Funds Gave Campbell, Davis the Edge in Controller Races

Democratic Assemblyman Gray Davis of Los Angeles and Republican state Sen. William Campbell of Hacienda Heights won their party nominations for state controller by raising more than twice as much money as their rivals and spending it on slick television commercials that all but ignored their opponents’ sharp personal attacks.

Both winners also shared another important advantage over their closest rivals--strong political and fund-raising ties to vote-rich Southern California.

‘Were Just Overwhelmed’

“We were just overwhelmed,” said a dejected but smiling state Sen. John Garamendi, a Democrat from the Northern California community of Walnut Grove whose campaign strategy revolved around TV commercials lambasting Davis for his seven years as chief of staff to former Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. Garamendi spent more than $1 million in his second unsuccessful run at statewide office.

But even as both winners were crediting their upbeat, “positive” campaigns for providing the winning edge in the primary, there were signs that the race will soon turn sharply confrontational as the contest heads into the November general election.

Garamendi’s vigorous attempts to tie Davis to the former governor’s appointment of Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird and a $1.5-billion deficit left behind by the Brown Administration are almost certain to become a blueprint for Campbell’s campaign.

Although Garamendi’s style of “Brown bashing” apparently backfired in the primary, a voter survey conducted by the Los Angeles Times Poll shows that the former governor’s image remains unfavorable among a significant percentage of Democrats and an overwhelming number of Republicans--making the issue far more potent come November.

“The fact that Gray Davis was his chief of staff for almost eight years and is credited for much of Brown’s record means it will be one of the issues in the campaign,” Campbell said shortly after declaring victory.

In all, the three Democrats and three Republicans spent more than $4 million in the primary race for controller, but failed to energize an electorate that, by and large, remained undecided until the last moment.

Davis, 43, who ran unsuccessfully for state treasurer in 1974, raised an estimated $2 million for the primary and built his winning campaign around a three-week television barrage that featured his efforts to reunite missing children with their parents. He captured 50% of the vote to Garamendi’s 38%. Assemblyman Alister McAlister of Fremont, who dubbed himself “Honest McHonest” in a low-spending campaign, came in a distant third with 12% of the vote.

Among GOP contenders, Campbell, 50, raised about $600,000 in his first run at statewide office and spent almost all of it on commercials that portrayed him as a fiscal conservative and a close supporter of Republican Gov. George Deukmejian. He won 48% of the primary vote in a resounding victory over his closest rival, Assemblyman Don Sebastiani of Sonoma, a maverick Republican who received 27% of the vote after a quiet campaign that relied heavily on his winemaking family’s famous name.

Stanford Gets 17%

Former Chairman Dan Stanford of the Fair Political Practices Commission got 17% of the vote in his first attempt at elective office. Former state Sen. Marz Garcia, who dropped out of the race too late to have his name removed from the ballot, polled 7% of the vote.

Davis declined to detail his strategy for the November election or to say precisely how much he intends to spend. But in a press conference at his Beverly Hills office, he labeled attempts to tie him to former Gov. Brown “shopworn criticism”

“A lot of time was spent on criticism of things that happened five or six or seven years ago,” Davis declared, “but they have not captured the voters’ attention.”

Indeed, results of The Times Poll among Democrats in the primary strongly indicated that Garamendi’s attack campaign, if anything, helped Davis.

The poll found that Democrats feel favorably toward Brown by a margin of 44% to 33%. Those who said they liked Brown were more likely to support Davis, as was expected. Those who viewed the former governor in an unfavorable light voted more for Garamendi, but by a smaller margin.

‘Antagonized More People’

“By attacking Brown, Garamendi antagonized more people than he pleased,” said Times Poll Director I. A. Lewis.

But the poll also suggests that Campbell may be more successful if he uses an anti-Brown campaign in the general election.

Asked their impressions of Brown, 78% of Republicans replied unfavorable. Only 8% of Republicans said they had a favorable impression of the former governor.

“You can’t win in the Democratic primary by attacking Gray Davis for being close to Jerry Brown,” Campbell said. “But if large numbers of Democrats with a high propensity to vote don’t like Brown, (Davis) is in real trouble in the general election.”

Campbell also faces the prospect of troubles ahead, particularly because of his connections to convicted political corrupter W. Patrick Moriarty, a constituent and one-time friend.

Campbell carried a controversial bill on behalf of the jailed former fireworks magnate that would have stripped local governments of the power to ban “safe-and-sane” fireworks. And although he has never been implicated in the ongoing investigation into Moriarty’s dealings, Campbell’s Republican rivals sought to make that an issue in the campaign.

Garamendi, who keeps his Senate seat despite his primary loss, said he is not discouraged and does not rule out another run at statewide office in the future.

Sebastiani, who recently took over the Sebastiani Winery amid a family dispute, gave up his Assembly seat to run for controller. Asked what he intends to do now, Sebastiani said: “I’m going to clean out the garage and go up to Sacramento and make laws, not necessarily in that order.”