Deukmejian Plays to a Senior Citizen Crowd

Attempting to consolidate support among loyalists in the final week before Election Day, Gov. George Deukmejian brought his campaign Wednesday to Leisure World in Laguna Hills where he was greeted by an enthusiastic crowd of 1,000 senior citizens.

In the first of three scheduled appearances this week at huge Leisure World retirement communities, Deukmejian courted elderly voters who, according to public opinion polls, already favor the governor over his challenger, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, by a substantial margin.

After delivering an upbeat speech emphasizing his support for senior citizen programs, Deukmejian charged at a press conference that Bradley does not “really care” about being governor.

The Republican governor also told reporters that his name was used without permission on a GOP slate mailer attacking five appellate court judges who face election in Southern California. Deukmejian said he had no position on whether the five judges should be retained.

Part of Strategy

Deukmejian’s visits to Leisure Worlds in Laguna Hills, Seal Beach and Walnut Creek are part of his strategy of spending the final days of the campaign motivating his strongest supporters to vote.

“These folks are very interested in the quality of government, and they also carry out their civic responsibility,” Deukmejian told reporters. “They go out and vote, and they often help decide what the future is going to be for the state.”

Deukmejian’s support among voters over age 65 is even greater than his backing from the voters in general, according to a Los Angeles Times Poll conducted Oct. 11-16. Among elderly citizens who are likely to vote, Deukmejian held a lead of 13 percentage points, compared to a 10-point lead among voters at large, the poll indicated.

Increased Spending

In his speech, Deukmejian said the state had increased spending on seniors by more than 35% and that the state will spend a total of $4.5 billion this year on programs for the elderly.

“I promise to work for a society which pays its parents and its grandparents the respect that they are due and allows them to participate in life with peace of mind and personal dignity,” he said.

Campaign adviser Ken Khachigian said the visit to Leisure World was “part of undergirding the base and coming back to upbeat, positive audiences.”

“They’re always so grateful for the candidate coming,” he said.

That was evident at the Laguna Hills Leisure World, a community of 23,000 people. The senior citizens packed the auditorium and turned Deukmejian’s appearance into a partisan rally, giving him standing ovations both before and after he spoke.

Danced Briefly

With a band of seniors providing a warm-up act, one couple danced briefly in the aisle--the woman waving her cane in the air as she twirled around. After the governor’s speech, hundreds of balloons descended from the ceiling and the seniors batted them around like youngsters.

Deukmejian, responding to Bradley’s complaints that he will not debate the mayor, accused Bradley of trivializing the campaign by bringing up such issues as Deukmejian’s refurbishing of the governor’s office bathroom, the fact that the governor has no passport and the propriety of using public high school cheerleaders to participate in campaign rallies.

And, questioning Bradley’s knowledge of the state budget and issues confronting the state, Deukmejian told reporters, “I don’t think he really cares that much about being governor of this state.”

Slate Mailer

Deukmejian said he was not familiar with the slate mailer that used his name and targeted the five appellate court judges. The governor, who supported the five when they were appointed four years ago by then-Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr., said he was not sure which judges had been targeted.

“This was done without our consent or prior approval,” he said.