California Elections : Political Ad Is Labeled Racist in Bakersfield-Area Assembly Contest

A television commercial featuring black and white puppets that critics contend has racial overtones is stirring up emotions in a tight contest for a vacant Assembly seat.

Trice Harvey, the Republican candidate in the 33rd Assembly District, which covers western parts of Kern and Tulare counties and includes part of the city of Bakersfield, is running the commercial. It depicts a puppet representing Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco), who is black, giving $254,000 in campaign donations to a puppet representing Harvey’s Democratic opponent, Tom Fallgatter, who is white.

In the spot, twin beds holding the two puppets move closer and closer together as the Brown puppet first tosses $50,000, $100,000 and $150,000 to the Fallgatter puppet, and the announcer rhetorically asks viewers, “How much money does it take to become political bedfellows?”

The Assembly leader puppet finally jerks a cord to let the $254,000 float down from the ceiling. Then, a bedroom window shade with a “Harvey for Assembly” message printed across it is pulled closed. “Thank goodness we have a choice,” the announcer says.

Numerous Complaints

Fallgatter, an attorney whose campaign finance records confirm the contributions from the Assembly leader, said his headquarters has received numerous complaints from television viewers who charge that the commercial “smacks of racism” and is “in poor taste.”

Fallgatter added, however, that he will not attempt to force his opponent to stop using the ad. “It is so horrible and bad that it’s going to backfire,” he said.

Asked about the racism charge, Harvey, a Kern County supervisor, called it “ridiculous and absolutely screwy.”

“You can’t put that commercial together and not make Tom Fallgatter as a white man and Willie Brown a black man,” he said. “There’s no other way to do it. Nobody is opposed to Willie Brown because he’s black. People are opposed to him because of his politics. And Willie Brown is trying to buy this seat.”

There is a measure of irony in Harvey’s criticism of the support that Fallgatter is receiving from Brown. If Harvey had received similar unconditional backing earlier in the campaign from Republican leaders, the GOP would be in less danger of losing the seat that is being vacated by Assemblyman Don Rogers (R-Bakersfield), who is running for the state Senate. The Democrats hold a 47-33 majority in the Assembly.

‘Good Old Boy’

Harvey, who describes himself as a “good old boy politician,” was the original choice of Minority Leader Pat Nolan (R-Glendale). But a few weeks before the primary, Nolan switched and gave his blessing to Anna K. Allen, a community activist. More than than $100,000 was poured into her campaign.

Nolan said he became convinced that Harvey could not win in the fall, and he cited a survey showing that voters were unhappy with Harvey’s past support of a toxic waste dump site near the Kern County town of Buttonwillow and his opposition to returning nearly $100 million in surplus county revenue to taxpayers.

Nolan’s support enabled Allen to send out a last-minute barrage of campaign mailers attacking Harvey. Harvey managed to win the primary by 285 votes, but many people in both parties believe he was wounded in the process.

The Assembly GOP leader’s involvement in the 33rd District primary and four others is now privately termed a “mistake” by Assembly GOP sources. Nolan’s allies channeled more than $750,000 in campaign contributions to the five races, but only two of Nolan’s choices won.

Paid $52,000 in Debts

In an effort to make amends, Nolan later paid off $52,000 in Harvey’s primary campaign debts, and the GOP nominee also reportedly is in line for more money from Republican leaders as the Nov. 4 election draws nearer.

“We underestimated Trice and we were wrong,” said one GOP source. “That’s a closed book. Now we’ll do everything we can to get him elected.”

But Harvey has a long memory. Asked if he had forgiven Nolan, the 10-year county supervisor said: “I’m not as upset as I was. But no, I haven’t forgiven him.”

When asked what role he might play if Nolan’s leadership is challenged when the 1987 Legislature convenes--a strong possibility if the GOP loses seats in lower house on Election Day--Harvey said: “I plan to get elected first. . . . I would be open-minded and fair.”

Fallgatter, meanwhile, says he does not think he owes Brown anything, despite receiving more than 50% of his total campaign financing from the Assembly Speaker.

“As far as I am concerned, I don’t have any political debts to anybody,” he said, “and nobody has asked me for a single thing. The way the system is set up now, I think it’s safe to say virtually every candidate of either party who is a non-incumbent is relying on the state party to help provide financing.”

Change of Positions

Fallgatter attacks his GOP opponent for changing his position on various local issues by saying: “I’ll always tell you the truth. Sometimes you’ll like it and sometimes you won’t. But you’ll always know I mean what I say.”

One recent Fallgatter mailer points out that Harvey cast the swing vote to give a $50-million county welfare building project to a friend and campaign contributor who wasn’t originally ranked among the top bidders.

“Most of the people in this town are friends of mine,” Harvey replied. “It can’t be helped. You can’t live in this county 40 years and not know all of the key people.”

Out on the campaign trail, Democrat Fallgatter stresses that he has been active in fighting plans to dump Southern California toxic wastes in Kern County and in protecting public access to the Kern River.

Voter registration in the district is about 52% Democratic and 40% Republican, but Democrats in this part of the Central Valley are conservative and often elect Republicans. The GOP registration is up about 3 percentage points from two years ago, and the Democratic ranks are down about 2 points.