CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS / GOVERNOR : Van de Kamp and Feinstein Agree to Two TV Debates

John K. Van de Kamp and Dianne Feinstein agreed to debate on live, prime-time television twice next month--staking the outcome of a long and closely matched Democratic primary race for governor on 120 minutes of daredevil political TV.

The decision, announced by the two campaigns Wednesday, runs contrary to the modern trend in California politics, in which televised debates are avoided as too venturesome, too hard to control and too apt to be decisive in a close contest. Political researchers said they could find no contemporary precedent for such televised, pre-primay debates among the major contenders in a California governor’s race.

But self-confidence and the lack of a breakaway front-runner--and, maybe, a dash of hard-headedness--apparently provided the right chemistry to enliven this mostly lackluster contest between Feinstein, the 56-year-old former mayor of San Francisco, and Van de Kamp, the 54-year-old state attorney general.

“We look forward to a fair and interesting debate,” the two candidates said in joint letters of acceptance.

Their agreement calls for a Sunday, May 13, encounter on KPIX-TV in San Francisco to be offered for simulcast on KRON-TV, also in San Francisco. It is unclear whether it will be offered to stations outside the Bay Area. The second debate will be Monday, May 21, at KCBS-TV in Los Angeles, sponsored by the League of Women Voters, with simultaneous feeds to stations in other cities. Each debate is to be an hour long, in the familiar format which has the candidates questioned by a panel of hand-picked journalists.

Aides to the candidates said they had been assured by the stations that the debates will occur in prime time. No restrictions were placed on subject matter.

Political professionals were quick to suggest that the two debates in this particular race may be of profound importance. Some of their reasons why:

The candidates have swapped leads in public opinion polls and taken turns riding the momentum of the moment, but neither has shown a sure-footed ability to run in front. The timing of the appearances puts the two in view of Californians just as large numbers of voters find their interest awakening in the race. Neither contender seems able to raise commanding sums of money that could dominate the advertising airwaves. And, frankly, neither candidate has developed stirring themes.

“There is no sense of who they really are as people. . . . These debates will allow people to assess--without a filter--just who these candidates are and who they like. And like is going to be real important in this election,” said Barbara O’Connor of the Institute for the Study of Media and Politics at Sacramento State University. “Neither of the candidates is very likable as they have been packaged so far.”

O’Conner, the League of Women Voters and other experts said there is no record of a televised pre-primary campaign debate on live television among the major candidates for governor. In the past, there have been so-called “joint forums” among candidates of the same party, but nothing on the order of an event that could reach millions, live, in a single hour.

Democratic political consultant Kam Kuwata, who is affiliated with neither campaign, said: “It will be a major defining event of this campaign. With the candidates there side by side, voters have a chance to comparison shop.”

Debates tend to take surprising turns and end up hinging on one single moment or a memorable line, making it risky to guess what is ahead. But observers following this campaign closely agree that the two candidates come to the studio stage with different strengths and potential weaknesses.

Feinstein is mediagenic and has a knack for presenting herself as both emphatic and sincere. She has stumbled on occasion, however, when it came to knowledge of state government. Van de Kamp, on the other hand, is extremely conversant about state government. But the camera is not nearly as friendly to him, and he tends to sound too lawyerly.

Back in February, Feinstein had proposed six debates, and Van de Kamp accepted.

On Wednesday, Van de Kamp expressed some bitterness that the campaigns were able to agree only on two. During staff-level negotiations, he said, both campaigns first agreed on a compromise four debates--two on television, one without cameras for print reporters and one with radio journalists.

“We have been informed that Dianne Feinstein is now unwilling to participate in even this scaled-down version of her challenge. That is regretable,” said Van de Kamp in a cover letter released Wednesday.

Feinstein aides said Van de Kamp dallied in getting his side to the negotiating table, leaving not enough time for more than two debates.