Ed Davis Strives to Make It Clear He Will Run Again

State Sen. Ed Davis has vowed to seek reelection in 1988. He has obtained endorsements from the state’s two top Republicans. And he has started raising money for the campaign.

But rumors persist that the 70-year-old Valencia lawmaker plans to retire when his second term ends. Moreover, Davis says, Assemblywoman Cathie Wright of Simi Valley, who is considering a challenge to him in the Republican primary, has been sounding out some of the senator’s longtime supporters about backing her.

So, in a bid to convince prospective contributors and perhaps quash Wright’s would-be insurgency, Davis has called a May 15 news conference to declare his candidacy for reelection--fully nine months before candidates must inform the state that they intend to run. Campaign veterans, such as Los Angeles-based political consultant Allan Hoffenblum, call the early timing “highly unusual.”

Davis conceded that Wright pushed him into making such an early announcement.

“She, in effect, kicked off the campaign,” Davis said. “It became necessary to say to my friends and supporters that I’m running for reelection.”

Move Aimed at Skeptics

Davis’ administrative assistant Hunt Braly acknowledged that skepticism triggered the early announcement: “It is just to make clear, if there are doubting Thomases out there, that the senator is seeking reelection. There’s no other way to do it, legally, at this point.”

Davis’ announcement comes at a time when his campaign is struggling with debt from his unsuccessful bid last year for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate. The financial problems are so great that his campaign treasurer has sought the Federal Election Commission’s permission to ask creditors to forgive much of the debt.

The former Los Angeles police chief will run on an eight-year record that includes sponsorship of law-and-order and education measures, said campaign manager Martha Zilm. Gov. George Deukmejian and Sen. Pete Wilson, California’s most prominent GOP officeholders, have issued glowing endorsement letters.

Underlying Davis’ establishment support, Senate Republican Leader Jim Nielsen of Chico and Davis’ honorary campaign chairman; Assemblywoman Marian LaFollette of Northridge, and Assemblyman Tom McClintock of Thousand Oaks are scheduled to join him for his announcement in Woodland Hills.

Wright Unconvinced

Yet, despite all the campaign trappings, Wright said Wednesday she remains unconvinced of Davis’ intentions.

“It’s a long time between this May and next March,” said Wright.

“It doesn’t change my feelings on the issue. . . . I’m in the position of just looking at it.”

Wright, 57, has suggested that Davis’ avowed candidacy is a pretext to help raise funds to pay off the remaining $75,000 debt from his unsuccessful 1986 campaign. She has also said she believes he wants to pave the way for LaFollette to declare her candidacy at the 11th hour as his successor--without organized GOP opposition.

Davis called Wright’s scenario “a figment of her imagination.”

He and his aides note that federal election law limits individual contributions to $1,000, caps political action committee contributions at $5,000 and prohibits corporate contributions. No limits are placed on money for state legislative campaigns, which means that much of the money raised for the legislative race could not be used to pay the federal debt.

Direct Mail Appeals

Fund raising to eliminate the debt has been done through direct mail that specifically states how the money will be used, Davis said.

The former boxer, meanwhile, got off a few jabs of his own, calling Wright “vain and extremely ambitious.” He said her candidacy will only squander GOP resources in an unnecessary intra-party fight. “Little Miss Wright is wrong,” he concluded.

The 19th Senate District that Davis represents is so heavily Republican that the GOP nominee is likely to face only token opposition in the fall general election. The sprawling district extends across the West San Fernando Valley, western Antelope Valley, the northern and non-coastal sections of Ventura County and most of Santa Barbara County.

Davis said his fund raising for the 1988 race is going well; he netted $50,000 at three events in the last two months. His campaign has set a goal of $300,000 this year, including $100,000 at a $250-a-head dinner in November. Others, however, said Davis historically has struggled to raise money--and the rumors he is retiring cannot help.

“That’s always been a weakness of Ed’s,” said consultant Hoffenblum. “If people hear he’s not running, he’s going to have trouble raising money.”

If Wright decides to oppose Davis, it would set up one of the state’s costliest, liveliest, and possibly bitterest 1988 primary battles, political activists say. This is particularly so because Wright has said her candidacy hinges on whether Davis heals the wounds among San Fernando Valley Republicans from his dispute with former Rep. Bobbi Fiedler of Northridge when both were candidates in last June’s highly charged Senate primary campaign.

Fiedler Indicted

A complaint from Davis led to the indictment of Fiedler and her campaign manager, Paul Clarke, on charges that they tried to buy Davis out of the race by promising to help him raise money to pay off his campaign debt, at that time about $100,000. The indictments were dismissed by a judge as groundless, but the incident shadowed Fiedler’s campaign.

Fiedler finished with 7.2% of the statewide vote and Davis 6.6% in a 13-candidate field.

Political strategists close to Fiedler continue to express intense animosity toward Davis. Fiedler and Clarke, now her husband, have said they will work for Wright if she runs. Fiedler, now a twice-weekly commentator on KABC-TV, remains a highly visible public figure, and Clarke has been running political campaigns in the Valley.

GOP Support for Davis

On the other side, Republican Senate Leader Nielson said this week that the GOP Senate Caucus would channel campaign funds and volunteers to Davis’ campaign if he faces a primary challenge. Nielson said it is too early to estimate the amount of aid. He called Davis “very, very popular and very, very effective.”

Hoffenblum, who has run legislative campaigns statewide, said Wright would have to raise more money than Davis to wage a viable campaign against a two-term incumbent who has been highly visible as police chief and as a candidate for governor and the U.S. Senate. He predicted she would need $500,000.

“I don’t think Cathie Wright will run unless she can raise the money and gain support,” Hoffenblum said. “Whether the incident with Fiedler is enough--who knows?”