Keep Killea; Replace Chacon in State Assembly With Ard

Seven races for the Assembly and two for the state Senate appear on the Nov. 4 ballot, though few of them contain much suspense.

Two races that are being seriously contested are the 78th Assembly District, where Republican Earl Cantos Jr. is waging a well-financed campaign against incumbent Democrat Lucy Killea, and the 79th District, where the Rev. Robert Ard, a Republican, is challenging Assemblyman Pete Chacon, a Democrat.

In the 78th District, which runs from East San Diego to Ocean Beach and Pacific Beach, we think the voters should stick with Killea. A former San Diego city councilwoman, Killea has not been flashy in her first two terms in the Assembly, but she has proven a hard-working and competent legislator. Last year, 14 of the 31 bills she introduced became law. Probably her most important accomplishment so far has been expanding throughout the state the workfare program pioneered in San Diego County. She also has carried legislation aimed at improving California’s role in international trade.

Her opponent, Cantos, son of a retired Municipal Court judge and a prominent real estate saleswoman, is an attorney and former legislative aide in Sacramento. He is glib, but his discussion of issues seems more calculated than deeply felt.

Although Democrats have represented the 78th District for the past 14 years, Republicans look at its evenly divided voter registration breakdown and feel they should be able to capture it. GOP strategists have made the race one of their top priorities among the state’s Assembly contests. Both candidates expect to spend about $300,000.

The Republicans in Sacramento have not been as generous in their support of Ard as of Cantos, no doubt because the voter registration in this district favors the Democrats overwhelmingly. The longtime leader in the black community nonetheless has waged an aggressive campaign against Democrat Chacon, and we recommend his election.

After 16 years in the Assembly, Chacon seems to have run out of steam. He is hard-pressed to point to significant accomplishments during his recent terms.

Ard has more of a locally oriented perspective than most people who run for the Legislature, but we believe his outlook would inevitably broaden if he were elected. Already, he has established an impressive record of community activism in San Diego, especially in Southeast San Diego. In addition to being senior pastor at Christ Church, he has been active with the NAACP, the county Human Relations Commission and the advisory commission for the San Diego Police Department, among other groups.

Despite his activism, including occasional outspokenness over issues of police conduct, Ard’s philosophy places him in the Republican mainstream. He talks about ending the cycle of welfare dependency and says he believes government should concentrate on doing what people can’t do for themselves. We believe Ard would bring new vitality to the representation of the 79th District, which runs from Lindbergh Field to Spring Valley, Lemon Grove and south to Bonita.

In the other legislative races around the county, incumbents appear headed for easy reelection. We recommend votes for Assemblyman Bob Frazee in the 74th District, Assemblywoman Sunny Mojonnier in the 75th, Assemblyman Bill Bradley in the 76th, Assemblyman Larry Stirling in the 77th and Assemblyman Steve Peace in the 80th. We also recommend the reelection of Sen. Bill Craven in the 38th District and Sen. Wadie Deddeh in the 40th.