Assemblyman’s Conviction Boosts Foe’s Hopes

Assemblyman Jim Costa’s recent run-in with the law for soliciting a sex act from an undercover policewoman he thought was a prostitute has energized the moribund campaign of his Republican opponent, Christian educator Blaine T. Anderson.

Until the prostitution incident, Costa (D-Fresno) was regarded as a shoo-in for reelection. Both Anderson and Republican leaders in Sacramento knew it. The GOP nominee raised and spent no money in the June primary election and appeared to have very modest spending plans for the November race as well.

Now, however, state GOP strategists are taking another look at the 30th District race and may put some money into it in the hope that Anderson can upset Costa, and the Republicans can cut into the Democrats’ 47-33 lower house majority.

‘Very Vulnerable’

How much money? “We haven’t decided yet,” said Assemblyman John R. Lewis (R-Orange), elections chairman of the Republican caucus. “We’ve done some survey work there. Obviously, Costa is very vulnerable.”

For Anderson, who is running for public office for the first time, the fight remains a difficult one. The district in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley is 61.1% Democratic to 30.1% Republican in voter registration. It includes all of Kings County; part of Fresno County, including a portion of the city of Fresno, and parts of Madera and Merced counties.

The challenger’s strategy consists primarily of making Costa’s prostitution problem a campaign issue by linking it to his Assembly votes on bills relating to job discrimination against homosexuals and parental consent for teen-age abortions.

Fine, Probation

Costa, meanwhile, is trying to put as good a face as possible on the matter. He pleaded no contest to the charge of soliciting an act of prostitution, was fined $255 and placed on three years’ probation. He has issued a public apology in which he said he made a “mistake.”

According to police accounts of the Aug. 29 incident, Costa, 34, who is unmarried, was driving in his state-leased car with a 19-year-old woman who had a past record of prostitution when he approached another woman who was wearing a hidden police radio transmitter and offered her $50 to join them in a sex act. The incident occurred on a Saturday night as the Legislature prepared to adjourn, an occasion that traditionally is marked by a lot of celebrating.

In an interview, Costa, first elected in 1978, said, “I wish this was a bad dream that would go away. But I have to live with it for the rest of my life. I kick myself at least 10 times a day for my error in judgment for putting myself in that position. There was absolutely no excuse for it.”

Mail Is Supportive

Costa takes encouragement from the fact that nearly all the mail he has received on the matter has been supportive. Aides say less than 10% of the letters, telegrams and telephone calls received by Costa’s office since his court appearance Sept. 16 have been critical.

“Atta boy, Jim. Hang in there. We’re with you,” one letter read. “I think it takes a very big man to admit his mistakes,” another said. “After hearing you publicly admit to yours, I have the utmost respect for you. It is nice to know that there are still some honest politicians.”

The negative communications said such things as, “You have hurt your family, friends, constituents, your party, and most of all, yourself.” An out-of-district post card called Costa “a filthy, immoral, perverted lackey.”

Legislative Record

Costa said he intends to campaign on his legislative record of the past eight years in the fields of housing, water, agriculture, and education. He is the chairman of the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildife Committee.

His opponent, Anderson, 35, is an education services director for an organization called Christian Family Renewal. Anderson describes it as an independent, nondenominational, nonprofit group “dedicated to fighting moral evils, such as abortion and pornography, which we feel erode family values.”

He charged that Costa’s prostitution arrest is “consistent” with his voting record on moral issues in the Assembly.

As examples, he cited Costa’s 1984 vote in support of a a bill to prohibit job discrimination against homosexuals, later vetoed by Gov. George Deukmejian, and Costa’s abstention on an unsuccessful motion to revive a bill to require minors to obtain parental consent or a court order before receiving an abortion.

Sees a Pattern

“Anybody can make a single mistake,” Anderson said, “or have a moment of weakness, but I think we are seeing in Costa a pattern that his voting record also reflects.”

Asked for comment, Costa said he has voted on many bills affecting family life, ranging from schools to child care to abortion, over the last eight years, admitting some of them are “difficult issues.”

“I don’t think the voters of this district, or any area of the state, cast their votes on the basis of one or two votes,” he said, “nor do I think you can base the determination of one’s moral values on one or two votes.”

As for Anderson’s campaign use of the prostitution arrest, Costa said, “That’s the only issue he has.”

$150,000 Chore

Costa acknowledges that he will have to work harder and now plans to spend $150,000 or more in his bid for reelection.

He recently held a fund-raiser in Fresno that added $30,000 to the $100,000 he already had in the bank. Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco) attended the event to show his support, calling Costa “my guy and a key member of the California Legislature.”

Costa said he expects the GOP to put $50,000 into the Anderson campaign to pay for TV ads and mailers.

Referring to Costa’s problem with the law, Anderson said, “Our biggest campaign contributor is Jim Costa. He has provided us with tens of thousands of dollars.”