CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS/GOVERNOR : Feinstein Ad Bills Her as a Crime Fighter

Dianne Feinstein goes on the air today with a new television ad that attempts to persuade California voters that she is just as tough on crime as Pete Wilson, her Republican opponent for governor Nov. 6.

The Feinstein campaign said Wednesday it would begin airing a 30-second spot in which the former San Francisco mayor is shown being booed when she endorsed the death penalty while addressing the Democratic Party’s state endorsing convention in Los Angeles in April.

“Yes, I support the death penalty,” Feinstein says in the footage from the convention. “The people of this state want to be protected and I aim to protect them.”

Television viewers can hear the boos of the convention, which gave its endorsement to Atty. Gen. John K. Van de Kamp. Feinstein defeated Van de Kamp convincingly in the Democratic primary.

Feinstein’s ad continues with an announcer reading as the words appear on the TV screen: “At last, a leader with the courage and independence to tell people what they had to know. And she turned the boos to cheers.”

The ad closes with Feinstein again seen addressing the convention: “And let’s start today by choosing leaders with the vision to see that future and the guts to get us there.”

Wilson has put a heavy emphasis on his anti-crime program, and particularly his long support for the death penalty and a promise to protect California youth from drugs.

Also, the Los Angeles Times Poll last month showed that voters by a 2-1 margin believed Wilson was better on the crime issue than Feinstein. Those polled ranked crime as their No. 3 issue of concern, behind the environment and abortion rights.

The two candidates sparred earlier this week over whose city had the best crime record when each served as a mayor--Wilson in San Diego and Feinstein in San Francisco.

Feinstein argues that the crime rate declined 27% in San Francisco during her tenure and rose 25% in San Diego during Wilson’s administration. Wilson acknowledges that crime went up while he was mayor, but he says that those figures reflected the growth that was occurring in San Diego. He also notes that the overall crime rate was still lower in San Diego than in San Francisco.

Earlier this week, Feinstein tried to bolster her image as a crime fighter with a visit to the California Highway Patrol Academy in Sacramento where she pledged full funding for the CHP despite the state’s severe fiscal problems. “Law enforcement has to be a top priority. . . . One of the things we take an oath to do is to maintain public safety and welfare and the way you do that is by making law enforcement No. 1,” she said.

Feinstein has been endorsed by the California Assn. of Highway Patrolmen. Most other law enforcement organizations support Wilson.