Wilson Prods His Rival by Backing L.A. Drilling Ban

Sen. Pete Wilson, striving to cultivate an image as a Republican friendly to the environment, has lent his support to one of the more controversial environmental causes in the state--the drive to stop oil drilling on the Los Angeles coastline.

Wilson has signed a letter addressed to about 300,000 city voters asking their support for a proposed November ballot initiative to ban drilling on land along the Los Angeles shoreline.

Wilson described his decision to sign the letter as a logical extension of his past efforts to halt offshore oil drilling.

But in the context of his Senate reelection campaign against Lt. Gov. Leo T. McCarthy, Wilson’s action can also be seen as an opportunity to surprise and embarrass his Democratic rival.

Wilson’s move is the latest piece of campaign one-upmanship on the environment. It began when McCarthy took Wilson to task at a Sierra Club meeting for failing to take a stand on a pending bill in Congress that would turn millions of acres of California desert land into wilderness preserves.

Now the shoe is on the other foot, argue members of the Wilson camp, contending that McCarthy is balking at lending his name to the battle against coastal oil drilling for fear of offending organized labor and other Democrats who are fighting the drilling ban.

A spokesman for McCarthy insisted that he is in favor of the ballot initiative but could not explain why he has not signed the letter seeking support for the measure. A representative of groups backing the petition drive said McCarthy’s signature had been sought.

“My understanding is that Leo was asked over two weeks ago (to sign the letter) and he said he would think about it,” said Mark Ryavec, the executive director of No Oil, the Pacific Palisades residents’ group that began the fight 20 years ago that has culminated in the proposed ballot initiative.

The campaign for the initiative grew out of a seesaw battle between No Oil and Occidental Petroleum Corp. over Occidental’s plan to drill for oil near Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades.

The initiative campaign was put together by Los Angeles City Councilmen Zev Yaroslavsky and Marvin Braude, who are leaders of a council faction seeking to limit growth in Los Angeles.

Oxy Ballot Proposal

Recently, Occidental countered by financing an effort of its own to get on the ballot with an initiative that would allow drilling and earmark royalties to help pay for one of the city’s most pressing needs, the hiring of more police officers.

Occidental has hired political consultants David Doak and Robert Shrum, both prominent members of McCarthy’s campaign team, to work on the counter-initiative, according to Mickey Kantor, a lawyer for Occidental who has played a major role in Democratic politics.

Kam Kuwata, a spokesman for McCarthy, Friday accused Wilson of “playing catch-up on the issue of environmental protection.”

The letter that Wilson signed, according to No Oil’s Ryavec, includes the names of 40 public officials, including several Democratic congressmen from the Los Angeles area who are supporting McCarthy.

Sponsors of the letter say Wilson is the highest-ranking official to sign it.