Van de Kamp’s Initiative Ploy Drains Coffers : Politics: It’s costing the attorney general more money than expected to qualify his pet measures. Feinstein take heart.

Democratic Atty. Gen. John Van de Kamp is diverting unexpectedly large sums of money from his gubernatorial war chest to qualify three initiatives that he hopes will catapult him into the governor’s mansion. The initiatives--on crime and drugs, ethics and the environment--were launched last summer when he was trailing former San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein in the polls.

The ploy revived Van de Kamp’s then-moribund campaign. As expected, the three measures attracted the media’s attention, resulting in the attorney general’s steady rise in the polls. Also, there was never much doubt that the initiatives would qualify for the November ballot.

The price tag for such success, however, may be more than Van de Kamp bargained for. His top aides now concede that they underestimated the signature effort’s expense, though they insist the cost so far has been only $500,000. But other sources say that the initiative drives are costing Van de Kamp’s campaign $125,000 a week. At that rate, the attorney general may spend $1 million to get the measures on the ballot. That’s a week’s worth of statewide TV spots.

According to one political consultant, Van de Kamp would have been wiser to hoard his campaign money, thus entering the June primary with a virtually pre-emptive money advantage over Feinstein’s underfunded campaign. That cash edge might even have forced Feinstein to rethink her gubernatorial ambition.

As it now stands, Van de Kamp faces an expensive, and divisive, primary battle against her. And his initiatives won’t be any help.

The Democratic primary for state attorney general has unexpectedly become financially competitive. In July, 1989, Los Angeles District Attorney Ira Reiner enjoyed a 14-1 cash advantage over Arlo Smith, the district attorney in San Francisco. By month’s end, Reiner’s campaign is expected to have between $450,000 and $500,000 in the bank. But Smith’s tally could be between $550,000 and $600,000, based on an amended Dec. 31 report. How did he suddenly come by the cash? He put his savings on the line, and he recently inherited a lot of money.

Bill Allen, former chairman of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, says he’ll declare his intent to seek the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor before the Feb. 7 filing deadline. Should the ultra-conservative Reagan appointee follow through, his candidacy would certainly enliven what would otherwise be a lethargic contest between state Sen. John Seymour (R-Anaheim), and state Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach).

Allen, now a government professor at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, quit the GOP U.S. Senate primary in 1986 to campaign for losing TV commentator Bruce Herschensohn. Should he win the primary, he would be only the second black Republican general-election nominee for statewide office since James Flournoy lost in 1982 to Democratic Controller Kenneth Cory.

L.A. whispers. Los Angeles County supervisors, battling a federal lawsuit aimed at helping a Latino win a seat on the county board, are edging toward a settlement. Despite last week’s 3-2 vote against expanding the board to seven members, the idea remains alive. Before Christmas, Supervisor Mike Antonovich was circulating a seven-seat map that reportedly upset his conservative colleagues on the board, Deane Dana and Pete Scharbarum. The apparent sticking point was that the proposed seventh seat, which would include the Santa Clarita Valley, would not be a sure Republican thing. If a new map is drawn to ease this concern, board opposition to expansion will crumble.