Smelko Hosts Own TV Show in Bid to Unseat Stirling : Playing by the Numbers in 77th District Race

When you’re running against a popular Republican assemblyman in a heavily Republican district, you seek reasons for optimism wherever you can find them. In Democrat Bill Smelko’s case, that means half-jokingly suggesting that his birth date--July 7, or 7-7 numerically--could be a portent of good fortune in his 77th Assembly District race against Assemblyman Larry Stirling (R-San Diego).

“Maybe that’s my good luck charm,” Smelko said, chuckling. “Who knows?”

Here’s some bad news for Smelko: the telephone number at Stirling’s district office is 237-7777.

Other numbers, whose significance extends beyond mere superstition, also do not bode well for Smelko in his uphill battle against three-term incumbent Stirling. Those politically sobering statistics include the fact that Republicans hold a 51%-37% registration edge over Democrats in the district and that Stirling may spend $200,000--10 times more than Smelko--in what should be a relatively safe reelection race.

Regardless, Smelko, a 33-year-old La Mesa lawyer waging his first political campaign, insists that he is unperturbed by the tough odds and has gone about the race in a way that suggests, if not confidence, at least self-assurance.

“I’m not frustrated at all because I know I’m raising important issues and presenting voters with a serious alternative,” Smelko said. “I’m not going to go around cursing the darkness. I’d rather light little flames, and maybe they’ll lead to larger blazes.”

Meanwhile, the 44-year-old Stirling, widely considered one of the brightest and hardest-working members of the Assembly, finds himself facing opposition for the first time since 1980. A former San Diego city councilman first elected to the Assembly six years ago, Stirling was unopposed in his last two reelection races in the 77th District, which stretches from Miramar Naval Air Station to San Diego State University, and includes El Cajon, La Mesa, Santee and the northeastern part of the City of San Diego.

The only Republican who chairs a committee in the Democrat-controlled Assembly--a fact that he cites as evidence of his fellow legislators’ respect--Stirling can point to a lengthy list of legislative achievements that he argues justify his return to Sacramento.

Stirling notes, for example, that the panel he chairs, the Committee on Public Safety, “passed out 385 pro-law, pro-public safety bills” during the current two-year session. Closer to home, he proudly points out that the extension of California 52, a key transportation artery that runs through his district, is being built ahead of schedule.

Even Smelko has found little specific in Stirling’s legislative record to criticize.

“I don’t think Larry Stirling is a bad man,” said Smelko, who is married and the father of a 2-year-old daughter. “I just think he’s ineffective and that I can do a better job. But I’m not going to be one of these candidates who runs around saying, ‘My opponent did this and that.’ My theme is that I want to be elected, not as the lesser of two evils, but as the better of two goods.”

In his effort to achieve that goal, Smelko has settled on an unorthodox tactic--starring in his own 13-week political talk show on Cox Cable television. While Cox officials estimate that “Bill Smelko’s Spotlight,” which airs at 7 p.m. Monday on Cox Cable Channel 4, could attract 20,000 viewers per show, only about one-fourth of the station’s subscribers live in the 77th District.

Describing the issue-oriented program as “a throwback to the days of Lincoln and Douglas,” Smelko argues that the 30-minute shows, which cost about $8,000 for the three-month schedule, provide an alternative to “say-nothing 30-second TV commercials and political junk mail.”

“It gives voters a chance to base their decisions on more than slogans,” said Smelko, who has discussed topics such as public transportation, insurance, education, redevelopment and disaster preparedness on the program with various local public officials.

Stirling, who lives in Tierrasanta with his wife and two children, also has given voters plenty “to base their decisions on” during his three terms in the Assembly. An inveterate crusader, Stirling has waged battles ranging from attempts to improve conditions at county-run hospitals and suing the federal government over a land dispute to programs to artificially breed sea bass and create an East County Superior Court.

While many of those initiatives have succeeded, they also have earned the lawmaker a reputation as a headline-grabber--a charge that clearly rankles him.

“Most of what I do doesn’t get (press) coverage,” said Stirling, a former Police Department analyst respected for his straightforward style and mastery of issues as diverse as ocean fish hatcheries and the state’s retirement system. “I’ve worked hard on issues that never get covered.”

Critical of much that he sees in government, Stirling identifies himself as a conservative, but he differs from those conservatives who believe that solutions to most problems can only be found outside government.

“I’m committed to finding ways to use government as a tool . . . to make more of everything for everybody,” Stirling said. “The answer isn’t the liberal approach of just giving more to everybody, and it isn’t the conservative approach of cutting and shutting down government services. I try to use an enlightened approach that takes something from both of those concepts. Others can fight over how to divide the pie. I just want to try to make that pie bigger.”

While hardly worried about Smelko’s challenge, Stirling is waging an aggressive campaign and frequently sounds the typical cautionary notes about never underestimating any opponent.

“I campaigned even when I had no opponent, so I’m taking nothing for granted,” Stirling said. “Looking past an election is a good way to retire before you plan to. I’m not going to make that mistake.”