LOCAL ELECTIONS STATE SENATE : Dills Argues for Value of Experience : Legislature: Veteran lawmaker speaks against propositions that limit terms, saying he is just warming up. Incumbents in two local races are expected to win.

Eighty-year-old state Sen. Ralph C. Dills does not take kindly to talk of legislative term limits.

A candidate for reelection on Nov. 6, the Gardena Democrat spent a decade in the Assembly and now has served in the Senate for nearly a quarter of a century. And Dills says he’s just warming up.

“I have legislators coming to me all the time for advice, saying, ‘How did you guys do this?’ and ‘How did you guys do that?’ ” Dills said, citing his firsthand knowledge of numerous state legislative sessions. “I think that kind of experience is important to have in Sacramento.”

Dills, who faces Republican Timothy Poling in next month’s balloting, is one of two South Bay state senators up for reelection this year.

The other, Diane E. Watson (D-Los Angeles), is virtually unopposed. Her only challenger, Ivan William Kasimoff of the Peace and Freedom Party, could not be reached by telephone and is reported to have moved out of the district.

Although Dills drew a GOP challenger, he does not appear in danger of losing his seat. Poling, a 25-year-old engineer with McDonnell Douglas, is a political novice who is short on name recognition and campaign funds.

Still, there are sharp contrasts between the two candidates in the mostly blue-collar 30th Senate District, which encompasses Carson, Gardena, Harbor City, Wilmington, Paramount, Lynwood and parts of Long Beach and San Pedro.

A key arguing point is term limits, which are proposed in two of the questions on the Nov. 6 ballot--Propositions 140 and 131.

Poling supports Proposition 140, the toughest of the term-limit measures. “It will be healthy,” he said. “It’s like what we do at the national level with presidents.”

In the case of state legislators, Proposition 140 would limit senators to two four-year terms, or eight years in office, and Assembly members to three two-year terms, or six years in office. The limits would apply to anyone elected on or after Nov. 6.

Dills argues that if experienced lawmakers are forced from office, the Legislature will lose much of its institutional memory. That, he says, would deprive the Assembly and Senate of important guidance.

He cites his participation in debate this year on child care policy. He says he drew heavily on his experience as an assemblyman during World War II, when child care programs were created so women could take factory jobs to bolster the war effort.

“We had the same type of programs then so Rosie the Riveter could go to work,” said Dills, who served in the Assembly from 1939 to 1949 and has held a seat in the state Senate since 1966.

Poling asserts that term limits are the only way to break the incumbents’ grip on power, which he says has stifled electoral competition and contributed to voter apathy.

“Mr. Dills is right that there’s a potential to lose a lot of experience,” Poling acknowledged. “But right now, incumbents are almost guaranteed to win.”

The candidates also disagree on education policy. Poling says the current public education system is wasting taxpayers’ money. He advocates a program under which the government would give parents vouchers to send their children to public or private schools.

“This is America, where we believe in freedom of choice and free enterprise,” Poling said. “If public schools can’t compete with the private schools, maybe they would change their ways or go out of business.”

Dills says the voucher system would ultimately hurt students from low-income families by crippling the public school system. “It’s an elitist kind of thing that goes under the headline of parental choice,” he said.

Nor do Dills and Poling agree on Proposition 128, or “Big Green,” the vast environmental initiative aimed at removing toxics from California’s food, water and air.

Poling opposes the measure, calling it too costly and complex. Dills supports it--with some reservations about how tightened environmental controls will affect the economy.

“We all like fresh air and water,” Dills said, “but there is something we have to look at: the impact on jobs.”

Such debate is absent in the 28th Senate District, which includes Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, part of South-Central Los Angeles, Marina del Rey, Playa del Rey, Westchester and part of Culver City.

Although heavy Democratic voter registration in the district is considered a key reason for the absence of competition, Watson, the incumbent, says voter satisfaction may also be a factor.

In Sacramento, Watson has emerged as a strong proponent of causes including abortion rights and child care.

This year, she authored a proposal on the Nov. 6 ballot--Proposition 151--that would allow the state to sell bonds to raise $30 million for the construction and renovation of child care facilities.

Her tenure has also been marked by controversy over finances. In December of last year, Watson agreed to pay the state more than $21,000 in fines rather than face a civil lawsuit alleging that she put campaign funds to her personal use.

Locally, Watson has drawn praise and criticism for her role in negotiations that followed a student walkout in the Centinela Valley Union High School District in March. Critics, including district officials and the teachers union, have accused her of interfering in district affairs, but others see her activism as an effort to ease racial tensions in the district.

“I’ve tried to serve the district well, to relate to every area of the district,” said Watson, who is seeking a fourth term. “I hope that is what accounts for the lack of (campaign) opposition.”

28TH SENATE DISTRICT

Candidate Party Diane E. Watson (inc) Democrat Ivan William Kasimoff Peace and Freedom

Voter Registration Registered Percent Democrat 204,153 73.1% Republican 50,969 18.2 Independent 18,919 6.8 Minor parties* 5,407 1.9 Total 279,448

* American Independent, Peace and Freedom, Libertarian and miscellaneous

1986 Results Votes Percent Diane E. Watson (D) 124,476 78.6% Armand Vaquer (R) 33,960 21.4

30TH SENATE DISTRICT

Candidate Party Ralph C. Dills (inc.) Democrat Timothy Poling Republican

Voter Registration Registered Percent Democrat 152,760 66.4% Republican 54,625 23.8 Independent 17,517 7.6 Minor parties* 5,133 2.2 Total 230,035

* American Independent, Peace and Freedom, Libertarian and miscellaneous

1986 Results Votes Percent Ralph C. Dills (D) 80,926 71.9% Anthony Gray (R) 28,289 25.2 Lee Chauser (P&F;) 3,231 2.9