Wilson Says He Plans to Seek Governor’s Post : Ends Suspense With Speech at GOP Convention; L.A. Police Chief Gates Says He’s Still in the Race

Ending weeks of speculation, gossip and a somewhat orchestrated draft movement, U.S. Sen. Pete Wilson announced Saturday he intends to run for governor in 1990.

“In the spring of 1990, when the filing of official candidacies is open, I will--with your help and that of the good Lord--file for, run, and win the office of governor of California,” Wilson said in his speech to the GOP convention here.

He will form an exploratory committee Tuesday, according to political adviser Otto Bos.

The move came as a great relief to Republican leaders, who have been pressuring Wilson to run since Gov. George Deukmejian announced in January that he would not seek a third term.

Wilson’s choice of words in the announcement indicated that he will use the next year mainly to raise money and leave himself time to continue his Senate duties rather than make it one long campaign--his 1988 reelection and his new plan to become governor.

The Wilson camp is aware that Democrats are going to try to exploit Wilson’s decision to seek the governorship so soon after telling voters how much he enjoys being a senator.

With the exception of one cursory reference to Deukmejian, Wilson spoke of the need for change and a get-moving governorship.

“We must no longer afford to lose the energy or the hours of work and play suffered by Californians, trapped behind the wheel, sapped by the frustration of gridlock,” Wilson said.

“We must provide the means whereby millions of working and aging Californians can be assured of long-term health coverage--and we can do it with little added cost to the taxpayer.”

At a press conference, Wilson said it would be his “expectation’ to run on a pledge of no new general state tax increase. But he added, “I think we’ll see increases in some special taxes--gasoline taxes for transportation.”

Despite sounding themes in his speech that would be more likely to come from the Democrats in 1990, Wilson also offered his audience some of the partisan-flavored red meat convention-goers have come to expect.

He attacked former Democratic Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr., Assembly Speaker Willie Brown, House Speaker Jim Wright, congressional pay raises, and the United Farm Workers of America’s grape boycott.

Wilson was particularly scornful of Jerry Brown, who only a week ago was chosen to be chairman of the California Democratic Party, ending six years of political exile that began when Wilson defeated Brown in the 1982 U.S. Senate race.

“Obviously, he (Wilson) has always wanted it,” Wilson aide Bob White said in a reference to the senator’s longtime interest in being governor.

Designed to Show Support

Wilson made his announcement at the state Republican convention in an atmosphere designed by his supporters to show that his decision has overpowering support in the party.

This is the town where Wilson served in the 1960s as an assemblyman from San Diego. He twice before tried for the governorship--losing once and dropping out the other time because party leaders feared he was not the strongest candidate. Now, in what must be a sweet moment for Wilson, the same party has turned to him in its near desperate search for a 1990 candidate.

In a gray drizzle, moderates and conservatives alike lined up in front of Wilson’s hotel as he arrived and shouted “Run, Pete, Run,” the slogan Wilson’s supporters gave the convention.

At his hotel, reporters asked Wilson if there was any chance he would change his mind about running. Technically, all he announced on Saturday is formation of a committee to explore and raise money for a possible gubernatorial campaign.

Wilson said as he was whisked away to work on his speech, “It is not a decision I arrived at lightly.”

Drafted to Run

Wilson and his staff portrayed it as a case of answering his party’s fervent call, one he did not seek out.

In his convention speech, Wilson said, “While I did not seek this role--well, at least not this time--and while I did not ask to have this choice, I do not shrink from it. I welcome it.”

“He is on a no-return course,” State GOP Chairman Robert Naylor said.

Naylor, like many party officials, does not want Wilson to face primary opposition next year.

But that view is not shared by some in the party, including former U.S. Treasurer Bay Buchanan.

“I think we should have a lively primary for all the offices,’ Buchanan said. “It strengthens us and helps build. There is a void of second-tier talent in the party.”

Buchanan is considering taking her own advice. She met briefly Saturday with GOP Treasurer Thomas W. Hayes and told him she is considering opposing him in the primary.

“In short, he was of the opinion that a contested primary is not harmful to the party,” Buchanan said. “I’m not.”

She added that she felt the same way about Wilson.

Gates Still in Race

Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl F. Gates indicated here Saturday that he has no plans to end his exploratory effort for governor because of Wilson’s announcement.”

“What do I have to lose, really? I need a little excitement in my life,” Gates said when asked at a press conference if he may later reconsider his plan to run for governor.

“Voters would love it” if the Republicans fielded two candidates who talked about the issues and did not spend all their time attacking each other, Gates said.

Gates may have wandered into controversy, however, when he began to joke about his determination--if elected governor--to build more prison facilities.

He suggested using old military bases for the task and surrounding them with barbed wire and a mine field.

Trying to figure out which escape-minded prisoners could make it through the mine field, Gates said, “would be better than the lottery.”

He added that he was joking.

Gates’ Main Issue

In his press conference, Gates made it clear that law and order was his strongest issue.

Gates refused to offer positions on other issues, saying that he knew it was frustrating for people seeking more information about him. Because he continues to be police chief, he said, he does not yet feel free to speak out on such issues as abortion.

Gates said he did not speak to the convention because he had to return to Los Angeles to celebrate Christmas. He explained that his family always delays that holiday until February because December is such a busy month for the Police Department.

Naylor said he does not want Gates to take his exploratory effort much further.

“My view is that would hurt our prospects of winning the governorship,” Naylor said.

Part of the reason for the Wilson bandwagon is reapportionment--an issue of burning concern to GOP politicians and the 1,400 party members meeting here.

It will be the job of the next governor to sign or veto any plan redrawing legislative and congressional districts to account for population shifts and growth to be revealed in the 1990 Census.

Some demographers expect California to obtain up to six additional congressional districts. The GOP already feels that the current Democrat-drawn lines are unfair and give the party only 19 of the 45 House seats in a state that votes Republican in most presidential races.

“We cannot permit the people of California to undergo another cynical gerrymandering that will defraud California voters for the next decade,” Wilson said in his speech in a effort to show his strong feelings about the matter.

Reference to FBI Sting

But Wilson went further, saying, in an apparent reference to fund-raising controversies and FBI sting operations, “we are not through with the job of reform.”

The senator said he supported a plan being discussed in GOP circles to institute reapportionment reforms along with other new rules designed to halt “other abuses that threaten the accountability, responsiveness and the very integrity of the Legislature.”