McCarthy Eclipses Wilson in Financial Report Arena

Lt. Gov. Leo T. McCarthy, the expected Democratic challenger for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Republican Pete Wilson, far eclipses his rival in at least one respect, total assets and income for 1987.

Financial reports filed with the Senate disclosed Friday that McCarthy received at least $470,000 last year from his salary, rents, stock dividends and business investments. Wilson, by contrast, reported only slightly less than $120,000 in salary and speaking fees while noting that he gave $13,600 of the total to charity.

Wilson’s Wife Contributes

While the reporting categories make it impossible to be precise, the disclosure forms also indicate that McCarthy had far greater assets than Wilson in 1987, although Wilson’s wife, Gayle, had enough wealth of her own to help narrow the gap.

And it appeared that Wilson paid $92,500 in cash toward a San Diego home he acquired last January.

Another report showed that California’s senior senator, 76-year-old Alan Cranston, made at least $311,000.

He received more than $80,000 in retirement benefits last year, including $60,690 from his pension as California’s comptroller from 1958 to 1966 and another $20,212 in Social Security payments. Cranston’s real estate holdings brought him more than $60,000, and he received at least $50,000 from a blind trust on top of his basic Senate salary of $87,500 and $34,100 in speaking fees.

McCarthy’s statement showed that he had an interest worth more than $250,000 in the “Suni Pines” trailer park in Jacksonville, Fla., which brought him between $5,000 and $15,000 in income last year. The form also indicated he had a 10-year mortgage on the property, acquired in March, 1984, that represented a liability of more than $250,000.

The Senate reporting rules, which apply to Senate candidates as well as to sitting senators, do not require precise disclosure of assets and liabilities in the “over $250,000” category.

McCarthy also had $55,000 worth of stock, held a promissory note worth between $100,000 and $250,000 and owned real estate in Carlsbad, Calif., assessed at $525,000. The statement indicated that he still owed between $100,000 and $250,000 on this property, acquired in December, 1986. It brought him rental payments ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 last year.

In addition to his $72,500 salary as lieutenant governor, McCarthy disclosed receipt of $337,360 from a Skip Berg of Novato, Calif., for sale of a half interest in McBerg Associates. The firm was not further identified.

Wilson’s assets included a home he bought last January in San Diego. He paid $92,500, apparently for cash, and did not list any mortgage for this property. He also reported retirement accounts worth between $10,000 and $30,000.

Wilson’s second wife, the former Gayle Graham, reported 1987 income of more than $100,000 from a blind trust and a note on Texas property worth more than $100,000. She also had a money market account ranging between $100,000 and $250,000.

Capitol Hill Residence

She reported ownership of a residence on Capitol Hill, purchased for $230,000 in 1983, along with two mortgages representing a liability ranging between $65,000 and $150,000.

The statement showed that Wilson and his wife made two trips from Washington to Palm Springs in March and May of last year with their round-trip air fares paid by the California League of Savings Institutions and the El Dorado Center Co., of Gardena. Wilson later made a third trip to Palm Springs last December, with his air fare paid by the California Chamber of Commerce.