Special Election Will Be Set for S.F.’s 5th District

A special election in California’s 5th Congressional District, which encompasses most of the city of San Francisco, will be scheduled for early June. The seat became vacant Sunday with the death of Democratic Rep. Sala Burton.

The precise date of the election will not be known until Gov. George Deukmejian officially “proclaims” the need for one. He has 14 days to do that. Then, by law, the election will be scheduled on a Tuesday no less than 112 days after the governor’s announcement and no more than 119 days, according to Melissa Warren, spokeswoman for the secretary of state’s office.

That puts the election in early June. But the first battle in what promises to be a spirited race to succeed Burton will take place in April. Before there is a special election, Warren explained, there must be a primary eight weeks earlier.

Under the rules, all of the candidates for the seat--no matter what their party--will be on one primary ballot. If one candidate gets a majority of the vote in the primary, the June election will not be needed. If no one gets a majority, then the top vote-getter in each party will be on the June ballot.

Democratic activist Nancy Pelosi, a close friend of Burton’s, is expected to announce her candidacy for the 5th District seat and will go into the race with a proven fund-raising ability, and with endorsements from such Democratic powers as Lt. Gov. Leo McCarthy and Assembly Speaker Willie Brown, both old friends.

Gay Supervisor Harry Britt is expected to be one of Pelosi’s opponents, and his strength will be the large bloc of gay voters in the district. That bloc could be especially significant if the district vote is split among a number of candidates and turnout is low, as it usually is in a special election. A Britt adviser said the supervisor will make leadership on the AIDS crisis a top priority in seeking the congressional seat.

Sala Burton, 61, died Sunday evening from complications caused by colon cancer. She won the seat in a special election in 1983 after the death of her husband, Phillip, who had represented the liberal, heavily Democratic district for 19 years.

Deukmejian spokesman Kevin Brett said Monday that the governor has not indicated when he will proclaim a special election in the 5th District but added: “Obviously it will be within the next 14 days.”