Bill Press Quits Stations to Focus on Race

Bill Press, under fire for months for allegedly using his KABC-TV and KABC radio broadcasts to build an unfair advantage for himself in the race for state insurance commissioner, delivered his last commentaries Monday before becoming an official candidate.

And his pitch was highly political, prompting complaints from other contestants.

“I want to make it official,” Press said on KABC-TV. “I have decided, beginning (Tuesday), to go for it. . . . This job really defines me. It really is a fight for the people day in and day out. That’s what the job is all about. It combines that passion for public service I have with the passion of fighting for people.”

On KABC radio, he declared, “I’m convinced it’s a job I want, taking on those big insurance companies and forcing them to make those cuts in auto insurance we voted for with Proposition 103. . . . This is the one job in state government that appeals to me, fighting for the people day in and day out.”

Press had remained on the stations making commentaries--including one last week critical of the job being done by the state Board of Equalization, chaired by Conway Collis, one of his leading opponents--during months of exploratory efforts in the commissioner’s race, including heavy fund raising, appearances at candidate forums and solicitations of endorsements.

Press’s opponents, and some outside commentators, have raised questions about the propriety of his being allowed to remain on the air. Just last week Collis unsuccessfully asked for equal time to reply to Press. For the most part, station executives have avoided responding to the criticisms, and both stations said Monday their general managers were unavailable for comment.

This was the third time in the last five years that a KABC-TV commentator has used the station’s newscasts to declare his intention to run for political office. Press did it for the U.S. Senate in 1987, and Bruce Herschensohn for the U.S. Senate in 1986.

On Monday, two of Press’s Democratic opponents, Collis and former Common Cause director Walter Zelman, expressed unhappiness with Press and the stations.

“My sense is that Bill should have been off the air a month or two ago,” Zelman said. “He has been a candidate for months and I think the station and he should have recognized that.”

Said Collis: “While Bill Press has been misusing the public airways to promote himself, we’ve been fighting for California drivers. Ultimately, that is the basis upon which voters will choose a candidate. Commitment not commentary. Hard work, not TV talk.”

But Wes Bannister, a Republican candidate, said he did not mind Press’s appearances. “I would prefer to see him on, because I think it’s very helpful to have him exposing himself on a daily basis,” Bannister said.