Campaign Talk : A Weekly Window On The California Elections

INTELLIGENCE

The Clock Ticks: More than 6 million Californians will be unable to vote in the Nov. 6 general election unless they register by Tuesday, Secretary of State March Fong Eu is warning. There were 13,169,309 people registered in the state as of Sept. 7, which is 68.4% of the 19,244,902 people eligible to vote. Registration materials are available at county election offices, many libraries and other public offices or by calling 1-800-345-VOTE.

Debate cycle: There may be more action outside the KNBC studios than inside on Sunday when Democrat Dianne Feinstein is to meet Republican Pete Wilson in the first of two televised debates. Dennis Thompson, the Libertarian candidate for governor, is so angry at being excluded that he promises to arrive at the Burbank studio and demand entrance. Thompson and whose army? He vows to arrive in a convertible accompanied by “100 Vietnam Veteran motorcyclists.”

Running scared: The Los Angeles Chapter of the American Assn. of Retired Persons seems to have capitalized on the “throw the bums out” fever sweeping political life. The group invited candidates in eight contested congressional races to speak at an issues forum. While the challengers agreed, all but two incumbents initially balked. “They didn’t want to give the challengers credibility,” said spokesman Lee Weinstein. That began to change after the distribution of some scathing press releases and a reminder that the November ballot contains two ballot measures that would limit terms of incumbents. Four have now signed on and Weinstein expects others to follow. “They may be a little nervous, at least I hope so,” he said.

Abortion vote: The California Abortion Rights League has begun a statewide effort to persuade 200,000 to 300,000 abortion rights supporters to cast their votes with absentee ballots. The effort is intended to demonstrate the political clout of California’s abortion rights lobby and will give the league a valuable mailing and phone list from which to target candidates who do not agree with its position. Among the prime targets is Republican lieutenant governor candidate Marian Bergeson, who openly opposes legalized abortions.

CAMPAIGN FACT

* It cost supporters of the 13 initiatives on the Nov. 6 ballot about $1 per signature--totaling out to about $1 million--to qualify their measures for the ballot, according to the California Commission on Campaign Financing. That is an increase of nearly 2,200% during the last 14 years.

IN PURSUIT OF THE STATEHOUSE: CAMPAIGN SPENDING

How much do the candidates spend in their bids to capture the California Statehouse? Listed below are the amounts spent by recent gubernatorial candidates in the primary and general elections, beginning with the 1978 primary. Also included are fund-raising goals for the current candidates, Dianne Feinstein and Pete Wilson.

YEAR PRIMARY+ GENERAL** 1978 * Edmund G. Brown Jr. (D) $1,351,240.00 $3,435,034.00 Evelle Younger (R) $1,134,068.00 $2,274,772.00 1982 * George Deukmejian (R) $4,087,451.00 $4,972,389.00 Tom Bradley (D) $2,675,005.00 $6,803,633.00 1986 * George Deukmejian (R) $4,149,108.00 $9,565,125.00 Tom Bradley (D) $2,596,407.00 $6,137,522.00 1990 Dianne Feinstein (D) $ 5,521,269.00 Period ends Dec. 31 Pete Wilson (R) $ 5,399,665.58 Period ends Dec. 31

1990 Campaign Fundraising Goals Dianne Feinstein: $10 million Pete Wilson: $16-18 million Key to chart * Elected governor (D) Democrat (R) Republican + For an 18-month reporting period ending on June 30. ** For a six-month reporting period ending on December 31. SOURCE: Fair Political Practices Commission

EXIT LINE

“The necessity for raising grotesque amounts of money to wage any top-level political campaign now stands as the primary challenge to our political system.”

--From the San Francisco Examiner in editorializing on a federal judge’s decision striking down Proposition 73’s voter-approved campaign fund-raising limits.