Gotch to Stay in Politics Despite Hart Departure

Councilman Mike Gotch, visibly exhausted and admittedly shaken by the sudden departure of his political idol, Gary Hart, said Tuesday that he plans to stay in politics and perhaps run for state or federal office.

The San Diego city councilman is convinced that Hart “would have been President,” if he had continued with his campaign despite a disastrous drop in support after revelations about his personal life style.

Hart quit his campaign for the presidency Friday after newspaper reports that he had spent part of a weekend with 29-year-old actress-model Donna Rice in his Washington town house while his wife was out of town.

Gotch, who was in Denver and participated in the final hours of the Colorado Democrat’s presidential campaign, said Hart was “obviously guilty of a serious lapse in judgment,” but he countered that the media “exceeded reasonable and fair limits” in pursuing Hart and his wife, Lee, even after Hart had left the campaign trail and obviously was going to withdraw from the race.

News cameramen followed the Harts home the night before his scheduled withdrawal speech, leading the couple to tack up a blanket over the kitchen windows “so they could have a few minutes of quiet time together,” Gotch said.

During the night before Hart announced his withdrawal from the race, Gotch and another top campaign aide, remained in Hart’s Denver headquarters until well after midnight, answering constantly ringing telephones and fielding messages of support for the presidential candidate from across the country.

“Not one call was negative. I was part of that group who thought for an instant, ‘This man is going to gut it out,’ ” Gotch said, admitting he let out a cheer during the first words of Hart’s withdrawal speech, “although we all knew that it was over.”

Gotch, 39, announced April 22 that he was not going to seek a third term on the City Council and was leaving San Diego to take a post as Hart’s deputy national political coordinator.

He returned Tuesday and reemphasized that, under no circumstances, will he run for his 6th District council seat. He was in Washington, attempting to rally support for Hart among legislators during the final few days of the 25-day presidential campaign, Gotch said, “and when the campaign began to unravel, I, on my own initiative, took a plane to Denver . . . and so I was there for all of it.”

Gotch said he is among top Hart aides who have been invited to Hart’s mountain getaway cabin outside Denver on July 4 for a campout “and a last get-together and another chance to say goodby.”

“I was willing to leave San Diego after 20 years to be with Gary Hart because I believe in him,” Gotch said. “I am not willing to leave again for any of the other candidates.”

He does plan to meet with other California Democrats on Saturday in an attempt to form a group to hold Hart’s state supporters together “as a force to be reckoned with,” to wield some political clout at the 1988 Democratic National Convention.

After he leaves his council post in December, Gotch has short-term hopes of obtaining “some sort of work in community affairs that will help pay the mortgage and keep me visible in the community.” But his long-term goal is to remain in politics, probably announcing his candidacy for a higher political office early in 1988.

He ruled out only a City Council post as a future political possibility, naming the state Legislature, congressional posts or possibly a seat on the county Board of Supervisors as his next goal.

“And if that doesn’t materialize, I’ll go out and try to make an honest living elsewhere, but in San Diego,” he said.