PROPOSITIONS 131 and 140 : Ad Attacks Term-Limit Initiatives

Opponents of term limits today will begin a multimillion-dollar television campaign in which actress Angela Lansbury tells voters that two proposals to cap the service of lawmakers are a “trap” laid by politicians to benefit special interest groups and developers.

The commercial, a transcript of which was obtained by The Times, blurs the distinction between Propositions 131 and 140 in an attempt to highlight the possibility that taxpayers’ money might be used to pay for political campaigns. Only Proposition 131 includes such a provision.

The TV spot is scheduled to begin running statewide today and will be paid for with money raised by incumbent legislators whose political lives would be threatened if the measures pass on Nov. 6.

Opponents of the two initiatives plan press conferences in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area today to officially unveil the commercial. The ads will first be shown to the news media at the headquarters of teachers’ unions in an effort to emphasize the support that the anti-term limits campaign has received from educators.

The advertisement, long awaited within political circles, hits the airwaves just two weeks before Election Day, at a time when public opinion polls show both measures leading by wide margins. Supporters of the initiatives scoffed at the ad’s claims and said they doubt the commercial will be effective.

A victory for the advocates of term limits could give the national movement a new burst of momentum and, some believe, even lead to a constitutional amendment to limit congressional terms. Oklahoma voters recently placed term limits on their legislature, and Colorado will decide a term-limit proposal the same day as California.

Proposition 131 would limit legislators to 12 consecutive years in each house and limit most statewide officers to eight years in office. The measure also would sharply limit campaign contributions from special interest groups and enact a system for partial taxpayer financing of political campaigns.

Proposition 140 would limit Assembly members to six years in office and state senators and most statewide officers to eight years. That measure also would eliminate the Legislature’s pension program and slash its operating budget by nearly 50%.

Lansbury is the star of the CBS drama “Murder, She Wrote.” In the 30-second commercial, she stands on what looks like the set for a television show and says that politicians are “using term limits as a come-on to get your vote.”

“If 131 and 140 pass, special interest groups and developers will amass even more power, and millions of your tax dollars go to politicians’ campaigns,” she says. “Don’t be lured into the term-limit trap.”

Responding to the ad, Los Angeles County Supervisor Pete Schabarum, chief sponsor of Proposition 140, noted that the campaign to defeat term limits is led by Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco) and Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles) and relies on what Schabarum called a “blue ribbon list” of special interest contributors.

“Special interests already control the Legislature,” Schabarum said. “The people are fed up and want a change.”

Jim Wheaton, manager of the campaign for Proposition 131, said the opponents, by focusing on public financing for campaigns, are “fighting the last war.” He noted that a majority of voters in Sacramento, Los Angeles and statewide have recently voted to use tax dollars in campaigns.