POLITICAL NOTEBOOK : Senate Candidates Slug It Out Over Fair Campaign Pledge

Dueling Pledges: The titans continue to clash in the fair campaign pledge arena.

This time, Assemblyman Charles Bader (R-Pomona)--who already rejected the pledge proffered by his opponent in the state Senate race--has come up with one of his own.

Naturally, Bader’s opponent, Sen. Ruben S. Ayala (D-Chino), promptly rejected it, saying it doesn’t go far enough.

Ayala himself had last week asked Bader to join him in pledging that their campaign mailers would not refer to each other during the last five weeks before the election in order to prevent last-minute smears. Bader laughed at that idea, saying that talking about the other candidate’s record is what campaigns are all about.

Bader then drew up his own campaign code, calling for a prohibition on personal attacks, a cutoff in campaign mailers the Saturday before the election and a series of six debates between the candidates. Ayala called Bader’s proposal “a thinly disguised protection of his right to do last-minute hit pieces,” and said he will not sign it.

Will the dazzling one-upmanship continue through the Nov. 6 election? Stay tuned.

Bedtime for Nymeyer: After going into closed session just after midnight Monday, the Pomona City Council returned to a near-empty council chamber. Most of the audience had lost interest in the meeting--or had given up hope that the council would ever return--and wisely went home to bed.

Councilman Mark A. T. Nymeyer apparently wanted to do the same and departed before the council voted to adjourn. Another councilman, Tomas Ursua, was dispatched to retrieve Nymeyer, who was headed for his car, so the meeting could be officially closed. With Nymeyer present, the council voted unanimously to adjourn at about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday.

County Them Out: Talk of secession continues to ripple through San Gabriel Valley cities angered by U.S. District Judge David V. Kenyon’s redrawing of supervisorial district lines.

The rhetoric ran high at Tuesday’s meeting of the La Verne City Council. A sample: Councilman Patrick Gatti called Kenyon’s decision “judicial rape.” Mayor Pro Tem Thomas Harvey termed it “arrogant.” Mayor Jon Blickenstaff said it appears to be an attempt to “divide and conquer” the valley.

Council members criticized Kenyon for lumping La Verne with such faraway cities as Palmdale instead of with nearby cities such as Diamond Bar.

Harvey and Councilman Craig Walters suggested that if district lines cannot be drawn in a fashion more agreeable to La Verne, the city should consider withdrawing from Los Angeles County to form a new county with other disgruntled San Gabriel Valley cities.

Short subject: 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.

Mike Ward, with contributions from Ben Sullivan and Brad Haugaard