Berryhill in Race to Fill Coelho’s Seat

Clare Berryhill, a former legislator and top Deukmejian Administration official, jumped into the race Wednesday to succeed Rep. Tony Coelho (D-Merced) in a Republican bid to wrest the seat from Democrats.

The 63-year-old Berryhill, who served as Gov. George Deukmejian’s first director of the Department of Food and Agriculture, hopes to ride into office on a tide of public dissatisfaction with the scandal-plagued Democratic leadership of Congress.

To do so, however, the GOP farmer will face an uphill battle against Assemblyman Gary Condit (D-Ceres), who until now has dominated the contest in this conservative San Joaquin Valley District.

Special Election

The Sept. 12 special election is certain to draw national attention as both parties seek to test their political strength after the resignation of House Speaker Jim Wright and Majority Whip Coelho amid charges of financial misconduct.

“Our politicians have misbehaved badly,” Berryhill said in formally announcing his candidacy. “. . . I have always expected nothing less than complete honesty and integrity in elected officials and those who don’t measure up should be ousted.”

While the 15th Congressional District is predominantly Democratic, it was won by Republicans Ronald Reagan and President Bush. The political views of both Berryhill and Condit are likely to appeal to most voters in the rural district: Both seek to crack down on crime and drugs and both support agriculture, the region’s most important industry.

The personal backgrounds of the two candidates offer voters a much sharper contrast.

Condit, 41, a former mayor of Ceres and a Stanislaus County supervisor, has served in the Assembly since 1982. His most notable achievement has been to join the dissident Gang of Five and challenge the leadership of Democratic Assembly Speaker Willie Brown. For his effort, Condit was stripped of all his important committee assignments.

Berryhill, meanwhile, has been a farmer all his life, with occasional forays into politics. He was elected to the Assembly in a special election in 1969 and then moved to the state Senate in 1972. However, he left politics in 1976 saying that his legislative career and running his farm were incompatible.

In 1983, Berryhill joined Deukmejian’s cabinet as Food and Agriculture director but left four years later, again saying he wished to spend more time farming. Now, Berryhill farms 1,100 acres of wine grapes, almonds, apples and walnuts.

In campaign appearances, Berryhill already has begun taking shots at Condit for his lack of farming experience saying: “I’m a working farmer, not a country club farmer. I’m sure he’s never been on a tractor, pruned a grape or made a payroll, for that matter.”

Condit’s Strategy

But Condit strikes back at Berryhill’s political staying power, suggesting that the former legislator will not remain in Washington long enough to work his way up through the congressional seniority system.

“People will look at who is going to make a long-term commitment,” Condit said.

The sprawling central valley district includes all or parts of Stanislaus, Merced, Mariposa and Fresno counties and takes in Modesto and the northern portion of Fresno.

Coelho resigned June 15 after the revelation that he bought a $100,000 junk bond from Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc. with the help of a $50,000 loan that he did not report as required by law.

Condit has begun running television commercials in which he attempts to link himself with Coelho and play on the former congressman’s popularity in the district--a move that Berryhill said could backfire.

“It seems to me that--whatever happened to Tony’s career back there--he shouldn’t be made a hero,” Berryhill said. “That may come back to haunt him (Condit).”

In a special election, unlike regular elections, all of the candidates compete with each other regardless of party affiliation. If no one receives more than 50% of the vote, there will be a runoff Nov. 7 between the leading candidate in each party.

Could Help Condit

This quirk in the electoral system could benefit Condit because as many as five other Republicans have indicated they may enter the race--with the potential to siphon votes from Berryhill. They include Chris Paterrakis of Modesto, who was the GOP nominee against Coelho in 1978; Michael Cardenas of Fresno, who headed the Small Business Administration under Reagan; Cliff Burris of Merced, Robert Weimer of Atwater and Edmund Key of Mariposa. Modesto Mayor Carol Whiteside, who was the first Republican to announce her candidacy, has stepped aside to clear the way for Berryhill.

Although several other Democrats considered running, including Assemblymen Rusty Areias of Los Banos and Jim Costa of Fresno, they quickly abandoned the field to Condit.