Reagan Backs Ban on Faked Endorsement

Former President Ronald Reagan on Wednesday endorsed legislation aimed at closing a legal loophole that permitted an Orange County legislator to forge Reagan’s signature on campaign materials without facing criminal penalties.

Reagan, through his Los Angeles spokesman, supported legislation introduced Wednesday in reaction to a recent court decision dismissing felony forgery charges against Assemblyman John R. Lewis (R-Orange) for using an unauthorized Reagan signature on 480,000 campaign letters in 1986.

The state 3rd District Court of Appeal held last week that Lewis’ use of the phony Reagan signature did not defraud the voters of money or property--ingredients needed to warrant a criminal charge. The court also noted that the state’s election code held no criminal sanctions for the forged signature.

The decision stunned many legislators, who said they were afraid the court ruling would be interpreted as a license for unscrupulous campaigners to forge signatures of politicians and celebrities without fear of sanction. And on Wednesday, Sen. William A. Craven (R-Oceanside) called a press conference to announce the introduction of a bill to plug the elections-code loophole by making such forgery a crime.

“President Reagan supports Sen. Craven’s bipartisan bill because it seeks to protect the good name, personal signature and political speech of every citizen,” Reagan spokesman Mark Weinberg said. “The right to publicly endorse or oppose candidates or initiatives is as precious as the right to vote on them.

“This right must be safeguarded. President Reagan believes this measure will help restore much needed integrity and public confidence in California’s political process.”

Also Wednesday, Atty. Gen. John Van de Kamp, who helped Craven draft the legislation, said he would appeal last week’s court ruling to the state Supreme Court.

Lewis was directing campaign strategy for Assembly Republicans when he had Reagan’s signature affixed to about 480,000 letters attacking Democrats in six Assembly districts during the waning days of the 1986 legislative races. In one version, Assemblyman Richard E. Floyd (D-Carson) was accused of giving “in to the powerful underworld drug industry” for his votes on anti-drug laws.

Lewis sent the letters even though the White House refused use of Reagan’s name on the material, according to grand jury testimony. The ruse was discovered when undeliverable letters trickled back to the White House, which was listed as the return address on the campaign material.

After district attorneys in Los Angeles and Sacramento counties declined to prosecute Lewis, Van de Kamp filed charges of felony forgery against the Orange County legislator--the first sitting California lawmaker in 24 years to be indicted for political improprieties.

Lewis and his backers in the Republican caucus hailed the appeals court ruling as a vindication and blamed Van de Kamp, a 1990 Democratic gubernatorial candidate, of prosecuting the Orange assemblyman for political reasons.

On Wednesday, Lewis and his Sacramento attorney said Van de Kamp’s decision to appeal the case was further proof that he was beating up on Lewis in the courts to gain political mileage.

“An announcement on how to proceed in a legal case was made at a press conference by a candidate for political office,” said Dale Drozd, one of Lewis’ attorneys in the case. “I think it’s indicative that his (Van de Kamp’s) decisions in this regard are being governed by political considerations, and not by legal analysis, and I think that’s regrettable.”

Van de Kamp on Wednesday said that he has referred similar cases against Democrats to local district attorneys for prosecution, with one resulting in a misdemeanor conviction for use of a forged signature of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass) in a San Bernardino County race.

Meanwhile, Van de Kamp said that he was pushing the political forgery legislation as another means of discouraging false endorsements in California campaigns.

“I think the matter should be disposed of once and for all, and we are going to follow a two-track approach,” he said.

Craven said he was sponsoring the bill because he believed that Lewis’ use of the unauthorized Reagan signature was “egregiously bad.” He was joined by Assemblywoman Sally Tanner (D-Baldwin Park), a target of one of the 1986 letters. She said that the use of phony signatures was a campaign tactic that “has got to stop.”

The bill would make forging someone’s name on campaign material a crime that could result in three years in prison and a $50,000 fine.

The bill also allows the candidate victimized by the falsified mailers, as well as the person whose unauthorized signature was used, to sue for actual and punitive damages in civil court.

“As it would apply to the Lewis case hypothetically, Ronald Reagan would be able to sue the people who forged his name,” Van de Kamp said. “Sally Tanner would be able to sue the people who smeared her reputation. And the state of California would be able to seek criminal penalties against those who swindled the voters.”