ELECTIONS ’88 : Felando Savors Solid Victory in Most Expensive Assembly Race

After the most expensive Assembly primary battle in California history, Assemblyman Gerald N. Felando’s resounding victory over GOP challenger Deane Dana III could hardly have been sweeter.

Outspent but not outgunned, Felando beat back Dana’s challenge and captured the GOP nomination in the 51st Assembly District by a solid 56%-to-44% margin.

The San Pedro Republican won easily despite Dana’s receipt of $712,500 in loans from the campaign coffers of his father, Los Angeles County Supervisor Deane Dana.

After sweating through one of the toughest races of his decade-long political career, Felando declared victory in the King’s Room of a Torrance restaurant just before midnight Tuesday.

Recounting his past political battles, Felando, 53, could scarcely disguise his contempt for his 35-year-old rival and the supervisor, with whom he has had a running feud for the past two years.

“Along came this person that thought he was going to create a dynasty for himself and his son and take us out. Then he got surprised,” Felando said to the cheers of supporters.

90% of Money From Father

Dana spent nearly $800,000, almost 90% of it from his father, in his unsuccessful campaign, contrasted with $400,000 spent by Felando.

“You can’t buy it, you’ve got to earn it,” Felando told his victory party.

Voters in the Assembly district, which hugs the coast from Manhattan Beach to the western edge of San Pedro and includes Torrance and Lomita, endorsed Felando by a far greater margin than either side had expected.

Final returns showed Felando polled 24,339 votes to 18,924 votes for Dana, a margin of 5,415, nearly four times larger than Felando’s victory over former Assemblywoman Marilyn Ryan (R-Rancho Palos Verdes) in another hard-fought GOP primary four years ago.

Felando will face Democrat Mark Wirth, a Torrance city councilman, in November. A communications worker for GTE and two-term councilman, Wirth faces a difficult task in the staunchly Republican district.

The magnitude of Felando’s victory came despite a three-month barrage of colorful mailers from the Dana campaign that accused the incumbent of having a “cozy relationship” with the Assembly’s top Democrat, Speaker Willie Brown of San Francisco; favoring offshore oil drilling, and being soft on the need to clean up toxic wastes.

Felando fired back with mailers attacking Supervisor Dana for running a “$1-million smear campaign” to “buy his son a job.”

Asked why he won, Felando said simply: “The people did it. They didn’t believe what the man was putting out.”

But Felando said his biggest asset in the campaign was the endorsement of Gov. George Deukmejian. “The governor’s endorsement was a major factor, of course,” Felando said.

“The overall picture is really important,” he added. “I am in tune with the philosophy of this district. This district was not misled and fooled by the lies my opponent put out until the very end.”

Campaign Tactics Defended

Dana defended his campaign tactics. “We feel we have done as good a campaign as anybody could do against a hard-core incumbent backed by the Establishment,” he said as the early vote count showed him trailing.

Dana said he entered the race when Felando announced he would run for the 42nd Congressional District seat long held by Rep. Daniel E. Lungren (R-Long Beach)--a campaign Felando later backed out of. “I would never have come into this thing unless Felando had created the opportunity,” Dana said.

A former official in the Deukmejian Administration, Dana agreed that the governor’s endorsement of the incumbent was “a big part” of Felando’s victory. “We knew it was going to be a stumbling block,” he said. “It was the most significant thing that could hurt us, and it did.”

Felando’s longtime campaign consultant, Allan Hoffenblum, agreed. “It was impossible for Deane Dana to win as long as the governor stood solidly behind Felando,” he said.

Nevertheless, Hoffenblum said he was “scared to death” that Felando had not begun his direct-mail campaign early enough in May to counter Dana’s mailers, which started soon after he declared his candidacy in February.

Felando’s bid was bolstered in the closing weeks by Assembly Republican leader Pat Nolan of Glendale, who sent staff members and money to aid his former caucus chairman.

Nolan told a press conference Wednesday at GOP headquarters in Orange County that “the polls showed Deane Dana winning until the public found out that (Supervisor Dana) was willing to empty his entire $1-million campaign war chest to buy a seat for his son. And the public rejected that.”

The Assembly GOP leader said “the fact that Jerry Felando could survive an onslaught of a million dollars of mud thrown at him . . . and the fact that Felando won by so much is impressive to us.”

Although Nolan’s use of the $1-million figure was an exaggeration, the nearly $1.2 million spent on the race by both sides surpasses the $1.12 million spent two years ago when Richard Polanco defeated Mike Hernandez and several other candidates in the Democratic primary for a northeast Los Angeles Assembly district. Polanco went on to win the seat.

In Sacramento, Brown said “Mr. Felando won by a handsome vote” because voters addressed his performance rather than his “alleged association” with the speaker of the Assembly. “Candidates in Republican primaries are being measured on their own merits,” Brown said.

Felando was furious at Supervisor Dana for financing his challenger. “That kid would have been a joke without the $1 million behind his dad,” he said.

The assemblyman said he thought Supervisor Dana “ought to take a long hard look at his career.” He predicted that the elder Dana, who had only token opposition in Tuesday’s election, will face a serious challenge in 1992.

“The thing that disturbs me--is that well over $1 million will not be available to Republicans in races against Democrats this fall,” Felando said. “If we don’t pick up seats or we lose seats, it’s right at his feet. I’m very bitter about that and I’m not going to forget it.”

Supervisor Dana said he will probably forgive the loans to his son since voters on Tuesday approved campaign reform measures that restrict campaign contributions, transfers to other candidates and uses of campaign funds.

Dana said that the loans to his son will not hurt his future fund raising. “The people who give to me have exactly the same feeling I did, that it might be desirable to have Mr. Felando removed from office. They don’t really care how I spend my money as long as I’m returned to office.”

Throughout the long and tense evening of waiting for a hopeful sign, the younger Dana hardly spoke to his father.

But at a half-hour past midnight, as the last of his supporters trickled away, the son crossed a nearly empty campaign headquarters, grasped his father’s hand and hugged him.

“I couldn’t have done it without you,” the 6-foot-5 challenger said, smiling down at his mentor.

“Just keep at it,” his father said.

“I will,” the son promised.

Although he plans to pursue a job in private industry, the younger Dana served notice that he will keep an eye on Felando.

“Jerry, don’t forget to look over your shoulder for the next two years, because if you don’t live up to your commitments, we’ll be back to remind you this isn’t a power struggle for the Danas but for the people of this district.”

“And he will be revisited,” Supervisor Dana said.