Reiner Reverses Himself, Backs Prop. 115 : Politics: Sudden support for anti-crime initiative gives primary foe Arlo Smith new ammunition in campaign.

Three days after publicly stating that he could not support Proposition 115, the sweeping anti-crime initiative on the June ballot, Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner has done an about-face.

Last Tuesday, during his first head-to-head debate with San Francisco Dist. Atty. Arlo Smith, his opponent in the Democratic primary for state attorney general, Reiner said he could not support the initiative due to concerns that its passage could eventually lead to restrictions on abortion rights.

Rather, Reiner said, he supported efforts to qualify for the November ballot an alternate initiative which would be identical to the June measure except to clarify the abortion issue.

Reiner’s latest position was contained in a letter delivered Friday to members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. In the three-paragraph missive, Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Greg Thompson wrote, “The district attorney supports the (June) initiative and urges the board to do so also.”

Thompson, in a telephone interview Friday, confirmed that Reiner changed his mind after two days of office discussions.

“Is it a change? Yes,” said Thompson. “In a nutshell, it comes down to the fact that reforms in the June measure are that important and that necessary.”

Smith’s campaign manager, Marc Dann, swiftly sought to take advantage of Reiner’s reversal.

“It demonstrates he’s no kind of a leader and no kind of law enforcement officer,” said Dann. “He (Reiner) talks out of both sides of his mouth.”

During the San Francisco debate, in which Smith repeatedly accused Reiner of a lack of integrity, Proposition 115 was virtually the only major issue on which the two candidates disagreed.

Jumping to the lectern like an uncoiling Jack-in-the-Box, Smith declared, “I find this to be very, very interesting,” after Reiner stated he did not support Proposition 115.

Kern County Dist. Atty. Edward R. Jagels, chairman of the group serving as chief sponsor of the initiative, said Friday afternoon that he had been “very surprised” after reading Reiner’s debate statements since Reiner had previously supported Proposition 115.

Thompson, concurring that his boss had initially supported the initiative, said he was not sure why Reiner has changed his mind back and forth in recent days.

“I think it’s a matter of deliberation,” Thompson said. “No one is ever completely fixed in his views unless he’s dead.”

Reiner was unavailable for comment Friday afternoon. But his reversal appeared to cause confusion for his campaign staff. In an interview Friday morning, Reiner’s campaign manager, Sam Singer, said that as far as he knew, Reiner still did not support Proposition 115. Singer went on to characterize Reiner’s stance against the measure as “a very tough decision.”

During the Tuesday debate, Reiner had said he personally believed that the wording of the initiative would not jeopardize abortion rights. “But then you get two lawyers together and you’re going to get three opinions,” Reiner said.

Siding with the position of gubernatorial candidate Atty. Gen. John K. Van de Kamp, Reiner said he was concerned that the wording could lead to a court review that could eventually result in the overturning of women’s rights to abortion.