POLITICAL NOTEBOOK : Bader Votes No on ‘Kinder, Gentler Race’

Kinder and Gentler: Sen. Ruben S. Ayala, accused of ducking debates by his election opponent, Assemblyman Charles Bader, says he will accept the debate challenge if Bader will do one small favor: refrain from mentioning his name in the last five weeks of the campaign.

Bader, the Republican former mayor of Pomona, says no thanks.

Ayala, a Chino Democrat who faces his toughest election battle since he first went to the Senate in 1974, wants Bader to sign a two-page pledge that he bills a Code of Fair Campaign Practices.

He said that for two years Bader has been digging up campaign material against him and “by now, he must have all the garbage he can collect . . . (but) that’s OK. Throw it at me.”

If charges are aired well before election day, there is no problem because there is time for a response, Ayala said. But charges made on the eve of an election are impossible to combat, he said. Therefore, he wants Bader to join him in signing the pledge that includes this promise:

“I shall not refer to my opponent in any campaign material either directly or indirectly during the final five weeks of the campaign. Rather, I shall devote that time period exclusively to discussing thoughtful discussions of my own record, who I am as a person and my own ideas for improving the quality of life in the 34th Senate District. I shall only refer to my opponent in direct verbal answers to an individual bona fide member of the press crops (sic). Those communications shall be non-recorded, oral communications.”

Ayala said: “If he signs that pledge, I’ll debate him every day of the week.”

Great minds?: If you believe press releases, Assemblymen Pat Nolan (R-Pasadena), Richard Mountjoy (R-Monrovia) and Bader made identical remarks last week. Each said, “A small minority of liberals has a chokehold on the Legislature. Tough crime legislation is not being passed, and it’s time to get tough with those blocking the legislative process.”

The identical quote was used in press releases issued separately by each assemblyman’s office to promote “Criminal Justice Week,” an attempt to embarrass Democrats accused of blocking tough anti-crime legislation.

The legislators are asking victims of crime to send them postcards or letters by Friday describing what happened to them so that the information can be taken to Sacramento next week.

Still (Politically) Dead: The campaign to replace recalled Councilman C. L. (Clay) Bryant in Pomona is off to a quiet start with the departure from the race of its most colorful figure, George Bosy. He was first ruled off the ballot because many of the signers of his nomination petition--including Bosy--were not on the voter registration rolls when officials attempted to verify signatures.

Bosy then tried to prove that his signers had registered to vote in time but that their registration cards did not reach the county Registrar of Voters office promptly because of mail delays.

City Clerk Elizabeth Villeral said the city looked into the matter again last week, but found a postmark on only one of the voter registration cards. So Bosy, who has brought drama to City Council meetings by showing up with an entourage of homeless people and repeatedly clashing with the mayor, is still off the ballot.

Short Subjects: San Gabriel Valley Democrats unhappy with the leadership of Richard David Boyle as party chairman in the 42nd Assembly District replaced him with Jim Jenal. But Boyle says the move was illegal and he will appeal to the party hierarchy and to delegates at the next party convention. . . . Democrat David Bayer, running against Rep. Carlos Moorhead (R-Glendale) to represent a district that includes Pasadena, is getting help from former Gov. Edmund G. (Pat) Brown and Rep. Barbara Boxer (D-San Rafael). Brown will appear at a reception in Burbank Aug. 26, and Boxer is scheduled to participate in three district fund-raising events Sept. 8. . . . Latest campaign report filings by Democratic officeholders show that they gave generously from their campaign funds to help Assembly Speaker Willie Brown defeat the reapportionment initiatives on the June ballot. Assembly members Sally Tanner of Baldwin Park and Richard Polanco of Los Angeles, who also represents part of Pasadena, each gave $20,000 to the effort.