Unhappy With Wilson, GOP Group Makes a Pitch for Ueberroth

So far they are merely pebbles on Pete Wilson’s road to the Republican gubernatorial nomination. But--undeterred by the odds--a handful of Los Angeles area conservatives has launched a desperate effort to get a second name on the GOP primary ballot: Peter Ueberroth.

Ueberroth, president of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and, until last year, the commissioner of major league baseball, was unsuccessfully courted a year ago by both major political parties for the governor’s race. He has not sanctioned the current attempt. But a letter the group says it received from him in November--attesting that he had “not made a firm decision” about running--was enough to stoke the optimism of the anti-Wilson activists.

“Peter Ueberroth encompasses the qualities that Ronald Reagan did,” said Leslie Dutton of Santa Monica-based California Pro-Family Women’s Coalition, expressing the highest praise imaginable from a conservative.

“You don’t often run into a candidate that there’s nothing wrong with,” seconded Paddy Lackey, immediate past president of the Sacramento Suburban Republican Women and an ally of the local activists.

Not that they have looked deeply into Ueberroth’s positions.

Ueberroth has described himself as conservative on business, defense and foreign policy and more liberal on social issues--in other words, almost a twin to Wilson.

Some of the would-be drafters oppose Wilson because of the senator’s pro-choice stand on abortion. But Ueberroth, too, has said he is pro-choice. Not to worry.

“I’m not familiar with that at all,” said Dutton, dismissing any conflict. “Most of us are not familiar with his political background because he’s not run for office.”

If not for the issues, why bother mounting such a long-shot campaign, which so far has drawn only disdain from the Republican Establishment? Because the activists’ reasons for disliking Wilson are many.

They object to the senator’s recent campaign proposal that would increase the number of counselors and other social services providers in the state’s school system. They have not forgiven him for refusing last year to deny party recognition to gay Republican clubs. And they question his loyalty to the Republican right, citing his support of moderate Gerald R. Ford over Reagan in the 1976 presidential race.

But in addition, the group, almost entirely women, is bridling at its limited influence within the GOP.

Wilson provides a tempting target because he entered the governor’s race at the behest of the state’s top Republicans, who were scrambling for a strong candidate after Gov. George Deukmejian decided against seeking another term.

“They (the disgruntled women) are asked to do the work, and they’re not given any say,” Dutton said.

Contacted by The Times, Ueberroth declined to comment. Wilson’s office did not answer requests for comment. And Steve Johnson, executive director of the Los Angeles County Republican Party, dismissed the group as “12 ladies who have a lot of people on their stationery.”

The group’s maiden effort got off to a rocky start. A half-dozen stood outside a county Republican meeting Tuesday night, handing out flyers asking supporters to urge Ueberroth to run. The flyers--which included Ueberroth’s Newport Beach business address--and the drafters got drenched by rain.

The nonconfrontational tone of their protest disintegrated rapidly, too. As Dutton and others were readying a press conference, a Ueberroth supporter and a Wilson backer screamed at each other, concluding their battle with an exchange of slaps.

“You were yelling in my face,” Stephanie Kennedy, the Ueberroth supporter yelled at the unidentified man who slapped her after she had slapped him. “You’re an animal!”