Pomona Mailer Makes ‘Allies’ of Ayala, Bader

Double Trouble: Democratic state Sen. Ruben S. Ayala of Chino and his Republican challenger, Assemblyman Charles Bader of Pomona, finally found something to agree on.

They were both upset by political mailers from Pomona City Council candidate Bob Dahms. Pomona Republicans received a mailer last week picturing Dahms with Bader and urging them to support the Republican Party with a vote for Dahms in Tuesday’s special city election. Democrats received pictures of Dahms with Democrats, including Ayala, in a mailer appealing for Democratic votes.

Dahms, a registered Republican, said he was just trying to show the voters that he could work with everyone.

Bader said Dahms used the pictures to imply endorsements even though “I told Bob Dahms I would not endorse anyone.” Because of the mailer, Bader said, he is supporting the other Republican in the council race, Boyd Bredenkamp. The third candidate is Nancy Lopez, a Democrat.

Ayala, who is Latino, said he never endorses municipal candidates outside his hometown of Chino. And, he said, he doesn’t like the idea of a candidate sending Democrats one version of a mailer and Republicans another.

He said he was highly offended by another targeted mailing recently, when a sheriff’s candidate he had endorsed in San Bernardino County used his picture in a mailer to Latinos and didn’t even mention his name in a mailer to other voters.

Bader said this is the first time Ayala and he have been in agreement during their campaign. Bader added: “It also will probably be the last.”

Debating Points: Bob Gouty, campaign manager for Assemblyman Richard Mountjoy (R-Monrovia), says the problem with most campaign debates is that they attract so little attention.

So, thinking big, Gouty is proposing that all the legislative candidates in the San Gabriel Valley hire a hall and stage debates together. One massive event, he said, could attract a big audience and the interest of the media, including cable television.

“It’s an incredible idea,” said Gouty, who suggested that Mountjoy would line up area Republicans for the debate if his Democratic challenger, South Pasadena Mayor Evelyn Fierro, would bring the Democrats.

But Fierro said she thinks Gouty is making his proposal so Mountjoy won’t have to debate her alone. “I’m an independent Democrat,” she said. “I don’t want to be part of a pack. (Mountjoy) wants to hide in a pack of Republicans. I want to debate one on one.”

Trashing the Dump: It might seem hard to criticize Assemblywoman Sally Tanner (D-Baldwin Park) for securing passage of a bill to provide $1.1 million to help clean up ground-water contamination in the San Gabriel Valley.

But Ron Aguirre, her Republican challenger in the Nov. 6 election, has found a way, calling her bill “nothing more than a deceptive attempt to cover up her ties with those who may be responsible for the problem.” Aguirre said Tanner received $2,000 in campaign contributions from Browning-Ferris Industries, owners of an Azusa dump.

Aguirre said Tanner, as head of the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee, should reject campaign contributions from industries affected by the committee.

Tanner was on vacation last week and unavailable for comment, but Larry Levine, her campaign manager, said the Browning-Ferris contributions were received in 1987 and 1988 before the Azusa dump issue arose. He said Tanner is supporting legal efforts to stop the dump’s expansion and has instructed her staff to refuse contributions from Browning-Ferris in the future.