Senate Underdog Appeals for Women’s Vote

The campaign strategy that Democrat Sandy Hester is using in her bid for a state Senate seat is simple: Win the votes of 75% of all Democrats and half the Republican women.

The toughest task is splitting women away from the Republican ticket. If she can do that, Hester said, “the numbers are there for me to win.” Hester said women are under-represented in Sacramento and their concerns, from child care to sexual harassment on the job, are not being adequately addressed. She is trying to raise $30,000 for a special mailing to women.

Strategy Questioned

Her opponent, Assemblyman Bill Leonard (R-Redlands), said he doesn’t think a feminist campaign will work in the solidly conservative 25th Senate District.

“I’m not going to give her advice,” Leonard said, “but that’s a pretty narrow scope of issues.”

Leonard, who is completing his fifth term in the Assembly, and Hester, former associate director of a Pomona College program in public policy, are competing to succeed Sen. H. L. (Bill) Richardson (R-Glendora), who is retiring. The district covers 30,000 square miles, from Azusa east to the California border and north to Inyo County.

More than half the registered voters in the district are Republican, while less than 40% are Democrats. The remainder belong to minor parties or are nonpartisan.

Hester, 45, is making her first bid for public office but has been an active volunteer in Democratic politics. She and her husband, who live in Claremont, own a storm-drain construction business. They have two sons, both in their early 20s.

Leonard, who will turn 41 late this month, is a member of a family that has been active in business and Republican politics in Redlands and San Bernardino County since the turn of the century. Before winning election to the Assembly, he worked in his family’s real estate business and served as a congressional aide.

His Assembly district lies almost entirely within the Senate district, giving him the advantage of being well-known in much of the area. He and his wife have three children and maintain homes at Big Bear Lake in the district and at Loomis, near Sacramento.

Leonard said that Hester’s complaint that only four of the state’s 40 senators are women amounts to an appeal for votes strictly on the basis of gender. The assemblyman said that he would never pitch an appeal to one sex. “I don’t campaign by sex,” he said.

No Backlash Foreseen

Hester said her concern for women’s issues should not cause a backlash from male voters. “I love men dearly,” she said. “I’m married to one. I have two sons.” And, she has issued an eight-page position paper that sets out her views on everything from crime to transportation to waste disposal.

But it is her emphasis on increasing the influence of women in Sacramento that distinguishes her campaign, and she contends that Leonard’s record on women’s issues is poor.

Leonard received a zero rating on issues from the National Organization for Women. Hester has the endorsement of several women’s organizations, including NOW and the California Federation of Business and Professional Women.

Leonard said his disagreement with the Business and Professional Women centers on abortion. The nonpartisan group, with 200,000 members statewide, endorses candidates who support a seven-point agenda that includes the right of women to make their own decisions on reproductive matters such as abortion.

“I’m against abortion,” Leonard said. He opposes the use of state funds to pay for abortions and said he “would support a federal law or an overturning of the (U.S.) Supreme Court case to allow the states to again make their own decision as to the legality of abortions altogether.”

Against Abortion Ban

Hester is against a ban on abortions, saying women should retain “reproductive freedom.”

The candidates also disagree on comparable worth and child care. Leonard said government should not intrude on businesses through comparable worth regulations aimed at raising salaries for low-paying jobs that are traditionally held by women. “I don’t like the government dictating to free markets,” he said.

Hester said that she too prefers that free markets function without regulation, but that if workers are treated unfairly, government action becomes necessary.

On child care, both agree that working parents need assistance, but vary in their approach. Leonard said he favors an increase in the state and federal income tax deductions for dependent children and supports giving parents a child-care tax credit of $1,000 a year for children under 5. Hester said she would give tax incentives to businesses that support child-care programs for employees and would try to help child-care centers overcome high-cost insurance coverage and government red tape.

Leonard’s principal interests in the Assembly have included education, transportation and air quality. He has authored legislation promoting experiments in year-round education, and the use of methanol and other clean-burning fuels for transportation.

‘Mirror Image’ of District

Leonard said he regards himself as a “mirror image” of the residents in the Senate district. He said it is “a very conservative area. The Democrats are by and large as conservative as the Republicans. They want limited government and return for what they’re getting for their tax dollar. They really care about law and order, and in education, they want to see something for their money. I think I fit.”

The California Teachers Assn. has supported Leonard in the past, but gave its endorsement this year to Hester. Ed Foglia, president of the association, said the group appreciated Leonard’s diligent work for a bill this year that would have helped raise teacher salaries but that Leonard voted against other CTA-supported bills, including ones to reduce class sizes and aid urban districts.

Hester has criticized Leonard for serving on a commission studying the feasibility of a high-speed train linking Las Vegas and the Ontario area. Hester said Leonard should be concentrating his energies on the transportation problems of commuters, not gamblers. “We need to help people who work 9 to 5, not those who play 9-5 odds,” Hester said.

Leonard said he has not taken a position on the proposed high-speed train but asked the governor to appoint him to the commission so that he could protect constituents’ interests in case the train is built. “I’d rather be there on the inside trying to change the design to benefit us than be on the outside jumping up and down and issuing press releases and having no effect,” he said.

Active Campaign

Despite a Republican registration advantage, Leonard said he is not taking victory for granted. “I don’t stop running until after election day, and then I start for the next time,” he said. “There is no limit to how well I can know the district and almost no limit to how many people I can meet.”

Hester said she is counting on volunteers, working out of campaign offices in Redlands, San Bernardino, Hesperia and Claremont, to get her message to voters. She does not have the money for an expensive media campaign.

“I’m really counting on word of mouth, which is the old way politicians used to win,” she said. “I have no clue as to how it will work or not work. I’m hoping that people who are interested enough to go to the polls to vote are interested enough to find out about the candidates.”