Brown Is No Longer ‘Shaking,’ Sees Party Gains in Assembly

Assembly Speaker Willie Brown, saying that he is no longer “shaking in his boots,” predicted Wednesday that Democrats could increase their majority in the Assembly by one or two seats in the November general election.

“We are halfway through the game and I don’t need to draw to an inside straight to take the pot,” the San Francisco Democrat said after Tuesday’s primary election, in which five of six key candidates he had backed won their Democratic nominations.

Meanwhile, the victories of Assembly Republican Leader Pat Nolan of Glendale were not so large. Only two of the five candidates his forces financed with more than $700,000 were victorious, which could pose a threat to his leadership in the future.

The easy victory of Democrat Richard Polanco in a special election to fill the vacant Eastside 55th Assembly District will bring the Democratic majority in the lower house to 47 to 33 over 1952998688be sworn in today.

In the fall, Republicans are hoping that a strong showing by Gov. George Deukmejian and GOP Senate candidate Ed Zschau will bolster their chances of making inroads into the Democratic majority in both houses of the Legislature. Republican candidates could also benefit from the campaign to defeat California Supreme Court Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird, who is under fire for voting against the death penalty.

“It’s not my personal brilliance nor frankly that of our candidates that’s going to be the largest help to us,” Nolan told reporters. “It’s going to be George Deukmejian’s popularity in November that will be the biggest factor in our wins.”

All 80 Assembly seats and 20 of the 40 Senate seats are at stake in the general election. There are 12 Assembly seats in which incumbents are not seeking reelection, and two in the Senate.

Earlier Concerns

Brown said he was concerned earlier this year when a number of Democratic Assembly members announced that they would retire or seek higher office. Among them were Assemblymen Gray Davis of Los Angeles, who won the Democratic nomination for state controller; Alister McAlister of Fremont, who lost to Davis; Assemblyman Louis J. Papan of Millbrae, who won the nomination for a state Senate seat, and Frank Vicencia of Bellflower, who is retiring.

“I was shaking in my boots a little bit because I (had been) playing with a pretty pat hand,” Brown said. “I’m now in a little bit better shape.”

On Tuesday, Polanco won more than the special election to serve out the remainder of the term of former Assemblyman Richard Alatorre, now a Los Angeles City Councilman. He also was victorious in a divisive primary contest against Democrat Mike Hernandez to determine who will run for the next full two-year term in November.

Polanco, a former legislative aide, had the backing of Brown and Alatorre, among others, and the help of Richie Ross, Brown’s chief political campaign strategist.

“Some people call it a political machine,” Polanco said after his victory. “I say it’s a team, not a political machine, and I want to thank the team.”

To face Polanco in the Democrat-dominated district, the GOP again nominated Loren L. Lutz, who simultaneously lost to Polanco in Tuesday’s special election by a margin of 58% to 25%.

In the nearby 54th Assembly District in southeast Los Angeles County, Democrat Edward K. Waters, the son of Assemblywoman Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), beat eight other Democrats in a brawling primary. If he wins in November, the two Waterses would become the Legislature’s first mother-son combination.

Edward Waters, who won the primary with just 25% of the vote, will be opposed in the fall by Republican Paul E. Zeltner, a Lakewood city councilman who ran unopposed in the GOP primary. The two will battle to replace Vicencia in the Assembly.

Waters received strong backing from Brown, who helped him raise an estimated $500,000.

While praising his supporters on election night, Waters nevertheless said it was his “relationship with Jesus Christ that keeps me together. Christ is glorified today and not Ed Waters.”

In the 54th District, where 28% of the residents are black and 20% are Latino, the three top vote-getters among the nine contenders were black.

Berman-Waxman Support

Willard H. Murray, on leave as an aide to Rep. Mervyn Dymally (D-Compton), placed second with 20% of the vote. Murray had the backing of the powerful organization of Democratic Reps. Howard L. Berman of Studio City and Henry Waxman of Los Angeles.

Former Compton Mayor Doris A. Davis ran third in the race with 15% of the vote.

Brown said he was optimistic about Waters’ chance of defeating Zeltner in the fall because of the high percentage won by the three blacks against “good white candidates.” Zeltner is white.

“So as far as I’m concerned that race is over,” Brown said.

In addition to Polanco and Waters, Brown’s winners included state official Jack Dugan in the 5th Assembly District east of Sacramento, businessman Ed Baccioccio in San Mateo County’s 20th District and Union City Councilwoman Delaine Eastin in the 18th District, also in the Bay Area.

Police Inspector Loses

The only loser among the key candidates Brown backed was San Francisco police inspector Mike Nevin in the 19th District. He lost the nomination to San Mateo County Supervisor Jackie Speier, a former aide to the late Rep. Leo Ryan. Ryan was slain in Guyana in 1978 while on a trip to investigate the Peoples Temple camp run by the Rev. Jim Jones.

On the Republican side, winners backed by Nolan loyalists were attorney Chris Chandler in the rural, northern 3rd District and businessman Bill Duplissea in the 20th District.

However, three candidates backed by his forces lost to businesswoman Bev Hansen in the wine country’s 8th District, businessman Charles W. Quackenbush in the Silicon Valley’s 22nd District and Kern County Supervisor Trice Harvey in the 33rd District.

Democrat Majority

In the Senate, where Democrats hold a 26-14 majority over the GOP, Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles) said he would be satisfied if the Democrats maintained their edge in November. Of the 20 Senate districts on the general election ballot, 16 are now represented by Democrats.

“I’ll be happy to hold our own,” the Senate leader said.

In the battle to replace retiring Sen. Walter W. Stiern (D-Bakersfield), the dean of the Legislature, Assemblyman Don Rogers (R-Bakersfield) overwhelmingly won the GOP nomination by defeating agricultural consultant Paul Young with 84% of the vote.

At the same time, Jim Young, chancellor of the Kern Community College District, easily captured the Democratic nomination over physician George Ablin with 71% of the vote.

Helpful Confusion

Roberti said confusion between the two candidates named Young aided the Democratic nominee in the primary and may assist him again in the fall.

“Paul Young being on the Republican ballot helped,” the Senate leader said. “Some voters thought he was Jim Young. We will get those votes in the fall.”

Farther north, Assemblyman Papan handily won the Democratic nomination to succeed retiring Sen. John F. Foran (D-San Francisco) in the 8th Senate District with 80% of the vote.

The Republican nominee is businessman Russell Gray, who received 56% of the vote.

However, the two may also face a challenge from San Francisco Supervisor Quentin Kopp, who is considering running for the seat as an independent. To qualify for the ballot, he must collect the signatures of 9,783 registered voters in the district by Aug. 8.

Republicans are pleased by the prospect of Kopp running in the heavily Democratic district, where the well-known political figure could pose a stronger threat to Papan than the GOP’s own nominee.

Democratic District

In the heavily Democratic 43rd Assembly District of West Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley, Democratic attorney Terry B. Friedman and Republican businessman Mark P. Schuyler won the chance to face each other in November. Friedman has the backing of the Berman-Waxman political machine in his bid to replace Assemblyman Davis. Because of its affluence and fund-raising potential, the 43rd District seat is considered one of the Assembly’s plums.

Realtor Richard Longshore, defeated twice before in his efforts to unseat Assemblyman Richard Robinson (D-Garden Grove) in the 72nd Assembly District, won the Republican nomination for the third time. He will face Santa Ana Mayor Daniel E. Griset, who won the Democratic nod after Robinson stepped aside to run for Congress.

In a campaign enlivened by a fistfight between GOP candidates, businessman Tom Dubose beat political consultant Jay Martin and won the right to face pugnacious Assemblyman Steve Peace (D-Chula Vista) in November.

Contributing to this article were Times staff writers Paul Jacobs in Sacramento, and Janet Clayton, Victor Merina and Mark Gladstone in Los Angeles.