ELECTIONS ASSEMBLY : Braly Attacks Absent Wright During Forum

Although Assemblywoman Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley) was not present at a question and answer forum Thursday night, that did not stop Republican challenger Hunt Braly from taking swipes at her.

“I would think an incumbent should at least have the decency and desire to want to come here and talk about their record and answer questions on the minds of voters in this district,” Braley said.

He said the real reason that Cathie Wright did not attend was because she wanted to collect an extra three days of per diem expenses by remaining in Sacramento over the Labor Day weekend.

Mark Thompson, Wright’s campaign manager, denied the allegation. He said his boss had to remain in Sacramento to vote on important issues facing the Legislature on Friday. Thompson did not specify what votes were coming up on the Assembly floor.

“She is hiding until June 6th,” Braley said, referring to the day after June 5 primary.

Braly, chief aide to state Sen. Ed Davis (R-Santa Clarita), was one of three candidates for the 37th District Assembly seat who appeared at the forum held in the Simi Valley City Council chambers Thursday night. The event, which attracted more than 150 people, was sponsored by the area’s chapter of the League of Women Voters.

Democratic candidate Dennis Petrie and Libertarian candidate John Spooner also spoke at the event.

All of the candidates present Thursday night agreed that curbing crime, controlling development and maintaining high ethical standards were the major issues of the campaign.

“I will do everything in my power to clean up the ethics swamp you see in Sacramento,” Braley said. He took another swipe at Wright, accusing her of taking speaking fees and gifts from special interest groups. “I will go to Sacramento and never be an embarrassment to the voters of this district,” he said.

During the past few weeks, Braly has hammered away at Wright’s attempts to intervene with law enforcement authorities on behalf of her daughter Victoria.

The younger Wright faced jail or loss of her license after running up 22 traffic tickets, the majority of which were for speeding, since 1981.

In response to Braly’s repeated attacks, Wright this week mailed pamphlets to more than 40,000 Republicans in the 37th Assembly District stating her opponent was “shamelessly exploiting a family tragedy.” The pamphlets, however, did not contain any reference to Wright’s attempts to help her daughter.

Ventura County Dist. Atty. Michael Bradbury, who headed the investigation into Wright’s involvement in her daughter’s legal problems, determined that although Wright tried to get special treatment for her daughter, she did not commit any prosecutable offenses.

Wright has said she did not intervene for personal gain and has not violated the public’s trust.

“The question should be asked, ‘Is ethics not being indicted?’ If that is a standard that Cathie Wright wants to be judged by, I think it is very unfortunate,” Braley said. “I certainly understand the difference between right and wrong. Unfortunately, Cathie does not.”

Wright is facing what appears to be her toughest challenge since being elected to the Assembly in 1980. The 37th Assembly District, overwhelmingly Republican, sprawls from northern and western Los Angeles County through portions of Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

All five candidates in the supervisorial race to represent the 4th District--which includes Simi Valley, Moorpark, Somis and the Santa Clara Valley--were scheduled to participate in the second part of the forum late Thursday night. The candidates include Vicky Howard and Bill Davis, both Simi Valley City Council members; Glen Schmidt, a Moorpark planning commissioner; and Tom Ely, a Ventura County Community College District trustee.