CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS: ATTORNEY GENERAL : Lungren Modifies TV Attack on Smith

Republican state attorney general candidate Dan Lungren has modified the wording of his first TV campaign ad, which was criticized in editorials by major California newspapers as “dirty,” “exploitative” and “a cheap shot” against his Democratic opponent.

The 30-second spot skewers San Francisco Dist. Atty. Arlo Smith for accepting a plea bargain from a onetime campaign contributor accused of drug and sex charges involving teen-age prostitutes.

Since the ad was unveiled early last week, editorials in the San Francisco Examiner, the Sacramento Bee and The Times have said that it unfairly indicates that Smith approved a light sentence for the influential defendant, Donald Werby, in exchange for campaign contributions.

The Examiner, in its editorial, wrote that “in essence, Lungren is accusing Smith of a crime, of throwing a case. This marks a new low in campaign ads. . . . Not a shred of evidence is offered.”

The new ad makes clear that Smith has returned Werby’s campaign contributions. Lungren said Thursday that as a result of questions posed by reporters, he changed his ad even before the first editorials were published last Friday.

“We were frankly surprised when some people said that to us,” said Lungren. “None of us even conceived of the idea it would be looked at as an allegation of a quid pro quo or that there was a bribe accepted by Arlo Smith.”

Smith’s campaign manager, Marc Dann, demanded Thursday that Lungren publicly apologize for the ad. “Dan Lungren’s ads are an insult to the intelligence of the voters,” said Dann. “He is a liar and he hasn’t the guts to face up to it when he gets caught.”

Werby, contending that he is innocent, also requested this week that Lungren remove the ad from the air. Indicted last year by a San Francisco grand jury on 22 felony drug, sex and bribery counts, Werby said he pleaded guilty to four misdemeanor charges only “to preserve as much as possible the shattered privacy of myself and my family.”

In a letter to Lungren, Werby, a multimillionaire partner in the Four Seasons Clift Hotel and Gray Line bus tours, added that he was prosecuted despite substantial evidence of his innocence “precisely because I had been a (Smith) campaign contributor.”

“Smith was so terrified of appearing to go easy on me that he brought a case which was untenable,” Werby wrote.

Smith, who had received $7,500 from Werby, his brother and their businesses during the formative stages of his campaign last year, returned the contributions long before the plea bargain was accepted.

Despite the furor, Lungren said he still stands “by the accuracy of the original ad.”

CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS: THE AD CAMPAIGN

The race: Attorney general. Whose ad? Republican Dan Lungren.

Lungren has modified his first TV campaign ad, which has been branded deceptive in several major newspaper editorials. The 30-second spot attacks his Democratic opponent, San Francisco Dist. Atty. Arlo Smith, for accepting a misdemeanor plea bargain from one-time campaign contributor Donald Werby, who had been indicted on 22 felony drug, sex and bribery counts involving teen-age prostitutes.

Elements of the Lungren ad, with an analysis by Times staff writer Paul Feldman:

Original ad: “San Francisco D.A. Arlo Smith allowed Werby to plea bargain. No jail, just some community service and a fine. This, after Werby and his brother had given thousands to Smith’s political campaign.”

The modified ad: “San Francisco D.A. Arlo Smith allowed Werby to plea-bargain. No jail, just some community service and a fine. Although Smith returned Werby’s political contribution, he should have turned the case over to the state attorney general because of potential conflicts of interest.”

Analysis: Werby, his brother and their businesses donated $7,500 to Smith’s campaign before Werby’s indictment in August, 1989. The Smith campaign returned most of the contributions before Werby, 63, was indicted. Despite the Werbys’ initial contributions and the fact that Smith’s campaign manager was called to testify before the Werby grand jury, Smith maintains that his office had no legal problem prosecuting the case.