California Elections : Curb, McCarthy: Vying to Become the Toughest Cop?

As their race enters its final month, Democratic incumbent Leo T. McCarthy and Republican opponent Mike Curb sound like they are running to become the state’s toughest cop, not for the low-profile office of lieutenant governor.

McCarthy, seeking a second term, has a radio ad declaring that he “has passed tough laws on drug dealing and sexual assault,” a reference to the Democrat’s days in the state Assembly. Underscoring a position McCarthy has not always held, it goes on to say the lieutenant governor “supports the death penalty.”

Not to be outdone, Curb, who served as lieutenant governor from 1978 to 1982, is calling for life sentences without the possibility of parole for people convicted three times of serious crimes.

If he had his way, it would be “three burglaries--three crimes committing any major felony--and you never get out prison,” Curb told an applauding crowd of 700 supporters at a formal $1,000-a-plate dinner at Los Angeles’ Century Plaza this week.

Extend Death Penalty

Earlier in the campaign, Curb said he wanted the death penalty extended to include drug pushers whose narcotics trafficking results in a death.

The slender thread that links the crime issue to the campaign is the lieutenant governor’s role as the official who assumes the governorship if there is ever a vacancy in that office. Thus, whoever wins could someday become governor and be responsible for appointing judges.

The succession happened once in the past 50 years. Goodwin J. Knight became governor in 1953 when the incumbent, Earl Warren, was appointed Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Otherwise, the lieutenant governor has limited power, managing an office with a budget of $2 million and a staff of 32. The lieutenant governor holds a seat on the University of California Board of Regents and the California State University Board of Trustees, chairs the state Economic Development Commission, sits on the three-member Lands Commission, and performs a number of lesser duties.

Personal, Political Opposites

Despite the inherently quiet nature of the office, McCarthy and Curb, personal as well as political opposites, are waging a fierce battle for the lieutenant governorship.

McCarthy, 56, a liberal Democrat, career politician and one-time speaker of the state Assembly, needs a win Nov. 4 to be a serious Democratic contender for the governorship or the U.S. Senate at some point in the future. He has on several occasions expressed an interest in both offices.

Curb, 41, a conservative Republican, millionaire record producer and holder of the lieutenant governor’s post for four tumultuous years under ex-Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr., wants to re-establish his political credentials after losing a bitter gubernatorial primary to GOP Gov. George Deukmejian four years ago.

Conservative estimates are that between them, Curb and McCarthy will spend more than $5 million to win the office. McCarthy said he hopes to be able to spend $2 million, while Curb will probably end up spending $3.3 million or more. The official accounting will not be completed until after the election. Estimates are based on interviews with officials of both campaigns.

The race between the two began with styles as distinctly different as their backgrounds, with McCarthy going on the attack, holding numerous press conferences, calling for debates.

Curb, meanwhile, refused debates, kept a low profile and for a time seemed as if he would go through the campaign without holding a single news conference, choosing to communicate with voters primarily through radio and television ads. Curb still has held only one press conference since the beginning of the year.

But by injecting the crime issue into to the race, Curb took the attack to McCarthy.

Curb uses crime to hammer home reminders that McCarthy is the highest-ranking Democrat supporting the confirmation election of state Supreme Court Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird, who is under strong attack for a succession of rulings overturning death-penalty sentences.

‘Major Issues’

Both the McCarthy and Curb campaigns have seen public opinion poll results indicating that a Democrat loses some support when voters learn that he is supporting Bird.

Said Curb: “It’s one of the major issues going for us in our campaign. We think we are going to get close to 30% of the Democratic vote in the state largely because Leo McCarthy supports Rose Bird.”

Curb also attacks McCarthy for having opposed the death penalty most of his political career. McCarthy reversed himself last year, and now supports capital punishment. McCarthy explains that as he got older, “I changed my mind on what is a fair and just punishment.”

McCarthy acknowledges that he recently began running his television ads a week before schedule to counter Curb’s attack on him as being soft on crime. Then, he was forced to admit a major blunder. The ad showed film of law enforcement officers in uniform, which is against the law, and McCarthy was forced to pull it from the air to edit out the objectionable parts.

Anti-Crime Legislation

A major theme of the McCarthy ads is that he has supported tough anti-crime legislation in the past and is running with the endorsements of most major law enforcement groups, such as the California State Sheriff’s Assn., the California Organization of Police and Sheriffs, and the California Peace Officers Assn.

Curb’s stance on life prison terms for burglars and others convicted three times is a position that even Republican Gov. George Deukmejian, a noted hard-liner on crime, said he could not endorse.

It was one of the few areas where Curb has allowed himself to take a position differing from Deukmejian’s. Though he and Deukmejian waged a bitter campaign in the 1982 GOP primary, Curb now says he endorses the governor’s positions down the line. Curb’s campaign stresses that he and Deukmejian are running as “a team,” even though Deukmejian at times appears decidedly cool to his one-time political adversary.

‘Attached by Birth’

A favorite McCarthy line is: “Mike Curb is trying to position himself so close to George Deukmejian that you’d think they were attached by birth.” At one news conference, McCarthy used giant scissors as a prop, saying he was going to use them to clip Deukmejian’s coattails.

“Curb’s got two issues--Rose Bird and George Deukmejian’s coattails,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy, in trying to get Curb into a public debate, hoped to exploit his Republican opponent’s tendency to shoot from the hip when discussing issues.

So far in the campaign, Curb has had to make awkward corrections or admit to confusion and explain seeming contradictions on several occasions.

In Fresno, Curb left the audience with the impression that he blamed the wages paid to farm workers for the problems of agriculture, though he said later that is not what he meant.

Economic Sanctions

On the question of economic sanctions against the white-minority government of South Africa because of its treatment of blacks, Curb said he supported Deukmejian’s tough stand in favor of sanctions but also defended President Reagan’s policy against strong action, even though the two are sharply contradictory.

Curb also has been quoted as taking three different positions on Proposition 61, the initiative by anti-tax crusader Paul Gann to limit government salaries. He initially indicated support, then moved to neutrality, and now opposes it. Curb said he was confused because the initiative in its final draft form was different than the one he had discussed at one point with Gann.

As for his call for the death penalty for drug pushers in certain cases and his attacks on Bird for being too lenient, Curb recently acknowledged that he wrote a letter in 1975 to a Superior Court judge pleading for leniency for a former brother-in-law who had been convicted of selling marijuana and cocaine, a conviction that was subsequently overturned on appeal.

Explanation of Letter

He explained the letter to reporters this week by saying, “It’s something I think that anyone would have written for a former brother-in-law.”

Questioned about his concept of leniency, Curb said: “I have a great feeling of leniency for and compassion for those individuals who run into difficulties, but I have very strong, strong feelings against the drug pushers who are killing our children.” Reminded that the conviction had been for sale, not simple possession, of drugs, Curb said he did not think that his former brother-in-law was a drug pusher.

“I did not believe he was guilty or I certainly would not have written this letter,” he said.

The campaign between Curb and McCarthy is unusual because it provides a chance to compare their records in the same office.

Curb was the first lieutenant governor in modern history to serve with a governor from the opposite party. And McCarthy, when he succeeded him, became the second.

Clashes With Governor

Curb’s four years were marked by frequent clashes with former Gov. Brown. Curb chose Brown’s frequent absences from the state to attempt to sign bills he thought the governor would veto, to try to appoint his own judges and conduct other gubernatorial business.

In contrast, McCarthy has served quietly under Deukmejian, seizing the advisory role of the lieutenant governor to research and promote legislation on toxic waste, nursing-home abuse, child care and other issues.

One of his proudest accomplishments is a report released in June, 1985, on the effect toxic waste was having on the state’s economy, which led to a seven-bill toxic waste control package. Another is serving as chairman of a blue-ribbon committee that conducted a five-month study of nursing homes that led to development of another package of bills.

McCarthy characterizes Curb’s behavior as lieutenant governor as “low-level political harassment.”

‘Waste of Time’

Curb, who once called his job a “waste of time” and even refunded some of his paychecks to the state because he said he felt that he didn’t earn them, said his actions stemmed from the frustrations of serving under a governor from another party, and that he’d like a second chance.

“I paid my dues. I served with a governor I didn’t agree with. Now I want a chance to serve with a governor I agree with,” he said.

McCarthy says he is frustrated by his inability to draw Curb into a debate and by being forced into a position of combating Curb through a series of radio and television commercials.

“Voters want to know: Does the candidate have a set of brains, does he have commitment? The political shorthand of a 30-second spot does not give voters a chance to assess the candidates, to determine how thoughtful, how analytical they are. It trivializes candidates, it trivializes issues,” he said.

The New Zealand-born McCarthy began his political career when he was elected to the San Francisco County Board of Supervisors in 1963. He was elected to the state Assembly in 1968, and became speaker of the lower house in 1974, holding that powerful post until 1980.

Curb enjoyed huge early success in the record industry, and now owns Curb Records. At 19, he dropped out of college and became wealthy almost overnight by selling advertising jingles for Honda motorcycles and other products. At 25, he was president of MGM Records.

He gave up day-to-day management of his company after he was elected lieutenant governor in 1978, though he stayed close to the firm. After his defeat in 1982, he moved to Washington, where he served as chief fund-raiser for the Republican National Committee and worked on President Reagan’s reelection campaign.