Statehouse Incumbents Gliding Past Opponents’ Poorhouse Campaigns

Backed by sizable campaign contributions, incumbents in eight area Assembly and two state Senate races go into Tuesday’s general election with tail winds at their backs.

Fighting the incumbents, challengers have generally failed to raise either much money or interest for their campaigns. In fact, in many of the races, the challengers have not been able to raise even a hundredth of the amount the incumbents have raised.

For instance, Assemblywoman Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) has raised about $315,000, while her Republican opponent raised just $3,632.

“It is tough,” said Norwalk Mayor Bob White, who is challenging Assemblyman Wayne Grisham (R-Norwalk).

Although White has been the most successful challenger in fund raising--collecting more money for his campaign than all the other legislative challengers in the area combined--he has raised only about one-third of the amount raised by Grisham.

Here is a look at the legislative campaigns:

47th Assembly District

Incumbent Teresa P. Hughes (D-Los Angeles) has represented this heavily black and Latino area since 1975. Her Republican opponent is attorney Victor L. Brown.

The district, which includes parts of central Los Angeles, Huntington Park, Bell and Cudahy, has more than 70,000 registered Democrats and less than 10,000 Republicans.

Brown has raised less than $500, while Hughes has raised more than $104,000, according to campaign finance reports.

In spite of the odds, Brown, 40, said, “I’m very optimistic. It is a long struggle.”

Brown said that if elected, he would work to bring in more business. He said he would do that by setting up federal enterprise zones, which would give tax incentives to businesses remaining in or relocating to the area.

The Republican challenger said he would also help reduce crime. Brown said he believes much crime is drug-related, so he would encourage drug intervention programs to be operated by area block clubs and churches.

“I realize the danger of mingling church and state, but I think there should be an intervention program through the churches and funded by the state to aid and educate people on drugs,” Brown said.

Hughes did not return repeated calls to her office by The Times.

48th Assembly District

Assemblywoman Waters appears confident that she will again be easily reelected.

“I’m doing what I always do. I campaign all year long throughout my district, working for what is needed,” said Waters, who is known as an outspoken and combative legislator who champions liberal, minority and women’s causes.

Waters, 48, said she is particularly proud of a job development and training program for housing projects in her district. Project Build, she said, provides job-training skills to tenants and also helps them find jobs. The program, which is state funded, received $250,000 last year and is due to receive about $350,000 this year, she said.

By mid-October, Waters reported that she had raised more than $300,000. Republican challenger Ezola Foster raised $3,632. Waters has spent less than $15,000 toward her reelection but contributed more than $250,000 to the campaign of her son, Edward K. Waters, a Democrat, who is running against Republican Paul E. Zeltner in the hotly contested 54th Assembly District race. The assemblywoman said she has always made contributions to Democratic candidates, especially women Democrats.

Foster, 48, is an English and business teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District. She said Waters has not done enough in education, crime and employment. For instance, she said, too many young people are unemployed, while Waters “has failed to speak out about the devastating impact of illegal aliens undercutting our youth from entry-level positions in industry.”

Waters, Foster charged, has “financed her own political agenda” at the expense of the district.

Libertarian Jose Castaneda, 27, is also a candidate. “I’m running to get the Libertarian issues across to the voters,” Castaneda said. Castaneda said he advocates an educational tax credit of $2,000 for parents to send their children to the school of their choice.

The 48th District includes portions of South Los Angeles, South Gate, Watts, Walnut Park and Lynwood.

52nd Assembly District

Assemblyman Frank Hill (R-Whittier), 32, has captured his seat handily since he was first elected in 1982, winning by more than 30,000 votes each time.

Hill had raised more than $280,000 according to the most recent filing deadline for campaign disclosure statements. Democrat Judith Prather reported raising a little more than $7,000.

But Prather, 42, a psychologist and lecturer at Whittier College, said she is not dismayed by being outspent. “That’s the way it is with incumbents and challengers,” she said.

Prather said she is running because she believes she would be a more responsive legislator. Prather said major issues in the district are toxic waste and education.

She said Hill wrote the enabling legislation two years ago that provided money for toxic-waste cleanup but “it was poorly written and the money is just sitting there in the bank not being used.”

Hill countered by saying that voters passed a bond measure two years ago providing $100 million for toxic-waste cleanup and that the money is being used.

Prather said if elected she will ask that a blue-ribbon task force be formed to come up answers on “how we can technically dispose of toxic waste, rather than continue to play political games” with the issue.

Hill said he is especially proud of his efforts in the statewide drive to have English declared the official language of California. “We believe in the concept of the melting pot and the common thread holding us together in California is the English language,” Hill said.

The 52nd District stretches northeast from La Mirada along the Orange County border to Walnut and Diamond Bar. There are 71,498 Republican voters and 65,929 Democratic voters.

56th Assembly District

Incumbent Gloria Molina (D-Los Angeles) is seeking her third two-year term in the heavily Latino district.

Molina, the Legislature’s only Latino woman legislator, has led a fight to prevent construction of a prison proposed by the state Department of Corrections for East Los Angeles, which makes up a large portion of her district.

“The prison issue is the biggest issue in the district. The community is adamant against it. We’re already overpopulated with people, schools and jail facilities,” Molina said. She said she has proposed placing the prison in a rural area near the Peter Pitchess Honor Ranch in the Saugus-Newhall area.

Molina said she supports Proposition 54, which calls for a bond issue to build new prisons.

Molina, 38, has only scant opposition from Republican Kelley J. Clark, who lists her occupation as businesswoman. Clark, who could not be reached for comment about her campaign, has reported spending less than $500 on her campaign. In contrast, Molina reports spending more than $100,000.

A former aide to state Senator Art Torres, Molina won 78% of the vote in the 1984 general election.

The assemblywoman said she opposes the English-only initiative “because it separates us” instead of bringing people together. Molina said she also opposes Proposition 64, which would classify AIDS as a communicable disease. She supports Proposition 65, which would level more stringent penalties against businesses discharging toxic waste.

The 56th District includes Maywood, Bell Gardens, East Los Angeles, downtown Los Angeles and Vernon.

57th Assembly District

Veteran Assemblyman Dave Elder (D-Long Beach) said he expects to have nearly $200,000 in his campaign chest before the contest ends, contrasted with only $2,000 for his Republican opponent.

Elder, 44, who is seeking his fifth two-year term, said he is running “a vigorous campaign, no matter, by sending out at least two mailers” and making appearances in his district.

In the heavily Democratic district, which includes Harbor City, Wilmington and the western half of Long Beach, Elder faces Republican Clair E. Barnes, 68, a retired engineer.

Elder said he has focused on his accomplishments, especially his attempts to create more affordable housing opportunities for senior citizens. Elder said he authored an Assembly amendment appearing on the November ballot as Proposition 60, which allows senior citizens to transfer their lower property taxes to new, smaller homes.

“We have an estimated 775,000 households in the state where seniors can’t afford to move because they can’t afford to pay higher taxes. Proposition 60 will allow the seniors to move and free their homes for younger families,” Elder said.

Barnes, like most challengers, said he remains optimistic. “I’m not conceding anything,” he said.

The Republican said a major plank in his campaign platform is the need to return control of the schools to school board members and parents.

Barnes, who is running for office for the first time, worked as a manufacturing engineer for Douglas Aircraft Co. for 29 years.

Peace and Freedom Party candidate Max Gundersheimer, 75, a retired printer, is also running. Gundersheimer, who has run unsuccessfully for the seat three other times, said is he campaigning for world peace, rent control, jobs for everyone and free medical and health services. Gundersheimer has not reported raising more than $500.

58th Assembly District

Incumbent Dennis L. Brown, 36, (R-Signal Hill) has been one of the most conservative members of the Legislature since he was elected in 1978. In recent years, he has been a key member of the inner circle of Assembly Republican leader Pat Nolan of Glendale.

A member of the budget-writing Ways and Means Committee, Brown is legendary in Sacramento for voting against spending measures. In the recent two-year session of the Legislature, Brown voted against 30% of the measures considered--more than any of the 79 other Assembly members. He also voted “no” in committee 28% of the time. Only one other Assembly member, Richard L. Mountjoy (R-Monrovia), voted “no” in committee more often. Brown said his voting record is simple--less government is better.

Brown, who has rasied $225,000, drew statewide attention last year when his bills became the target of a two-day boycott by legislators irritated by Brown’s consistent negative votes on spending bills. That reputation earned him the nickname of “Dr. No” a few year ago when he voted against a program to stamp out bubonic plague in rats, a program partially targeted to help his own district.

Democrat Peggy Staggs, 54, a community college instructor, said she is running against Brown partially because she is concerned about what she sees as a decline in the quality of education.

“The vast majority of my students are woefully ill-prepared to deal with college-level communication, especially in reading and writing,” Staggs said.

Staggs, of Huntington Beach, received about $3,800 in contributions, according to the latest financial report she filed with the county.

The Peace and Freedom candidate is Paul Haak of Long Beach, who describes his occupation as peace activist, based on years of work on the issues of nuclear weapons technology and American involvement in Central America.

Haak has filed a campaign statement saying he will not raise more than $500.

The district includes parts of Long Beach and Huntington Beach and all of Seal Beach, Signal Hill and Santa Catalina Island. Republican registration is 54% to 36% Democratic.

59th Assembly District

Incumbent Charles M. Calderon (D-Alhambra) said he is campaigning even though his Republican opponent, Ronald Martinez, has mounted no visible effort.

Martinez, who lists himself on the ballot as a photographer living in South El Monte, could not be reached for comment.

Calderon, a 36-year-old attorney, is completing his second term. His major accomplishment this year, he said, was winning passage of a bill to open California to interstate banking by 1991. Calderon said California banks have long been “pampered” with laws that protect them from competition, but that the new interstate banking bill will force them to compete and should result in lower interest rates on consumer loans and higher returns on deposits.

Calderon had raised more than $200,000; Martinez reported raising less than $500, according to the latest campaign financial statements.

The district includes Alhambra, Monterey Park, South El Monte, Pico Rivera, Montebello and parts of South San Gabriel, Whittier, El Monte and the City of Industry. Democrats outnumber Republicans 64% to 27%.

63rd Assembly District

Republican Wayne Grisham of Norwalk is being challenged by Democrat Bob White in a campaign that has been more serene than the one two years ago in which Grisham won the seat being vacated by Assemblyman Bruce Young, a Democrat.

“Things are pretty quiet. . . . but I’m not taking anything for granted,” said Grisham, 63. The Grisham camp had raised $190,000, according to the latest campaign financial statements; White had raised $67,000.

“I’m just hanging in there. It is tough. It takes more money. I was hoping for some money from the Democratic leadership,” said White, 67, who has been a Norwalk councilman for 18 years. He currently serves as mayor.

Grisham said his campaign took a poll early in the contest that showed Grisham was more popular with voters than White, even in Norwalk.

“It was nothing adverse to him (White) but they said they perfer me over him,” Grisham said.

“That’s ridiculous to say he is more popular in Norwalk than me. Anybody can take a poll,” White said.

While the Grisham camp said there seem to no compelling issues in the campaign, Grisham said he is taking a strong stand against the retention of California Supreme Court Chief Justice Rose E. Bird. Grisham said he also favors Proposition 63, the English-only initiative.

Grisham said he is particularly proud of a bill he authored this year known as “the grandparents’ ” bill. The bill allows grandparents and other relatives to get first preference in adopting abused children before they are committed to foster care facilities, Grisham said.

He also said it was through his efforts that more than $500,000 was appropriated for sound walls along the Artesia Freeway in Artesia.

White said he is running against Grisham because “it is a Democratic area and should belong to a Democrat.”

White, who describes himself as a conservative Democrat, finds himself in agreement with Grisham on several statewide issues.

“I’m against Rose Bird. Damn right. I know some of the Democrats won’t agree with me. But I think she favors the liberal point of view,” White said.

White said he also favors the English-only initiative “because our regular language should be English. It is my gut feeling that most people agree with me. I know I’ll lose some (votes) on this but I’ll also gain some.”

White retired from the Los Angeles Unified School District after more than 30 years as a basketball and baseball coach and physical education teacher.

The district covers Downey, Santa Fe Springs, Norwalk, Artesia and Cerritos. Democrats outnumber Republicans almost 2 to 1, or 59% to 33%.

24th Senate District

State Sen. Art Torres (D-Los Angeles), who is running for his second four-year term, seems to have a solid hold in his heavily Democratic district.

The district includes South Pasadena, East Los Angeles, Eagle Rock, Vernon, Maywood, Commerce and Bell Gardens.

The latest campaign financial statements show that Torres has amassed about $215,000 and spent more than $190,000.

His two opponents, Republican Lee D. Prentiss, a Los Angeles Police Department detective from South Pasadena, and Libertarian Laura G. Brown, an English tutor from Los Angeles, have each spent less than $500 campaigning.

Despite running in a district with nearly 68% of the voters registered as Democrats, Torres said that he is not taking his seat for granted. Torres, 40, was uncontested in the primary. The senator said he wants to be reelected so that he can work on streamlining the criminal justice system, overseeing toxic-waste disposal and working to implement Proposition 65, the anti-toxics initiative, if it passes.

Prentiss, who also serves as mayor of South Pasadena, conceded that Torres may be unbeatable but said he is running to protest a district alignment that is basically “unfair. I object to the philosophy of lopsided gerrymandering,” Prentiss said.

Prentiss, 41, said he is also running to “represent what a great governor we have in George Deukmejian” and to protest Chief Justice Bird, who he said “has made the California judicial system the laughingstock of the United States.”

Brown, Torres’ other opponent, said she admires some of the senator’s accomplishments, but objects to “the type of big government” she said the Democrats support.

As a Libertarian, Brown, 24, describes herself as pro-civil liberties, pro-free-market economics and anti-interventionist.

30th Senate District

At 76, state Sen. Ralph C. Dills (D-Gardena) is a year older than President Reagan. But as the spry dean of the California Senate said recently, “The President can’t run for four more years, but I can.”

Dills is seeking his sixth term. His Republican challenger, Anthony Jay Gray, 25, of Long Beach, was only 5 years old when Dills first settled into his Senate seat in 1966.

Lee H. Chauser, 40, a high school English teacher who lives in Long Beach, is running on the Peace and Freedom ticket.

Dills, who chairs the Governmental Organization Committee and sits on the Appropriations and Education committees, has raised more than $250,000 for his campaign, much of that from political action committees.

Both Gray and Chauser charge that Dills is more concerned with keeping campaign contributors happy than with looking after the needs of his constituents.

“He receives a lot of money from alcohol-related and gambling-related businesses,” Gray said. “You look at the bills he has authored and they are all for special interests.”

Gray added that he expects to spend only about $3,500 on his campaign.

Chauser said Dills favors special interests “while throwing crumbs to the district.” He said he expects to spend less than $500 on his campaign.

Dills denies that he ignores his district’s needs and defends his contributions as part of the political game.

“I don’t make up the rules,” he said. “I take the money, but I am not bought by any professional group. I look at the issues and if it’s not in the best interest of the district, then I don’t vote for it.”

Gray, a newcomer to politics who works as an irrigation contractor, has tried to make an issue out of the retention of state Chief Justice Bird. “Crime is a big issue in the district, and, of course, the tip of the problem is Rose Bird,” Gray said.

Chauser said he supports Bird. Dills has declined to state his position, contending that the chief justice’s battle for reconfirmation has nothing to do with his job in the Legislature.

In a recent interview, however, Dills said he favors an independent judiciary free of political influences.

“You might want to assume where I stand from that,” Dills said.

Both Dills and Chauser oppose the initiative that would make English the state’s official language, but Gray supports it.

Gray supports Proposition 61, which would limit the salaries of public employees, while both Dills and Chauser oppose it.

Neither Dills nor Gray has taken a stand on Proposition 65, the toxic-waste initiative, but Chauser supports it.

Democrats outnumber Republicans by about 3 to 1 in the district, which covers Gardena, Carson, the Harbor Gateway, Wilmington, San Pedro, northwest Long Beach, Paramount, Lynwood, Willowbrook and the southwest corner of Compton.