Traffic-Ticket Flap : GOP Foes Consider Challenging Wright Because of Inquiry

Republican foes of Assemblywoman Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley) are weighing the political damage of an investigation into her alleged ticket-tampering with an eye toward challenging her in the 1990 primary.

A prominent Wright defender, meanwhile, cited the political jockeying as evidence that Ventura County Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury’s well-publicized investigation is intended to wound Wright’s career.

Robert Wilcox, who has close ties to Assemblywoman Marian W. La Follette (R-Northridge) and state Sen. Ed Davis (R-Valencia), said Friday that he has contacted a Republican pollster and spoken to La Follette and Davis, among others, about opposing Wright in the June, 1990, Republican primary. Both La Follette and Davis have clashed with Wright.

“I’m looking at it now,” said Wilcox, executive director of the recently formed, privately funded California Commission on Drugs, which Davis co-chairs. “The response that I have gotten in my preliminary phone calls has been outstanding.”

Wilcox, 23, has never sought public office. His Northridge residence is not in Wright’s sprawling 37th District, which spans three counties, but he said he would move if he decides to run. Wright has declared her intent to seek a sixth two-year term.

Bradbury, a Republican, is investigating reports that Wright improperly sought to influence Ventura County municipal judges, Simi Valley police and the state Department of Motor Vehicles to keep her daughter on the road.

Victoria Catherine Wright, 24, has received 27 tickets for moving violations, including 24 for speeding, since 1981. Her license was revoked last week.

Cathie Wright, who has denied committing any impropriety, has said she will not discuss Bradbury’s inquiry until it is completed next month. She did not return phone calls Friday.

But a legislative ally came to her defense this week.

Assemblyman Pat Nolan (R-Glendale), the former Assembly minority leader, said Thursday that Davis instigated the Wright inquiry. He said Bradbury, a Davis ally, is conducting the investigation “to soften her up before they launch an attack on her.”

Nolan, who has been a target of an FBI probe into corruption in Sacramento, said: “Ed Davis is a hardball player, and he’s trying to punish Cathie for considering running against him” in 1988.

Nolan said he had no direct knowledge of Davis’ involvement in the Wright matter but he asserted that Davis’ longtime administrative assistant, Hunt Braly, “is openly trying to run for her seat.” Nolan said he learned of Braly’s plans from individuals who Davis’ aide had contacted about a possible candidacy.

On Friday, Davis called Nolan’s statements “absolute creative fabrication.”

“I had absolutely nothing to do with the Cathie Wright matter,” he said. “I have not discussed Cathie Wright and her problems with members of the law enforcement agencies, with Bradbury and with any judge.”

Davis said Nolan was responding to pressure he’s feeling from the legal cloud over him and the indictment last month of one of his former top lieutenants, Assemblyman John R. Lewis (R-Orange), on charges that he forged Ronald Reagan’s signature on a campaign mailer in 1986.

Davis, a former Los Angeles police chief, called Bradbury “an Eagle Scout district attorney” who “wears no man’s collar.” Bradbury could not be reached Friday.

Braly, meanwhile, responded: “I have no intention of running against Cathie Wright at this point. There’s no secret that I have been interested in running for public office and if there’s a seat that opens up in the future, I will look at that.”

Braly, 34, an attorney who has worked for Davis since 1983, has long expressed an interest in running for the Assembly. His Woodland Hills residence is also outside Wright’s district.

Davis said he has not solicited anyone to oppose Wright. He said Wilcox contacted him Thursday evening about a prospective Assembly bid. If Wilcox ran, Davis said he would be hard-pressed not to support him. But he said Wilcox’s candidacy would be “a real long shot.”

La Follette, meanwhile, said she advised Wilcox “to talk with a political consultant before he made any final determination. As far as I’m concerned, it’s way too early for me to become involved in any races for 1990.” Wilcox was La Follette’s field representative for 2 1/2 years before Jan. 1.

Davis and La Follette are by no means the only Republicans who have tangled with Wright.

Most recently, Wright angered GOP colleagues in December when she abstained while they voted unsuccessfully to oust Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco). Their ire intensified when they failed in a subsequent bid, spearheaded by La Follette, to punish Wright by bumping her from the Assembly Rules Committee. Brown subsequently awarded Wright a position on the much-sought Ways and Means Committee.

Davis, however, said nothing that has emerged thus far renders Wright vulnerable next year, particularly given her far-flung district that would make it difficult and costly for a challenger to gain recognition and communicate with voters. The district includes such disparate areas as the Santa Clarita Valley in Los Angeles County, Simi Valley in Ventura County, and Solvang and Lompoc in Santa Barbara County.

Other Republican observers expressed a wait-and-see attitude this week pending Bradbury’s report.

Wilcox, however, sounded as if he’s seen enough.

“We need honesty and integrity in the state Legislature,” he said. “I believe that the people are really getting tired of the type of scandal they read about every day in the newspaper. They deserve an elected official who’s not going to be there for their own self-interest.”

He said he was referring to Wright’s intervention on her daughter’s behalf, the lawmaker’s “cozy relationship with Willie Brown,” and her substantial campaign contributions from “special interests and big business and developers.”