Both Parties Hope to Tip Scales in Bids for Assembly

Assembly Republicans, outnumbered 47 to 33 by the Democrats, hope to parlay a reelection victory by Gov. George Deukmejian and voter rejection of state Supreme Court Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird into a slight boost in their ranks in the Nov. 4 election, GOP strategists say.

Assembly Democrats, meanwhile, are accusing Republicans of being slow to act on toxic waste cleanup--a page borrowed from the strategy book of Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley in his campaign against Deukmejian.

Deukmejian, Bird and the toxics issue all are providing the backdrop for California politics this year and, as such, they are affecting partisan campaigns even at the local level. Still, many of the legislative races, as usual, will be decided largely on the basis of local issues and voting patterns, the personalities of candidates--and who has the most money to spend.

Campaign Can Cost $1 Million

A successful Assembly campaign can cost $1 million or more, and contested races two years ago averaged about $450,000.

There will be at least 11 new faces in the 80-member Assembly after the election, replacing incumbents who are either retiring or running for higher office.

Assembly Minority Leader Pat Nolan (R-Glendale) also may face a challenge to his Republican leadership, even if he doesn’t think so now. Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco) and the Democrats expect to retain their control.

Privately, both sides are hoping to pick up two or three additional seats.

But the recent indictment of former Democratic Assemblyman Bruce E. Young of Norwalk in connection with the W. Patrick Moriarty political corruption scandal, plus the continuing investigation of possible involvement of other lawmakers, also poses the potential of an anti-incumbent backlash.

Mail Fraud Charges

Young was charged by a federal grand jury with 28 counts of mail fraud for allegedly filing false financial disclosure statements stemming from payments he received from Moriarty and a Los Angeles cable television firm. Now a Sacramento lobbyist, Young has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.

Moriarty was sentenced to seven years in prison last February on charges of money-laundering, fraud and bribery of public officials.

The 11 Assembly incumbents who are not seeking reelection are leaving the Lower House for a variety of reasons.

Three of them--Wally Herger (R-Rio Oso), Ernie Konnyu (R-Saratoga) and Richard Robinson (D-Garden Grove)--are running for Congress. Two others--Louis J. Papan (D-Millbrae) and Don Rogers (R-Bakersfield)--are seeking state Senate seats. Gray Davis (D-Los Angeles) won the Democratic nomination for state controller.

Prestige on the Line

Robert W. Naylor (R-Menlo Park) ran and lost in the U.S. Senate primary. Don Sebastiani (R-Sonoma) and Alister McAlister (D-Fremont) lost in their respective primaries for state controller. Jean M. Duffy (D-Citrus Heights) is taking a job as a lobbyist, and Frank Vicencia (D-Bellflower) is retiring.

Republican leader Nolan placed his political prestige on the line last June when his political allies poured more than $750,000 into the campaign war chests of five conservative candidates in contested GOP primaries. But only two of Nolan’s candidates won.

An anti-Nolan faction, led by Assemblyman Stan Statham (R-Oak Run), promptly started discussing the possibility of overthrowing Nolan after the general election.

‘He’s Doomed’

“I think he’s (Nolan’s) doomed,” Statham said. “It’s just a matter of time. As minority leader, he just has too many liabilities to last.

“The caucus is not going to forget that he wasted almost a million dollars. His fatal mistake was not to admit that he made a mistake.”

Is Statham a candidate for the GOP post? “That’s possible,” he said. “But I don’t care who it is. We have to find someone .”

Nolan discounted Statham’s remarks. “I don’t expect a challenge,” he said. “The vast majority of the caucus are very satisfied. They think I have given both leadership and direction to the caucus.

“Statham is all sour grapes. . . . The rest of the members of the caucus laugh at him.”

Meanwhile, Speaker Brown figures that it will cost about $5 million to run Democratic Assembly campaigns this year, $2 million more than what Nolan estimates that the GOP campaigns will cost.

Fund-Raising Dinner

Brown will hold a $650-a-plate fund-raising dinner at the Beverly Hilton on Wednesday that is expected to raise more than $1 million. Sammy Davis Jr. and his Las Vegas show will provide the entertainment. It is billed as Brown’s “major” fund-raising event of the year.

Last year, Brown held a similar $550-a-plate dinner with a postscript on invitations sent to lobbyists that said: “Our Assembly leadership and I have designated this dinner as our singular most important event for this year.” Some Capitol lobbyists reacted angrily to the postscript, contending that it implied possible problems for bills they were pushing if they didn’t buy dinner tickets. A Brown spokesman called that charge “ridiculous and false.”

This year, the postscript was dropped from Brown’s invitations to lobbyists.

Master of Money Transfers

The 1985 dinner, commemorating the fifth anniversary of the San Francisco lawmaker’s election as Speaker, raised $800,000 for Assembly Democratic candidates. It was attended by 1,320 guests, including many of Sacramento’s top lobbyists.

Brown also is a master at using money transfers between legislative candidates to help improve his Assembly power base.

For example, he controls several major campaign committees, including one called “Assembly Democrats” that had collected $983,000 and spent $1 million as of last June 30.

Contributions included $53,000 from Assemblyman Tom Bane (D-Tarzana), $40,000 each from Assemblymen Phillip Isenberg (D-Sacramento), Tom Hannigan (D-Fairfield) and Dave Elder (D-Long Beach), and $30,000 from Assemblyman Charles M. Calderon (D-Alhambra). All are expected to be reelected without much difficulty, and thus have the money to spare.

Cash to Incumbents

Brown also received $20,000 from Jane Fonda, actress wife of Assemblyman Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica).

The Assembly leader then doled out large sums from this committee to Democratic incumbents who face tough reelection fights or to non-incumbent Democratic candidates who are given a good chance of getting to Sacramento.

In the 54th District in southeast Los Angeles County, for example, Brown has given $50,000 to Democrat Ed Waters, son of Assemblywoman Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles). If Waters defeats Republican Paul E. Zeltner, a Lakewood city councilman, the two Waterses would become the Legislature’s first mother-son combination. Vicencia is retiring as the district’s Assembly representative after serving six terms in office.

Republican Challenge

Brown also gave $37,000 to Santa Ana Mayor Daniel E. Griset, who is the Democratic candidate for the 72nd District seat in Orange County that Robinson is vacating to run for Congress. Opposing Griset is Republican Richard E. Longshore, who lost to Robinson by just 256 votes two years ago.

In the 68th District in Riverside County, Democratic Assemblyman Steve Clute, always in danger of a Republican challenge in what is considered a swing district, got $53,000 for his race against Republican Matt Webb, a small businessman. GOP registration also reportedly has risen sharply in the district.

Another $64,000 went to Democrat Mary Jadiker in the 8th District, which includes parts of Sonoma, Napa, Lake and Solano counties. Jadiker, a businesswoman, ran a strong race against Sebastiani with little outside support in 1984. Her GOP opponent this time is Bev Hansen, who defeated a candidate backed by the Nolan forces in the primary. Hansen is a former aide to Senate Minority Leader James W. Nielsen (R-Rohnert Park).

In addition to these races, Assembly leaders point to three other contests in the state that may generate broad interest:

- Assemblyman Jim Costa (D-Fresno) vs. Republican Blaine T. Anderson, a Christian education services director, in Fresno County’s 30th District. Costa seemed to be on his way to an easy victory until he was cited last month for soliciting an act of prostitution in Sacramento. He later issued a public apology, pleaded no contest, was fined $255 and was placed on three years’ probation. GOP strategists now are taking a new look at this race.

- Republican Kern County Supervisor Trice Harvey vs. Democrat Tom Fallgatter, a Bakersfield lawyer, in Kern County’s 33rd District. Assembly Republicans started out by endorsing Harvey, then later switched their allegiance--and gave lots of last-minute money--to his GOP primary opponent. But Harvey won by 285 votes. Fallgatter hopes to cash in on the party split.

- Assemblyman Wayne Grisham (R-Norwalk) vs. Democratic Norwalk Mayor Robert E. White in southeastern Los Angeles County’s 63rd District. A former congressman, Grisham defeated Democrat Dianne Xitco in 1984 in a race that featured heavy spending on both sides. Of all Assembly districts in the state represented by Republicans, this one has the highest percentage of Democrats--about 60%--and Grisham is said to be a high-priority target.