Lt. Gov. McCarthy Hopes for San Diego Dividends

Three years ago, Lt. Gov. Leo McCarthy described San Diego as a “neglected stepchild” in California politics. Since then, McCarthy has lavished considerable attention on the “stepchild” and, like a proud adoptive parent, believes that his efforts will be rewarded--in this case, by an outpouring of votes on Nov. 4.

“I’m confident that, on Election Day, it’s going to be obvious that all the time I’ve spent in San Diego has been very well spent,” McCarthy said in an interview. “You can bet that a lot of other statewide officials are going to sit up and take notice, and perhaps wish that they had done the same thing.”

Since his inauguration 3 1/2 years ago, the 56-year-old Democrat has been a virtual walking advertisement for the San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau. He has visited San Diego 87 times--probably more than all other statewide elected officials combined.

“It might have been cheaper for him to rent a condo here,” quipped Nick Johnson, McCarthy’s local political consultant. The frequency of the lieutenant governor’s San Diego visits also has prompted other jokes within political circles, most of them of the “If it’s Tuesday, Leo McCarthy must be in San Diego” variety.

However, McCarthy, who was in San Diego twice last week, is hoping that the joke will be on others on Nov. 4.

“Two million people and a high voter turnout--that causes me to see an awful lot of common sense in my showing that I care and establishing a presence in San Diego,” said McCarthy, who served in the state Assembly for 14 years--six of them as speaker--before being elected lieutenant governor in 1982.

“For reasons that are inexplicable to me, you’ve got this curious thing where statewide officials traditionally stop when they come south at Los Angeles, and occasionally trip over into Orange County. But the fact that most of them ignore San Diego just increases my opportunity. To me, the statewide politicians who fail to come into San Diego often enough are the losers.”

One major reason that San Diego received limited attention in the past from many statewide candidates, McCarthy and others argue, is the county’s reputation as a Republican stronghold. For years, GOP candidates have been confident that they could easily carry San Diego without a major investment of time or energy, while many Democrats felt that they were wasting their time here.

“That perception is slowly changing, and one of the reasons it’s changing is Leo McCarthy,” said Irma Munoz, chairwoman of the San Diego County Democratic Party. “He’s been a real pioneer who others are going to follow. Many people in Sacramento feel that the state of California ends in L.A. Leo McCarthy has broken down that perception. The time he’s spent here is going to pay off.”

Some Republicans, however, question whether McCarthy’s frequent trips will produce anything more substantial than travel fatigue.

“My guess is that (the trips) have had some minimal impact, but nothing dramatic,” said Bob Schuman, San Diego County Republican Party chairman. “He’s been here a lot but I’m not sure that many people outside politics have been that aware of that. I’d be surprised if he even runs as well here as he did four years ago.”

While McCarthy acknowledges that the political “fruits of my labor” in San Diego will not be harvested until November, there are tangible signs that his frequent visits have enabled him to establish a solid base.

A newspaper poll earlier this summer showed that, while McCarthy was trailing his Republican opponent, former Lt. Gov. Mike Curb, by about a 3% margin statewide, the Democrat held a 4% edge in San Diego. In addition, Democratic Party head Munoz predicts that McCarthy will attract legions of devoted local campaign volunteers this fall “because he’s always--ALWAYS--been there when we needed him.” To date, McCarthy has raised about $100,000 in campaign contributions in San Diego.

McCarthy got his first inkling of San Diego’s untapped potential in the 1982 election, a race in which he campaigned hard here and fared substantially better than other statewide Democratic candidates in closely contested races. McCarthy received 278,604 votes here in 1982, only about 28,000 fewer than his Republican opponent, Carol Hallett. In contrast, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Bradley was outpolled by Republican George Deukmejian by about 51,000 votes countywide.

Saying that he hoped to “expand on the good fortune I’ve had so far here and turn San Diego County into a major asset,” McCarthy has since visited San Diego about twice monthly. Although he has made nearly 200 trips to Los Angeles since 1983, McCarthy says that “proportionately” he has visited San Diego County more than any other county in the state.

“I think people in San Diego probably feel they have a lot more access to me than they do to any other statewide elected official,” said McCarthy, a New Zealand native whose family moved to San Francisco

when he was 4 years old.

“That’s because I’ve tried to connect with people here in a flesh-and-blood presence. And now, judging from all the requests for help I get when I’m here, I think we’re at a point where a lot of people tend to think of me as a San Diego legislator.”

Political considerations were not the sole motivation behind his local visits, McCarthy insists. Calling San Diego “an emerging bright spot, for a lot of economic, educational and environmental reasons,” McCarthy said that his local trips brought him into contact with people and issues “that have helped me do my job better.”

“I didn’t just visit here--I did something serious with the information I obtained,” McCarthy said. “There was something substantive in each of those trips.”

McCarthy played a major role, for example, in an effort to have an Escondido toxic waste dump moved higher on the state’s priority cleanup list, and he lobbied for state funding for the San Diego Trolley and for UC San Diego’s selection as a supercomputer site. He encouraged private employers to institute child-care programs, delved into the patient care and management problems at the Edgemoor Geriatric Hospital, and played a leading role in statewide reforms for nursing homes.

In alliance with various local and state officials, McCarthy tried unsuccessfully to persuade the Microelectronics & Computer Technology Corp. (MCC) to build a research center in San Diego. The firm, however, ultimately chose Austin, Tex., because, McCarthy argues, “California’s public and private sector did not demonstrate the collective will to organize our assets, market them and sell them in the way that Texas did.”

In addition, McCarthy has been a frequent guest on local call-in radio talk shows; met with dozens of San Diego and Tijuana business, educational and governmental leaders, and appeared at myriad community and political events.

While political activists are well aware of the close attention McCarthy has paid to San Diego, a key question--and one that relates to the political value of his trips--is whether the lieutenant governor has succeeded in establishing a presence with the general public. Although most of his visits have gone unreported by the city’s major news media, many political observers argue that, if for no reason other than sheer volume, McCarthy’s trips have raised his name recognition here and boosted his political stock in other ways.

“The cumulative effect of four years of visits has to take a toll,” said Jim Johnston, a local political consultant who recently endorsed McCarthy. “He’s been here so much that it’s been hard to miss him. The message that comes across is that he’s here and cares about San Diego.”

Many local Democrats--and McCarthy himself--say they would not be surprised if McCarthy’s efforts result in a repeat of his 1982 performance, with him running well ahead of other Democrats in other closely contested statewide races.

Local Republican chief Schuman, however, dismisses the Democrats’ suggestion that McCarthy might even carry San Diego over Curb as “nothing more that wishful thinking.”

“It’s a whole different ballgame for (McCarthy) this year,” Schuman said. “There’s no way he’s going to carry this county or even come close. He’s got a stronger opponent, and if Deukmejian comes out strongly for Curb, he won’t have a chance, because the governor’s so popular here.”

In addition, the county’s voter registration figures have changed dramatically--in the Republicans’ favor--over the last four years. While the Democrats held a slight edge--408,959 to 400,450--over the Republicans in registration in 1982, a massive GOP registration drive has given the party a huge advantage, 513,332 to 440,773.

While not underestimating the significance of that shift, McCarthy remains sanguine about his prospects in San Diego, arguing that his moderate image, combined with his frequent local visits, will make him acceptable to many Republicans. He can even joke about the possibility of being proved wrong on that score.

“My view is that my performance and my attention to San Diego will be rewarded,” McCarthy said. “On the other hand, if I lose (San Diego) by 200,000 votes, I should take that as a clear signal.”