Horcher Attempts to Mend Fences to Gain Support : Politics: Republican candidate in 52nd Assembly District tries to build party unity in a race that so far has been tame.

Diamond Bar Councilman Paul V. Horcher, whose campaign tactics alienated two of his Republican opponents in the 52nd Assembly District primary, says he is trying a more conciliatory approach this time around.

In a bid for party unity, he is seeking an endorsement from one of his most bitter political rivals--Kenneth Manning, a Hacienda La Puente Unified School District board member who finished just 72 votes behind Horcher in the June Republican primary.

Horcher said support from Manning would help clinch his victory in the mostly Republican district. It also could be a blow to the Democratic nominee, Diamond Bar marketing consultant Gary Neely, who would benefit from a divided Republican Party in the Nov. 6 election.

Although acknowledging that the race has been tame so far, Neely said he expects things to heat up as Election Day approaches.

“We expect this camp to get nasty. We’re prepared,” Neely said.

Horcher said his campaign tactics in the primary were necessary to beat seven opponents. But he said he will not get rough unless Neely does.

“He (Neely) said he wasn’t going to do any negative campaigning,” Horcher said.

Meanwhile, Horcher is trying to mend fences--and garner Manning’s endorsement.

“(Manning and I) are going to sit down and have lunch,” Horcher said last week. “We’re going to build a consensus on what we have in common. I probably figure we have more in common than not. You’ve got to respect anyone who got (almost) 5,000 votes in the primary.”

Both Manning and Whittier attorney Phil Mautino, who finished sixth out of eight Republicans in the primary, have refused to support Horcher’s candidacy.

Manning has said Horcher’s political views--including his support of abortion rights--are not conservative enough. He has accused Horcher of using dirty campaign tactics, including mailers unfairly attacking Manning’s performance on the school board. At one point, Manning considered running a write-in campaign against Horcher in the general election.

On Monday, however, Manning said he is considering endorsing Horcher, although he remains reluctant. “(Horcher) is trying to appeal to my sense of loyalty to the Republican Party,” he said. “That’s my weakness.”

Compared to the June 5 primary, the race between Neely and Horcher has been less contentious, although not cordial. Neely has publicly criticized Horcher for lending $237,000 of his personal savings to his campaign, in addition to collecting $105,000 in contributions. To raise more money, Horcher mortgaged his house last month. Neely, on the other hand, has received about $22,000 in contributions.

Horcher, meanwhile, has fired off press releases accusing Neely of sign-stealing and suggesting that Neely improperly used the El Monte office of Democratic Sen. Charles Calderon (D-Whittier) for fund-raising purposes. Neely denies both charges.

Horcher, 39, an attorney, is considered the favored candidate for the Assembly seat, which was vacated when Frank Hill (R-Whittier) was elected to the state Senate. The Assembly district stretches from La Mirada and Whittier to the San Gabriel Valley, including Hacienda Heights, Rowland Heights, Walnut, Diamond Bar and part of West Covina. It has 74,029 registered Republicans, 65,722 Democrats and 15,450 without a party or belonging to minor parties.

Even though the district covers a lot of territory, in some ways both candidates believe success in the election will come down to hometown popularity.

Neely, 41, said Horcher is unpopular in Diamond Bar, where Horcher’s fellow City Council members in February removed him as mayor pro tem in a political dispute. Horcher had accused then-Councilman Gary G. Miller of a conflict of interest, shortly before a special election in which Miller was running against Hill for state Senate.

“He’s alienated everybody at one point in time in Diamond Bar,” Neely said of Horcher.

But the same political dispute indirectly contributed to Horcher’s primary victory. Shortly before that election, Hill endorsed Horcher, saying the councilman “stuck his neck out for me.”

Horcher insists it is Neely who is unpopular. Three times, Neely has run for local offices and has won only once--when he was elected to the Diamond Bar Municipal Advisory Council in 1988. Horcher won in all three of the same local elections. (The Municipal Advisory Council, formed before Diamond Bar incorporated as a city, reported to Los Angeles County Supervisor Pete Schabarum.)

Neely claims his campaign is picking up support from voters in both major political parties. In campaign literature and public appearances, Neely has labeled himself a conservative Democrat, pointing to his support of the death penalty and of Proposition 136, which requires two-thirds voter approval for all special tax hikes.

He said an endorsement from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. is proof of his fiscal conservatism.

“I’m not what some people would call a typical Democrat,” Neely said recently. “I’m a Democrat who continues to be accused of being a Republican.”

Horcher said Neely’s conservative demeanor is just a campaign strategy to win more votes. “He’ll call himself anything but a Democrat,” he said. “Republicans aren’t fooled, and Democrats are insulted.”

In his own campaign, Horcher is stressing that he favors abortion rights. He is also depicting himself as an environmentalist, citing his endorsement by the group Californians Against Waste, a Sacramento-based political action committee that advocates recycling.

But Neely is accusing Horcher of flip-flopping. Horcher in the past has strongly opposed publicly funded abortions, but on Monday modified his position to say that he merely has reservations about taxpayers’ money being spent on abortions.

Then, on Tuesday, Horcher said that he fully supports state funding of abortions for the poor. “I’ve heard a lot of good arguments. My mind is not closed on that issue. I’ve gotten a lot of lobbying on that issue from both sides.” He denied he ever opposed public funding.

Because both Horcher and Neely are now publicly adopting the same position, the California Abortion Rights Action League has decided to stay neutral in the race, Executive Director Robin Schneider said.

Neely said Horcher “is telling anybody who he talks to anything they want to hear. Paul’s opinion is related to who he’s standing next to at the time. He’ll do anything to get elected.”

In addition, a local Sierra Club official, Emil Lawton, claims that Horcher may have intentionally misstated his position on environmental issues to receive the club’s endorsement.

Lawton said he recommended that Horcher receive the endorsement last month because Horcher appeared to be against Proposition 138, a timber industry-backed initiative strongly opposed by the Sierra Club and other environmental groups. However, there were not enough votes on the club’s political committee to endorse Horcher. Lawton said he found out later that Horcher actually favors the proposition.

“Had I known he was for (Proposition 138), no way would I have recommended that we consider an endorsement,” Lawton said Monday. “I would have more seriously considered endorsing Neely. (Horcher) was trying to tell me he was a good guy. But he remained sufficiently vague.”

Horcher said he never meant to mislead the Sierra Club, and he telephoned Lawton on Monday to clarify his position. He added that he reluctantly will vote for 138, although he believes it doesn’t go far enough in protecting forests.