Gray Davis Criticized by 2 Foes Over His Ties to Ex-Gov. Brown

California’s suddenly lively Democratic election campaign for state controller has focused on a political figure who isn’t even on the ballot--former Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr.

And the result has been a Democratic cat fight of unusual intensity.

State Sen. John Garamendi on Tuesday joined rival candidate Assemblyman Alister McAlister in attacking the third Democrat in the race, Assemblyman Gray Davis, because of Davis’ long service to the former governor.

Brown’s Record

Davis was Brown’s high-visibility chief of staff for 7 1/2 years, from 1974 to 1981. Davis then was elected to the Assembly in a district stretching from Beverly Hills across the Hollywood Hills into the San Fernando Valley.

Garamendi, at a press conference to kick off his campaign, said Davis will have to answer for “freeways not built and Medflies not killed” during the Brown Administration.

Charges like this echoed throughout California during the final years of Brown’s governorship, usually voiced by Republicans. Brown was criticized for, among other things, his reluctance to expand the freeway system and for his reluctance to authorize, particularly in urban areas, the aerial spraying of pesticides to kill an infestation of crop-damaging Medflies.

“With regard to Mr. Davis, he does have his own record. He was the chief of staff to Jerry Brown for many years, responsible for implementing Gov. Brown’s ideas. And he can speak to his successes or failures as the chief of staff to Jerry Brown,” said Garamendi, who resides in Walnut Grove and represents portions of eight Northern California counties.

The attack brought a rare public retort from the former governor.

“Gray’s work in my Administration positions him very strongly in the Democratic primary. I expect he will receive particularly strong support from those under-represented groups that we worked so hard for--women, blacks, Hispanics, Asians and the disabled,” Brown said in a telephone interview.

“He also will enjoy strong support from environmentalists and members of organized labor. This adds up to a very potent force.”

Belated Candidacy

Garamendi was making his belated candidacy announcement tour Tuesday and Wednesday because of the unexpected circumstances that drove him and the other Democrats scrambling into the contest on short notice. It was not until just 36 hours before the deadline for filing candidacy papers that incumbent Controller Ken Cory surprised California by announcing he is retiring. No other statewide office is without a strong incumbent seeking reelection.

McAlister, a 16-year veteran legislator from Fremont, skipped a statewide announcement tour in his bid to be controller but was the first to try to seek advantage by linking Davis to his old boss, Brown.

“A Jerry Brown clone . . . a party machine retread of the past,” McAlister declared in a prepared candidacy statement that was pointed in its criticism of Davis and Brown.

“Davis was intimately involved in virtually all Brown Administration decisions,” said McAlister. “California is drifting more and more in the Republican direction; while a number of factors are involved, much of this slide is the result of the public’s negative impression of Democratic policies under Jerry Brown. Certainly the memory of the Brown Administration is doing nothing to hasten a Democratic resurgence.”

Davis responded to the double-barreled criticism this way: “My opponents are making a big mistake if they think they can gang up and turn this campaign into a tag-team match against the past Democratic Administration.”

The assemblyman, who leads all other Democratic candidates in the race with a $1-million bankroll, said he will try to draw attention more to current matters than his past. In particular, Davis emphasized his legislative activities on behalf of children, including efforts to publicize missing youngsters.

Public opinion polls in the last year have shown continued ambivalence about the legacy of Brown’s two terms. A Los Angeles Times Poll in mid-1985 found that Brown was viewed unfavorably by 54% of the voters while 37% had a favorable impression. But among Democrats, Brown was viewed favorably by 50% to 42%.

Among party activists, he may be even more popular judging by how well he was received as the keynote speaker at the Democratic Party state conventions for the last two years.

But one Garamendi adviser, speaking on a not-for-attribution basis, said the memory of Brown is still sharp among conservative Democrats and Republicans. “He’s not only a liability for Davis, but a big liability.”