Deukmejian Endorses Candidate for 27th Assembly District Seat

Departing from his longstanding policy of remaining neutral in contested Republican primaries, Gov. George Deukmejian on Friday endorsed Modesto City Councilman Dick Lang in the race to fill a vacant San Joaquin Valley seat in the state Assembly.

Lang, the 51-year-old principal of Modesto High School, is one of four Republicans and three Democrats running in a special Dec. 5 race to succeed former Assemblyman Gary Condit, a Modesto Democrat who was elected to Congress last month to succeed Tony Coelho.

In addition to Lang, the other Republicans running to succeed Condit are Modesto Mayor Carol Whiteside, Turlock Mayor Brad Bates and Tracy Finance Director Zane Johnston.

Democratic candidates for the vacant 27th Assembly District, which covers all of Stanislaus County and the Atwater-Snelling region of Merced County, are Stanislaus County Supervisors Pat Paul and Sal Canella and Condit’s former field representative, John Lazar of Turlock.

Deukmejian made no reference to any of the other candidates in his endorsement of Lang as “an outstanding candidate (who) will be a great asset to the California Legislature.”