her candidacy.

Mountjoy said Davis should have squelched the alleged bribe offer quietly without reporting it to the authorities.

But Davis defended his decision to go to the district attorney, saying Thursday, “Anyone who thinks the proper solution to that situation is looking the other way doesn’t belong in public office.”

The former Los Angeles police chief agreed that the furor over Fiedler’s indictment had hurt him politically but said it would be “absolutely foolish” for him to drop out of the Senate race.

“I don’t have to be a United States senator but I do have to have self-respect,” he said. “If the price of winning is covering up a felony then the price is too high. If it costs me politically, that’s just tough . . . “

In a case similar to the Davis-Fiedler episode, Sen. Ken Maddy of Fresno was accused during his 1978 GOP gubernatorial campaign of attempting to pressure then-San Diego Mayor Pete Wilson out of the race. A district attorney’s investigation found no evidence that the law was violated.

Sees Little in Case

While praising Davis’ “integrity,” Maddy said Thursday that his reading of the Fiedler case indicates “there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot there.”

Sen. Robert G. Beverly of Manhattan Beach agreed: “I am surprised on the basis of what I read there was an indictment. I would be extremely surprised if there was ever a conviction.”

As a result of the charge against Fiedler, Republican Sen. William Campbell of Hacienda Heights said he plans to introduce legislation to change the statute under which she was indicted so that candidates’ discussions of paying off their rivals’ campaign debts would not be against the law.

“Discussions of helping to take care of campaign debts, commitments to help out in campaigns or even places (jobs) in the administration are common tactics that are used in the primaries and after the primaries to try to unify the party,” Campbell said.

Contributing to this story were Times staff writers Jerry Gillam, Stephanie O’Neill and Douglas Shuit.