Election ’88 Orange County : 2 Free-Thinkers Square Off in 42nd Congressional Race : Democrat Kimbrough Sounds Warning

Democratic congressional candidate Guy C. Kimbrough believes that America can do better.

The history and political science instructor from Huntington Beach calls it “a disgrace” that homeless people walk the streets in front of $300,000 homes in Orange County and other parts of the 42nd Congressional District.

He voices concern about the lack of national health insurance for millions of working Americans who do not have medical coverage. “That’s not my idea of a safety net,” he says.

The Democratic candidate wants better health care to lower the nation’s infant mortality rate and a federal program to provide child care for working parents. He favors low-interest loans to help middle-income families buy first homes.

At campaign events across the district, which stretches from Torrance to Huntington Beach, Kimbrough warns of dire consequences if steps are not taken soon to confront the nation’s budget and trade deficits.

He does not hesitate to take the politically dangerous course of calling for higher taxes, unlike his Republican rival, Dana Rohrabacher.

“No matter who is elected President on Nov. 8, whether it is Michael Dukakis or George Bush, there has to be a revenue increase to deal with the deficit,” Kimbrough says. “We are courting financial disaster if that deficit isn’t reduced.”

To boost federal revenue, Kimbrough favors a tax on imported oil of several dollars per barrel; increases in taxes on alcohol and cigarettes; a value-added or national sales tax of 1% to 5%, plus reform of tax laws governing personal incomes and corporations.

“We have to get our economic house in order,” Kimbrough tells campaign audiences.

Big GOP Registration Edge

Kimbrough is backing fellow Democrat Dukakis in the presidential race. Former White House speech writer Rohrabacher has closely allied his candidacy with Bush and hopes to ride the GOP Vice President’s coattails in the heavily Republican district. Republicans outnumber Democrats in the 42nd District, 52.4% to 37.1%

While saying he supports a strong defense, Kimbrough would slow down or scale back certain defense programs, including the Strategic Defense Initiative and the “stealth” bomber project.

Rohrabacher, on the other hand, would eliminate federal programs that “are not justified in times of high deficit,” including agricultural subsidies and federal support for public broadcasting, National Public Radio and the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities.

Kimbrough favors a program such as a Dukakis plan in Massachusetts that would provide health insurance for working Americans who do not have any coverage.

Rohrabacher would not: “I don’t think it is necessary for us to revolutionize our whole insurance program and medical care in this country in order to provide for those less fortunate people who do not have medical care.”

Kimbrough advocates increased spending on researching acquired immune deficiency syndrome, while Rohrabacher would maintain research at present levels. The Republican candidate favors relaxation of confidentiality protections as a way to curb the spread of AIDS.

The two candidates also differ over child care. Kimbrough wants a new federal program, while Rohrabacher supports incentives for business.

Similar Stance on Drugs

Both agree that education is essential to deter drug use and that a more concerted effort is needed to intercept drugs entering the country.

Kimbrough, 43, says he tried marijuana while a college student at Cal State Long Beach, where he received his bachelor’s degree in history in January, 1969.

When he lectures about the turbulent ‘60s, Kimbrough says, “I tell my poli sci classes I briefly experimented with marijuana. I really mean briefly.”

As a graduate student at Long Beach, Kimbrough says, he took part in protests of the U.S. invasion of Cambodia.

Kimbrough, the son of a Navy officer, grew up in a Republican family but became a Democrat in the 1960s. He says: “As a person who has two degrees in history . . . I was impressed by certain people: Teddy Roosevelt, a Progressive Republican; Winston Churchill, because he believed in a very strong navy; Franklin D. Roosevelt, for showing that a leader can be both strong and compassionate, and Jack Kennedy, for trying to inspire many of us that politics can be a noble profession.”

Kimbrough, who was working at Disneyland at the time, fondly recalls meeting Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (D-N.Y.) just 2 days before the Democratic presidential candidate was shot to death after winning the California Democratic primary in June, 1968.

Kimbrough supports the death penalty only for the murder of a police officer or particularly violent or heinous crimes. He says he believes that women have a right to choose abortion.

Like Rohrabacher, Kimbrough never served in the military. While seeking entrance into officer training programs, he was disqualified from service because of a minor heart problem.

Unlike his GOP rival, Kimbrough opposes U.S. aid to the Nicaraguan Contras. He is a strong supporter of NASA’s space station project being built by McDonnell Douglas, a company that employs many residents of the district. And he proudly displays an endorsement letter from Sen. John Glenn (D-Ohio), which says Kimbrough shares his commitment to the space program.

Kimbrough flatly opposes all offshore oil drilling and favors a renewed government commitment to developing synthetic fuels.

In a district with some of the most expensive housing in the nation, Kimbrough favors providing federal loans to help middle-income families buy their first homes. Rohrabacher says a better way to make housing more affordable is to lower interest rates by maintaining a tight rein on the growth in federal spending.

Both candidates acknowledge that the district has transportation problems. Kimbrough would redirect some of the engineering talent in the aerospace industry to developing mass transit. He favors incentives to encourage employers to stagger work hours and provide van pools. Rohrabacher says he favors building more highway lanes and objects to restricting certain lanes for car pools.

Both candidates oppose development of the Bolsa Chica Wetlands next to Huntington Beach.

$353,342 Spent

According to final pre-election campaign contribution reports filed Friday, Rohrabacher--who had to wage an expensive primary campaign--had raised $367,839 and spent $353,342 through Oct. 19. He had incurred debts of $85,942, including many loans, but reported $42,018 in cash on hand for the final weeks of the fall campaign.

The Republican candidate had more than 100 times more cash available than Kimbrough, who says he had $350 in his campaign coffer at the close of the reporting period. He had raised $9,966 by the Oct. 19 deadline.

Rohrabacher’s financial support has come from Republican activists, GOP organizations, conservative groups, Libertarians, business people and political action committees representing developers, defense contractors, oil companies, medical interests, utilities, retailers and insurance companies.

The GOP candidate’s list of individual contributors spans the spectrum, from billionaire Texas oilman Nelson B. Hunt to rock star Sammy Hagar.

Kimbrough says his largest contribution arrived last week after the close of the reporting period: He received $1,500 from the National Education Assn.

Dr. Richard Lowe, president of Mt. San Jacinto College, where Kimbrough has taught since the fall of 1985, describes him as “a very fine instructor.”

“He is one who knows his subject matter very well and takes a very personal interest in . . . his students,” Lowe says. “He enjoys teaching. He enjoys history. He enjoys government.”

The differences between Rohrabacher and Kimbrough are mild when their views are compared with those of Peace and Freedom candidate Richard D. Rose, who describes himself as a socialist.

A community activist in Long Beach, Rose, 35, says the most important issue facing the district is the presence of nuclear weapons aboard Navy ships in Long Beach Harbor.

“The presence of nuclear weapons is a safety matter,” Rose says. “It definitely makes us a target.”

Rose opposes all nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and believes that the Strategic Defense Initiative is a waste of money.

He objects to Rohrabacher’s bringing Iran-Contra figure Oliver L. North into the district for an appearance on his behalf during the primary campaign and opposes all money to the Contras, whom he describes as “terrorists.”

Rose suggests converting the district’s defense plants to work that is “more socially benefiting” and cuts in defense spending to remove “a lot of waste in the military budget.”