‘Feeling Good,’ Eastwood Cites Need to Avoid Dewey Image

As voters here prepared to go to the polls today under the unaccustomed scrutiny of reporters from around the world, actor Clint Eastwood appeared confident of his chances of being elected mayor.

“We’re feeling good,” Eastwood said Monday. “I can’t predict it, but we’re feeling good.”

Eastwood campaign organizers claimed that a recent telephone survey of nearly half of the village’s 4,124 registered voters found the film star leading incumbent Charlotte Townsend, 61, by a whopping 65% to 35% margin. He also has won the editorial support of local and regional newspapers.

Big Turnout Seen

But Eastwood, 55, was not betting the ranch that he would win the election, which is expected to draw a record turnout.

When an autograph-seeking Tucson man approached Eastwood in a local pub and asked if he would sign a cocktail napkin “Mayor Clint,” Eastwood smiled and said, “I can’t do that. I don’t want to become the Thomas Dewey of municipal politics.”

Eastwood, who has spent $40,000 on his campaign, compared to Townsend’s $3,000, attended a series of private, invitation-only teas in his last day of campaigning. Underdog Townsend passed out her campaign literature to passers-by in front of the Carmel post office.

The only other contender is Tim Grady, 27, a dishwasher and self-described environmentalist who polls say will capture less than 1% of the vote.

If Eastwood wins, he will take over the $200-a-month job April 15.

Crush of Tourists

Thousands of tourists jammed into a roped-off downtown street Sunday for a glimpse of the world’s No. 1 box office star, and hundreds lingered outside his small campaign headquarters Monday. Eastwood-for-mayor T-shirts, buttons, bumper stickers, picture books, coffee mugs and embroidered sweat shirts sold briskly.

Meanwhile, reporters have been converging on the Monterey Peninsula for the last week. Every hotel room in the area has long been booked. Space in the election press center is at a premium.

Since entering the race two months ago, Eastwood, a Carmel resident for 14 years, has run a serious campaign. He commissioned an extensive voter survey of issues, hired a professional campaign manager from Los Angeles and has spent many hours going door to door throughout the one-mile-square village.

The Monterey Peninsula Herald, the area’s largest newspaper, endorsed Eastwood, saying he had proved he could do the job, while the mayor and City Council have been “deeply abrasive and arrogant.” The Carmel Pine Cone also endorsed Eastwood, saying in an editorial that he “has a lot to offer the citizens of Carmel.”

Attacks on Foe

Eastwood has portrayed Townsend as a “negative-thinking” woman who has abused her power as head of the five-member council. He claims she has refused to work with the business community and find solutions to such problems as traffic congestion, water shortages and a lack of public toilets.

Townsend says Eastwood is a pawn of developers and will attract more tourists than the town can handle if he is elected.

Eastwood has appeared in more than 42 movies and directed 11, and is best known for his Westerns and as the unconventional San Francisco cop “Dirty Harry” Callahan.