Feinstein Insists She Has Fire for Governor’s Run

Shaken by her resigned campaign manager’s charge that she lacks spunk and energy, former San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein tried to jump-start her gubernatorial race Thursday by vowing to run hard until election day.

“I’m in the race to stay. I’m motivated. I have the will and commitment to win,” the Democrat insisted in an opening statement to reporters. Replying later to questions, she asserted: “People who know me know that I’m not lazy. They know that I’m a disciplined person. I have never quit a race. I’ve been in eight races . . . . I’m a good campaigner. I enjoy it out on the stump.”

The fact that an established politician--a veteran office holder--would feel compelled to make such statements and offer such assurances is an indication of the severity of the wound inflicted by the resignation of her longtime campaign manager, Clinton Reilly of San Francisco. Reilly quit unexpectedly on Monday with a bitter accusation--echoing publicly what many politicos long had been contending privately--that Feinstein lacks the so-called “fire in the belly” necessary to win.

Replying to that charge with some humor on Thursday, and referring to a recent hysterectomy that had sidelined her for six weeks, Feinstein said: “I just had fire in my belly and had it removed.”

But she displayed no humor when discussing Reilly: “Mr. Reilly and I had differences over the management of the campaign. He chose to leave. I am free at last.”

It was learned, meanwhile, that Feinstein is considering hiring the veteran Los Angeles-based political consulting firm of Michael Berman and Carl D’Agostino to devise campaign strategy and develop television commercials. BAD--as the firm calls itself--would be considered a particular asset in Southern California, where Feinstein is weakest. But the former mayor also has been in contact with another consultant, Robert Squier of Washington D.C., a source said.

Named as the day-to-day campaign manager was Darry Sragow, who directed U.S. Sen. Alan Cranston’s successful reelection effort in 1986 and Lt. Gov. Leo McCarthy’s losing race for the U.S. Senate last year. Sragow had been Feinstein’s Southern California coordinator.

One of the raps on Reilly within the Feinstein organization was that he insisted on being in charge of everything.

“I’m absolutely determined to run this campaign on a plain-speaking, direct basis,” Feinstein told reporters. “I’m absolutely determined that I’m not going to be handled, that I’m not going to be merchandised.”

To illustrate her commitment to the contest, Feinstein announced that as of Thursday she had elevated her campaign from the “exploratory” stage to a full-blown race--a subtle distinction that usually matters only to politicians.

She described herself as pro-choice on abortion, somebody willing to raise more revenue to fight crime, an education reformist and a devoted environmentalist--a governor who would “guarantee” there would not be any offshore oil drilling “if I’ve got to go out and lie in front of those derricks myself.”

Feinstein also spent much of Wednesday and Thursday huddling with Democratic legislators, many of whom have no love-loss for her opponent for the party’s gubernatorial nomination, Atty. Gen. John K. Van de Kamp. The attorney general angered lawmakers recently by proposing a “political reform” initiative that would, among other things, limit the terms of legislators. He called state government and the Legislature a “swamp.”

Feinstein seemed to take pains at her press conference to praise legislators for taking “a major step forward” with a political ethics package of their own. She also said she opposed placing a limit on the terms of office holders.

Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco), who had lunch Thursday with Feinstein, told a reporter that the former mayor had a falling out with Reilly because of “her desire to be her own spokesperson, her desire to control her own money and control her campaign. . . . Too often, these campaign manager-types turn candidates into clones. Dianne could not be turned into a clone.”

Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles), who met with Feinstein in his office on Wednesday, said he advised her to make a strong statement of commitment to the race, “to let the world know that she’s serious.”

He added: “She had a serious operation. And when you’ve had a serious operation you are not out campaigning. It’s incredible to me that people are asking ‘where was she?’ ”

Feinstein said she now intends to spend her “total time” campaigning and raising money. She plans to move to Los Angeles for the duration of the campaign by the end of the month, Sragow said.