Republican Candidates Duke It Out : Politics: Rival lieutenant governor candidates Bergeson and Seymour trade jabs at press club debate in Irvine.

So much for sweetness and light.

Marian Bergeson and John Seymour, the two state senators from Orange County who have been waltzing their way quietly through the Republican primary campaign for lieutenant governor, got serious Friday. They started to slug it out.

On two “issues for the 1990s”--the environment and abortion--Bergeson, of Newport Beach, and Seymour, of Anaheim, took advantage of an Orange County Press Club debate to highlight their differences. Along the way, they also spelled out divergent views on the prospect of being U.S. Sen. Pete Wilson’s running mate and disagreed, naturally, about who would be better positioned to take on Democratic Lt. Gov. Leo T. McCarthy in the general election.

Bergeson described Seymour as a “born-again” environmentalist, a Johnny-come-lately to a field she has been plowing for years. Seymour, in turn, said that Bergeson had her “head in the sand” because she refused to abandon her opposition to abortion, as he did last summer.

With the Huntington Beach oil spill fresh in the minds of voters, Bergeson said that, as a legislator, she has tried to protect California’s coast and beaches. But she added: “John Seymour perhaps sees a more immediate economic use of our coastline.”

Then she ticked off a series of votes on which the two differed, not only on coastal issues, but on other environmental protection measures as well.

She said she voted for a bill to make those responsible for oil spills liable for the damage they cause, but Seymour opposed it.

Bergeson said she supported a measure to ensure that emissions from offshore drilling did not affect onshore air quality. Seymour, she said, did not.

On acid rain, smog and toxics, Bergeson said, she has voted for progressive legislation while Seymour has lagged behind.

“It is clear that John and I have a very different view on many important issues facing the state of California,” she said.

Appearing a little surprised by the criticism, Seymour said he voted against offshore oil drilling last year and voted for an anti-smog bill that Bergeson had opposed.

“Part of the campaign is to evaluate your opponent’s voting record,” he said. “It appears that my opponent has done a thorough job of that. I suspect that we can pick and choose bills and look at dotted i’s and crossed ts and make something of anything.”

But Bergeson didn’t let up. She noted that the votes Seymour cited were cast in 1988 and 1989. “It seems that John is something of a latecomer,” she said.

On abortion, Seymour took the offensive, trying to head off criticism that he had changed his position only because polls showed a majority of Californians support a woman’s right to choose abortion. He said he changed his stance before the polls and recent election results revealed that his new position might be popular. He did so, he said, after it became clear that the states--not the federal courts--would have the power to regulate abortion.

“The truth is, I came to my position after the United States Supreme Court changed the whole environment,” he said. “If somebody wants to call that a flip-flop--OK.”

Bergeson, however, said she has no plans to reconsider her opposition to abortion. She said she hoped that standing firm on her convictions would help encourage young people to be strong enough to resist peers who tempt them with drugs and alcohol.

“We need to teach our kids right from wrong, morality from immorality,” she said. “If we are going to solve the many problems society is facing, we have got to hold true to those principles that we feel are truly important.”

But Seymour criticized Bergeson for failing to take a second look at the abortion issue.

“For the individual who refuses to recognize that there have been changes in the environment, that there are new facts to be considered, and approaches the issue with her head in the sand rather than confronting the new facts and the new landscape, I think there is something missing,” he said. “I would hope I’d never have my feet so solid in concrete on any issue that I am unwilling to take a fresh look.”

Seymour’s position on abortion now mirrors that of Sen. Wilson, who is expected to be the Republican nominee for governor in the fall. Seymour described Wilson as a “close friend” and “philosophical soul mate” and said that he would be willing to “march to the direction of the top executive person in the state.” He boasted that he had experience being “No. 2” from his days as vice mayor of Anaheim (he was later mayor), vice president of the California Board of Realtors (he became president) and chairman of the Senate Republican Caucus, second-in-command to the Republican floor leader.

“The ticket we need is a team approach, people who think alike,” he said. “I think that’s healthy.”

But Bergeson said she believed her differences with Wilson would help ensure that conservative Republicans will make it to the polls in November, even if they are dissatisfied with Wilson’s moderate record.

“I am not a clone of Pete Wilson,” she said. “I am an independent person that I think carries a balance to the ticket that is very necessary.”