A Vote for Van de Kamp

Attorney General John K. Van de Kamp is an experienced, energetic and imaginative public servant whose record as California’s top law officer clearly entitles him to reelection. We endorse his candidacy with enthusiasm.

During his first term, Van de Kamp, a Democrat, approached the many mandates of his roles as chief law enforcement officer and the state’s top lawyer with vigor and creative common sense. His commission on prevention of alcohol and drug abuse provided a sound base on which to rest his case for stronger drug laws. A major achievement of his first term was the creation of a computerized file of fingerprints that can be used by police and sheriff’s departments anywhere in the state to perform checks of records in minutes that used to take 24 hours or more.

The findings of his alcohol and drug commission with respect to students led to a joint program with the state department of public instruction that addresses not only drug and alcohol problems, but also truancy and crime in the schools.

He has stepped up consumer protection and revitalized the section of his office that concentrates on environmental protection, a project that, among other things, has been largely responsible for keeping as much of the area around Lake Tahoe as possible from being turned into an urban jungle.

A rather persuasive endorsement of Van de Kamp’s record has come indirectly from the Republican party, which could not persuade a candidate of statewide stature to take him on. His Republican opponent is Bruce Gleason, a San Fernando Valley attorney, whose experience would not seem to put him in Van de Kamp’s class and who has run a minimal campaign against the attorney general.

One appealing aspect of Van de Kamp’s service is that he has resisted a temptation that so often comes with his office to try to create an image as the state’s toughest cop. He has seen his duty, as the saying goes, and he has done it. The state needs more public servants like him. But voters at least have an opportunity to keep the one they have by sending him back for a second term on Nov. 4.