Eu, Missing a Customary Ally in NOW, Sails Toward Renomination

Secretary of State March Fong Eu, who as a state legislator was in the vanguard of the feminist movement, is sailing unopposed toward renomination in the Democratic primary Tuesday--but without the support of a longtime major ally, the California branch of the National Organization for Women.

The reason for the rift: Eu, the only woman holding statewide office, urged California Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird to abandon her uphill fight for reconfirmation. The women’s organization has made Bird’s reelection its No. 1 priority.

As a result, California NOW, which claims 23,000 members, did not consider endorsing Eu for a fourth term even though it long has supported Eu, who in 1982 became the top vote-getter in state history.

Deplore Bird-Bashing

“We deplore politicians who in their eagerness to save their own skins are willing to abandon their principles and actively or passively participate in Bird-bashing,” said Shireen Miles, who heads the California NOW political action committee. In explaining the group’s endorsement policy, she did not refer to Eu directly.

Last month, Eu expressed her respect for Bird’s principles, courage and integrity but called on her to quit the quest for a 12-year term because the chief justice “is eroding respect for the court as an institution and is destroying it as a co-equal part of government.”

In doing so, Eu became the first Democratic statewide elected official to urge Bird to step down. The action angered some feminists who interpreted it as a cynical maneuver by a top Democratic officeholder to put distance between herself and Bird, both of whose names will appear on the November ballot.

For her part, Eu, who as an assemblywoman in 1974 wrote into law a prohibition against pay toilets in public places on grounds they unfairly discriminated against women, was philosophical about NOW’s decision to withhold the endorsement.

She noted that while NOW had endorsed her in the past, it actually never had contributed financially to any of her campaigns. And, she added, “I can’t see them (NOW members) voting for someone who is very, very anti-feminist against me.” She declined to elaborate on which potential opponent might be considered anti-feminist.

Three Opponents

Three Republicans are seeking the GOP nomination on Tuesday for the right to oppose Eu in the November general election--Bruce Nestande, an Orange County supervisor and former assemblyman; Ralph Winkler, a retired Air Force officer, and Michael Cyrus, who lists himself as a Hawthorne market analyst.

Nestande, who initially last summer began campaigning for lieutenant governor, changed his mind in March shortly before the candidates’ filing deadline and abruptly jumped into the GOP race for secretary of state, whose main role is to serve as California’s chief elections officer. Nestande, the GOP front-runner, is a Bird opponent.

Nestande, 48, a Marine Corps veteran, ex-display director at Knott’s Berry Farm and supervisor of former Gov. Ronald Reagan’s mail room, was regarded as a moderate while a member of the state Assembly. He left the Legislature in 1980 to run successfully for Orange County supervisor.

In campaign advertising, Nestande describes himself as a “partner Gov. George Deukmejian can trust,” although there seems to be little direct connection between the offices of governor and secretary of state.

If elected, Nestande said in an interview that he would actively press for “campaign reform, a fair reapportionment” and take steps to pare down a statewide voter registration roll that he said is inflated with the names of people no longer eligible to vote at the addresses they list.

Republican Winkler, whose candidacy has been endorsed by property tax-cutter Howard Jarvis, said the most important issue of the campaign is the way the Democratic-dominated Legislature has “gerrymandered” congressional and legislative districts. If elected, he said he would “lead or support propositions or bills to reapportion this state fairly.”

Efficient, Scandal-Free Office

Eu, first elected in 1975, maintains she has run an efficient and scandal-free office, presiding over such disparate tasks as supervising elections and the state archives to disciplining notaries public.

Born in the back room of a laundry in the San Joaquin Valley community of Oakdale to parents who spoke mostly Chinese, she received degrees from Mills College, the University of California and a doctorate in education from Stanford.

Minor party candidates for secretary of state include Theresa Dietrich, an El Sobrante printer, American Independent; Richard Winger of San Francisco, a self-described election law consultant, Libertarian, and Gloria Garcia of Long Beach, who lists herself as “worker,” Peace and Freedom.