Dismayed Gates Abandons His Gubernatorial Hopes

Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl F. Gates shut down his exploration of the 1990 governor’s race Thursday and said he will not consider elective politics again.

“This is it,” said Gates, 62, in an interview in which he told of his disappointment with conservatives for not getting behind his candidacy.

Gates’ exploratory committee raised less than $10,000 in two months of sounding out Republican support for a gubernatorial candidacy, according to one of his advisers, Eric Rose.

The chief acknowledged Thursday that he probably would not have explored the race had he known GOP U.S. Sen. Pete Wilson would seek the governorship.

But on the same day in late January when Gates was announcing his interest in the race, Wilson was confiding to close friends he had decided to run. The senator did not inform Gates of that decision, however, because he wanted to announce it later at the state Republican convention.

“We formed the exploratory committee at a time when the only person looming was Peter Ueberroth, and I’d love to have run against him,” Gates said, referring to the former baseball commissioner who considered the governor’s race before Wilson got in.

But Gates said Thursday his political advisers had concluded he could not overtake Wilson in the GOP primary because the senator is much better known statewide and has a formidable fund-raising apparatus in place.

The chief also said that any chance he might have had to strongly challenge Wilson evaporated when abortion protests and attempts to ban assault weapons began to dominate the news.

Some gun owners were furious when Gates called for a ban on the sale of AK-47 assault rifles after five schoolchildren were slain in Stockton earlier this year.

He also raised the ire of anti-abortion groups when Los Angeles police arrested protesters trying to shut down medical clinics where abortions are performed. Gates countered that he was obligated to prevent the unlawful closure of businesses.

Gates said the criticism of him by both groups “told me a lot about people and their willingness to sacrifice principle for ideology.”

“I could have been a real smart politician,” he added. “I could have been neutral on the gun issue. And the pro-life people, I knew I would upset them.”

Irked at GOP Leaders

Gates also had strong words for Republican leaders who have urged him not to oppose Wilson in the gubernatorial primary.

“I’m very disheartened by some of the Republican leadership that I think does not want to stimulate any kind of excitement in the run for governor,” Gates said. “They want a shoo-in, they want it locked up, and I think that’s unhealthy.”

The push to get Gates out of the race is still an unpleasant memory for him, and he said of those who did it, “I’ll remember them.”

As for Wilson, who is now expected to run unopposed for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, Gates said he would not call him about his decision.

“He can read about it in the papers,” Gates said.

Gates also delighted Thursday in telling a story that was reminiscent of a contention by Democrats that Wilson has still not made a strong impression on Californians despite his six years in the U.S. Senate.

At his urging, Gates recounted, Wilson allowed two of Gates’ men to drive him last Friday to the Pico-Union area of Central Los Angeles so the senator could observe drug dealers in action.

Turned Over Evidence

When Wilson’s car stopped amid the drug pushers, Gates said, the senator was able to buy marijuana, which he turned over to the Police Department as evidence.

Gates added with a chuckle that one of his men told him Wilson was not recognized by any of the drug dealers.

“My man told me,” Gates said, “ ‘Chief, he has no face identification at all. You couldn’t have done that but he could.’ ”