Fiedler Predicts Boost From Reiner’s Decision

Rep. Bobbi Fiedler, upon learning that the Los Angeles district attorney will not fight dismissal of her indictment on Friday, predicted Wednesday that the tumultuous events of the last three weeks will ultimately boost her campaign for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination.

“This entire episode is going to prove in the long run to be a distinct advantage to me,” Fiedler said in a telephone interview from Washington. “My name identification has increased substantially statewide (because of publicity over the indictment). From adversity comes opportunity. This is my opportunity to move ahead in the Senate race.”

Although some political professionals agree that Fiedler could get a boost out of the circumstances of her indictment, opinion takers cautioned that it is impossible to predict what voter reaction will be.

“What we need is data. The rest is just thumb-sucking,” said I. A. Lewis, director of the Los Angeles Times Poll. “I find it hard to believe that Fiedler would have preferred to have this happen.”

Likewise, Lewis said, without poll data it is impossible to assess how voters will view state Sen. Ed Davis (R-Valencia), whose allegation that Fiedler tried to entice him out of the U.S. Senate race led to the indictment.

A recent Times Poll found that Fiedler’s popularity with Republican voters plummeted when interviewers brought up the subject of her indictment. The respondents were not asked what they would think should the indictment be dismissed.

The poll found that Davis had also been damaged by his association with the Fiedler case.

Mervin Field, director of the California Poll, agreed with Lewis that there is no way to predict what voter reaction would be to a dismissal of the Fiedler indictment.

“This thing is so bizarre so far,” Field said. “All the rules of the game are off.”

Los Angeles political consultant George Young said: “This could be a real opportunity for Fiedler. The name identification she has gotten out of this has a lot of potential, but it has to be tagged with some other emotion. That could be sympathy or it could be an admiration for the way she has stood up under pressure.

“But these things don’t usually happen automatically. It is up to her campaign to find a way to inform the public in good taste (if the indictment is dismissed).”

Don Dornan, who makes Fiedler’s commercials, said Wednesday: “We are planning to go on radio soon. And then we’ll do TV. It is hard to say now what we’ll say in the ads. We’re playing it by ear all the way. There are no rules in a thing like this. We do not have time on our side, so we have to make decisions that are not based on tried and true methods. We have to gamble a lot.”

Assemblyman Gray Davis (D-Los Angeles) said that Fiedler’s ordeal had “enabled her to display all the grit, courage and grace she can summon. . . . There is a custom under old English law--if someone survives the trial by ordeal, it means the gods are smiling.”

But the assemblyman cautioned that should the indictment be dismissed, a crucial factor could be what the judge has to say.

The Los Angeles district attorney’s office said that it believes there is sufficient evidence to take Clarke to trial and that it will oppose the dismissal of his indictment. That could undercut the potential boost to Fiedler if her own indictment is thrown out.

“This thing could be somewhat clouded if the indictment of Paul Clarke drags on,” Young said. “The best thing for Fiedler, of course, is a dismissal of both indictments. The next best thing is a quick acquittal of Clarke if he goes to trial.”

Ed Davis said Wednesday in a telephone interview, “It would be extremely difficult to think that Clarke operated in a vacuum, given their close relationship.”

Another Republican U.S. Senate candidate, Assemblyman Robert Naylor, said, “I don’t see this changing the situation. If they proceed against Clarke, her (Fiedler’s) campaign is still on trial.”

Naylor said that “the fire rages on” and repeated his call for both Fiedler and Davis to get out of the race. “I’m not retreating at all,” he added.

Positive Reaction

Reaction by Fiedler’s other Republican U.S. Senate rivals was upbeat.

Rep. Ed Zschau of Los Altos said, “My position all along has been that we should have a presumption of innocence. There are so many cases in which people are charged or indicted and the charges don’t stick. I don’t have any sense of how voters and contributors would respond to this. My hunch is that fewer people will have even heard of it than you would think.”

Bruce Herschensohn said of Reiner’s announcement, “That’s very good news.”

Arthur Laffer said through an aide that “he is pleased for Bobbi Fiedler.”

Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich said through an aide, “The issue has always been (Democratic) Sen. Alan Cranston’s record. I will continue to campaign against that.”

One Republican who thought that the Reiner announcement would have mixed benefits for Fiedler was Sen. Pete Wilson. The chance that the indictment will be dismissed was definitely good news for Fiedler, Wilson said, but, he added dryly, “It’s a little bit like being honored posthumously.”