Cerritos Mayor Drops Out of Senate Race

Under pressure from Gov. George Deukmejian, Cerritos Mayor Don Knabe on Tuesday announced that he will bow out of a special election to pick a successor to Sen. Paul B. Carpenter (D-Norwalk).

In a rare action for him, Deukmejian earlier this month met with Knabe and Assemblyman Wayne Grisham (R-Norwalk), who is also a candidate for the Senate seat, and appealed to one or the other--in the interest of party unity--to drop out of the March 17 special primary election.

The election comes about as a result of Carpenter leaving the Senate after winning a seat on the State Board of Equalization.

‘Support the Governor’s Efforts’

In a prepared statement Tuesday, Knabe said: “I will support the governor’s efforts to avoid a costly and divisive primary” and withdraw from the race.

But Knabe, 43, chief deputy to Los Angeles County Supervisor Deane Dana, declined to endorse Grisham. Instead, he took a swipe at his recent rival: “Grisham has made it clear that regardless of the consequences he will not withdraw from the race.”

Grisham, 63, a two-term assemblyman, praised Knabe’s decision. Said Grisham: “It just isn’t any fun running against a fellow Republican who I like and admire like Don Knabe. We hope that with Don’s support we would have an excellent chance of winning in March.”

With Knabe’s departure from the contest, the Senate Republican Caucus endorsed Grisham. However, Grisham will still face at least one other Republican--former Hawaiian Gardens Mayor Margaret Vineyard, who came close to beating Carpenter in 1984.

Should Grisham win the election, Knabe is regarded as a potential candidate for Grisham’s 63rd Assembly District seat, although he has yet to declare he is a candidate. Even so, the Assembly Republican Caucus’s elections committee on Tuesday endorsed Knabe for the Assembly seat should it become vacant, according to the committee chairman, Assemblyman John Lewis (R-Orange).

Democratic Side

On the Democratic side of the Senate contest, Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles) has endorsed Norwalk City Councilman Cecil N. Green. Other Democrats in the race include former Cypress Mayor Otto Lacayo and retired Downey Municipal Judge Leon Emerson.

If no candidate wins in March by more than 50% of the vote, the top vote-getters in each party go into a runoff election in May.

Registration in the district is 53.8% Democratic to 38% Republican. But the district is regarded as a political tossup because GOP voters traditionally are more loyal to their candidates and go to the polls in heavier numbers than do Democrats.