GOP Assemblyman tries to shake charges of alliance with top Democrat Willie Brown.

Within the space of a few hours last week, Republican Assemblyman Gerald N. Felando demonstrated why he has difficulty shaking off his opponent’s charge that he has a cozy relationship with the Legislature’s most powerful Democrat, Assembly Speaker Willie Brown.

Looking for a way to respond to Republican Deane Dana III’s accusation that Felando is too close to Brown, Felando joined Thursday in an abortive attempt by Assembly Republicans to oust Brown from the speakership he has held for 7 1/2 years.

As expected, the attempt to overthrow Brown failed, but the aye vote beside Felando’s name on the Assembly’s electronic tote-board provided at least a symbolic vote against Brown--the kind of thing of which campaign mailers are made.

But just hours later, after having his staff hand-deliver a press release to reporters hailing the attempt to oust Brown, the conservative San Pedro Republican demonstrated once again his alliance with liberal Democrats.

That same night in Oakland, Felando attended a fund-raising event in his honor held not by a member of his own party, but by one of the Legislature’s most liberal Democrats, Assemblyman Elihu Harris of Oakland. Harris is one of Brown’s closest allies and chairs the Judiciary Committee.

Despite repeated attempts, Felando could not be reached for comment on the contradictory happenings Thursday. His campaign consultant, Allan Hoffenblum, claimed to know nothing of the fund-raiser in Oakland.

Harris declined to be interviewed on the Assembly floor Thursday and did not return telephone calls Friday.

However, his administrative assistant, Lawrence Reid, confirmed Friday that the fund-raiser took place in Oakland and that Felando was there.

Although Felando and Harris disagree on most issues, and Felando’s South Bay district is staunchly conservative Republican while Harris’ East Bay district is solidly Democratic and left-leaning, the fund-raising invitations that Harris sent to lobbyists described Felando as a great friend of the San Francisco Bay area.

Reid said Harris and Felando were elected to the Assembly about the same time 10 years ago and later developed “a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for each other.”

“He and Assemblyman Felando are friends,” Reid said.

Around the Capitol in recent weeks, Felando has acknowledged that he is locked in a very tough Republican primary race June 7 in the 51st Assembly District, which includes the beach cities, Torrance, the Palos Verdes Peninsula and parts of San Pedro.

Dana, son of the Los Angeles County supervisor and a former official in Gov. George Deukmejian’s administration, has been hammering Felando in campaign mailers over the past two months using money from his father’s campaign war chest.

One of Dana’s hardest hitting mailers attacked Felando for being “a staunch ally” of Brown’s and quoted Felando as saying he would not vote to oust him. According to the mailer, Felando called Brown “an excellent Speaker.”

The statement, which Felando does not dispute, was made last December when a handful of dissident Assembly Democrats, nicknamed the “Gang of Five,” began to challenge Brown.

The Dana mailer accused Felando of having close ties to Brown. Dana charged that Felando attended a Brown fund-raiser in late 1985 and that Brown was a “special guest of honor” at a Felando fund-raising event in San Pedro.

Felando denied having Brown as a special guest at any of his fund-raising events, calling the charge “an outright lie.” Brown did attend a meeting of Felando’s Women’s Advisory Group in San Pedro but Felando said it was not a fund-raiser. An angry Felando called the charge that he is too close to Brown “absolutely false.”

Looking for a way to refute the charge, Felando joined the attempt to dump Brown last Thursday, knowing it would fail, and immediately issued a press release about his role in it.

Felando expressed disappointment that “our efforts today did not result in election of a new Speaker, but I wasn’t naive enough to think it would really happen.”

Seeking to put to rest his rival’s charges, Felando also declared that “wild campaign allegations about propping up Brown just got swept away.”

The ink was barely dry on that statement when Felando left for Oakland to join one of Brown’s closest allies in raising the money needed to win reelection.

Mudslinging in the Mails--Voters in parts of the South Bay can expect a blizzard of campaign mailers in the next four weeks. With political consultants keeping busy crafting last-minute hit pieces, many of the mailers won’t have a kind word to say about opponents.

Sharp personal attacks are likely between Felando and Dana, and the crowded GOP race in the 42nd Congressional District, which runs from Torrance to Orange County.

The congressional race was enlivened last week by the disclosure that Orange County Supervisor Harriett Wieder misled the public for 25 years about having a journalism degree from Wayne State University; she never attended college. Wieder, once considered a solid front-runner, also has been threatened with a recall after voting last month for an embattled development project.

The battle will be waged in mailboxes as Wieder attempts to fend off her chief opponents--Stephen Horn, former president of California State University, Long Beach; Dana Rohrabacher, an ex-presidential speech writer, and Andrew Littlefair, a former White House aide.