Van de Kamp, Feinstein Get Set for Second Debate Today

Prepped and primped, Dianne Feinstein and John Van de Kamp take the stage in Los Angeles today for the last roll-the-dice debate in their long struggle for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, to be decided little more than two weeks from now.

Their hourlong debate will put the former San Francisco mayor and current attorney general side by side in the studios of KCBS-TV, which will broadcast it live at 4:30 p.m. The debate is the second for the two Democrats, following by a week a similar effort in San Francisco that prompted days of thrashing around to explain what they really meant.

Van de Kamp particularly has been on the offensive, goading Feinstein into repeated explanations of her statements in San Francisco that abortion for purposes of sex selection was a “misuse” of abortion rights and that cost-of-living raises for the aged, blind and disabled would be subject to budget negotiations.

Feinstein, after uncertain early attempts to explain her positions, seemed to regain her footing as the week progressed, launching attacks on Van de Kamp for defending the state of California’s malathion spraying program.

While it remained unclear just how much impact the back-and-forth accusations had, each campaign was hoping that today’s debate and the post-debate news reports would spur its candidate ahead in the tight race. The primary is June 5.

“There’s a huge undecided (vote) out there,” said Bob Shrum, a political consultant helping run Van de Kamp’s campaign. “In a real sense, the campaign started last Sunday and Monday.”

For candidates, the debate holds the potential of introducing them to voters, in more depth than can be accomplished in a 30-second television commercial: Feinstein, who is seeking to become the first woman governor of the state, and Van de Kamp, who is trying to become the third attorney general in three decades to win the governorship.

But the decision to watch is, of course, up to the voters. And last week’s viewing audience was disappointing--broadcast locally on public television station KCET, it was seen in fewer than 20,000 of the 5 million households in Southern California.

Today’s debate is statewide, in theory, at least. It could be hard to catch in some areas of California. No San Francisco television station was planning to air the event, and the only Bay Area radio station to air it--KCBS--will delay its broadcast until 9 p.m. KNSD-TV in San Diego and KXTV-TV in Sacramento will carry the debate live, as will radio stations KNX and KFWB in Los Angeles.

The San Francisco and Los Angeles debates are historic: Never before in a gubernatorial contest have there been such pre-primary face-offs.

Van de Kamp, indeed, has been putting pressure on Feinstein to agree to more debates, so confident was he coming out of the San Francisco exchange. Feinstein’s campaign has thus far refused.

Republican Pete Wilson also joined the fray Friday, urging Feinstein and Van de Kamp that the winner of the Democratic nomination join him for bipartisan debates. He asked each to agree to curb “character assassination” advertising during the general election campaign.

The stakes in the debate are such that both candidates have been run through a mill of mock contests to hone their familiarity with both issues and the stilted format. Each candidate will have one minute to explain his or her position, with 30 seconds allowed for rebuttal.