CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS / ATTORNEY GENERAL : Smith Unveils 3 Ads in Race Hinging on TV

With the outcome of the state attorney general’s race likely hinging on the success of the candidates’ last-minute TV ads, Democrat Arlo Smith has unveiled three hard-hitting spots focusing on Republican foe Dan Lungren’s lack of prosecutorial experience and his repeated votes while in Congress against abortion rights and environmental protection bills.

The abortion and environmental ads seek to capitalize on Smith’s endorsement by virtually every women’s rights and pro-environmental organization in the state.

The prosecutorial ad, which Lungren quickly labeled “misleading,” is an apparent attempt by the 11-year San Francisco district attorney to counteract three previously aired Lungren spots blasting Smith’s record as a prosecutor.

Smith’s ad begins with a narrator declaring, “Law enforcement officials have called attorney general candidate Dan Lungren unqualified. . . .”

In recent months, however, Lungren has been endorsed by many of the state’s leading police officials, including Los Angeles County Sheriff Sherman Block, Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl F. Gates and 16 district attorneys.

Smith stressed his own law enforcement backing at a Los Angeles press conference Wednesday. The conference featured speeches by leaders of statewide police groups, including the California Organization of Police and Sheriffs and the Peace Officers Research Assn. of California, which has endorsed Republican Pete Wilson in the gubernatorial race.

All three of Smith’s new 30-second ads--the first TV spots he has run during the general election campaign--prominently mention Lungren to clearly contrast the two candidates, said Smith’s campaign manager, Marc Dann.

“We’re mentioning him as much as Arlo because we’re comparing the two guys,” Dann said. “When you compare them it’s easy. We win and he loses.”

Lungren’s campaign manager, Dave Puglia, countered that such issues as abortion and environmental protection are not a top priority for voters in deciding on the state’s chief law enforcement official. “The primary issues are crime, drugs and street gangs and ethics in government,” Puglia said.

In recent days, most polls have shown Lungren ahead by anywhere from 1 to 8 percentage points. But with at least one-third of the state’s voters still undecided, observers say the final results may well be swayed by whichever candidate is more effective in defining himself and his opponent through TV ads.

A recent KABC-TV poll, for example, showed that Smith’s backing jumped 11 percentage points when voters were told that he favored abortion rights and that his rival, a former five-term congressman, opposed most abortion rights.

Dann said that Smith’s abortion ad will be broadcast in major TV markets until the election “to get our message across . . . and show that Lungren is out of the mainstream.”

The ad on prosecutorial experience will also run in major TV markets, while the environmental ad will appear only in small TV markets initially. In addition, Smith will air a fourth ad focusing on criticism Lungren has received in California newspaper editorials, Dann said.

Lungren began his TV campaign more than a month ago, with an ad slamming Smith for accepting a plea bargain from a onetime campaign contributor accused of molesting several teen-agers. Lungren’s most recent ad scored Smith for having the worst felony prosecution record of any district attorney in the state.

Smith has defended his record by saying that the overall crime rate in San Francisco has decreased by more than 25% since he became district attorney in 1979.

On Wednesday, however, the San Francisco Police Officers Assn. reported that violent crime in San Francisco increased by 20% during the first half of this year. Smith called the newly released statistics a temporary “blip.”

CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS: THE AD CAMPAIGN

The race: State attorney general. Whose ads: Democratic candidate Arlo Smith. Cost: Smith campaign officials say they will spend substantially more than $200,000. Producer: The Campaign Group.

With two weeks to go in this bitterly fought race, San Francisco Dist. Atty. Arlo Smith has begun airing his first three TV ads: one focusing on Lungren’s lack of prosecutorial experience, the others blasting his opposition to abortion rights and his support of selected offshore oil drilling projects.

The 30-second spots begin with a look at the former congressman’s record and conclude with staged shots of Smith arguing a court case and answering questions posed by actors portraying a gaggle of frenetic news reporters.

Elements of the Smith ads, with an analysis by Times staff writer Paul Feldman:

Prosecutorial Qualifications Ad: “Law enforcement leaders have called attorney general candidate Dan Lungren unqualified. Why? Because Lungren has never prosecuted a case or put one criminal in jail.”

Analysis: Leaders of several statewide police organizations, among them the Peace Officers Research Assn. of California, have questioned Lungren’s resume. But the former five-term legislator, who now works as a civil attorney, has also been endorsed by law enforcement leaders including Los Angeles County Sheriff Sherman Block and Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl F. Gates.

While Lungren has never prosecuted a criminal case, he frequently cites his key role in winning congressional approval for major criminal justice reform bills during the last decade. Lungren also emphasizes that leading attorney generals on the state and federal level, including Robert F. Kennedy, never served in lower-level prosecution posts.

Ad: “Lungren is a career politician who has already been rejected for one statewide office.”

Analysis: Lungren served five terms in Congress before stepping down in 1988 after his unsuccessful selection by Gov. George Deukmejian as state treasurer. During a contentious Sacramento hearing, Lungren’s nomination was rejected by the Democratic-dominated state Senate.

Ad: “Smith is a career prosecutor who has . . . the support of law enforcement officials.”

Analysis: Smith has served as a prosecutor for 37 years, 26 of them in the attorney general’s office where he eventually headed the criminal law unit. As mentioned previously, Smith has the support of many law enforcement officials--but so does Lungren. While the ad shows Smith in a courtroom, he has actually argued only a handful of cases since his election as district attorney 11 years ago. As a deputy attorney general, Smith made several appearances before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Abortion Ad: “Dan Lungren is desperately trying to hide his stand on abortion--first ducking, then flip-flopping. But this remains clear: Dan Lungren opposes a woman’s right to choose and Lungren would outlaw almost all abortions.”

Analysis: Lungren has been a staunch opponent of abortions throughout his political career. While in Congress he co-sponsored a proposed constitutional amendment that would prohibit abortions even in cases of rape or incest.

Smith has accused Lungren of waffling because of a statement he made in August that given society’s lack of support for crime victims, he would at present support the right to abortion in cases of rape, incest or threat to a mother’s life.

Ad: “Arlo Smith has received the support of women throughout California.”

Analysis: Smith, a vigorous proponent of abortion rights, has been endorsed by groups including the National Organization for Women and the California Abortion Rights Action League.

Environmental Ad: “The Sierra Club said Dan Lungren had one of the worst environmental records in Congress.”

Analysis: Leading environmental groups, including the Sierra Club and the California League of Conservation Voters, have endorsed Smith and labeled Lungren an anti-environmental “extremist.”

Ad: “Lungren is for offshore oil drilling and even opposed the cleanup of toxic waste sites.”

Analysis: Lungren says he supports oil drilling projects on a case-by-case basis. Lungren opposed the initial Superfund waste cleanup legislation, but eventually voted for some Superfund financing authorizations.

Ad: “Now Lungren is taking money from big oil companies.”

Analysis: Lungren has taken campaign contributions from firms including Shell, Chevron, Texaco and Union Oil. He says there is nothing wrong with accepting legal contributions from legitimate companies. Smith himself had personal stock investments in oil companies including Atlantic Richfield, Ranger and Mesa until last spring.

Ad: “Arlo Smith will . . . put polluters in jail.”

Analysis: Smith set up a one-attorney environmental crimes unit in the San Francisco district attorney’s office, which has prosecuted five cases. The unit won what was apparently the first conviction under the state’s Hazardous Substances Control Act but has not put any polluters behind bars.