Bates, Lowery, Mojonnier in Tight Races : Incumbents: Bates’ tough battle with Cunningham was expected, but the strong challenges to Lowery and Mojonnier came as surprises.

Two San Diego congressmen and one heavily favored state legislator embroiled in ethical questions were battling for their political careers Tuesday night, providing proof that the much-predicted backlash against incumbents has struck here.

Rep. Jim Bates (D-San Diego), who was sanctioned by the House Ethics Committee in 1989 on sexual-harassment charges, was locked in a surprisingly tough battle with former Navy fighter pilot Randall (Duke) Cunningham in the 44th Congressional District--a heavily Democratic seat that, under normal circumstances, is a safe political haven for any Democrat.

Similarly, Rep. Bill Lowery (R-San Diego) found himself facing an unusually strong challenge from Democrat Dan Kripke, whom he trounced by 2-to-1 margins in his past two reelections. This year, however, Kripke found that his efforts to link Lowery to the growing nationwide savings and loan scandal--a charge based on Lowery’s acceptance of $18,000 worth of jet trips, yacht parties and fund-raising parties from the former executive of a failed Texas thrift--found more receptive ears in the 41st District.

In the state legislative contests, Assemblywoman Sunny Mojonnier (R-Encinitas), who has drawn heavy criticism even from within her own party in recent years, also was fighting for her survival in a contest that she had begun as a prohibitive favorite.

In the heavily Republican 75th District, Mojonnier’s Democratic opponent, Solana Beach school board member Deirdre (Dede) Alpert, mounted an especially strong campaign in a race in which two minor-party candidates’ votes could affect the outcome.

In another closely watched race, freshman Assemblyman Jeff Marston (R-San Diego), hoping to give the GOP its first general election victory in the 78th District since 1970, was in a tight battle with former Democratic San Diego City Councilman Mike Gotch for the third time since April.

No other local congressional or state legislative incumbent was seriously challenged this fall, as many of them rolled up landslide reelection margins of 2-to-1 or better against generally token opposition.

Of the 13 local congressional and state legislative contests on the ballot Tuesday, only a few were races in anything more than name, as San Diego County’s politically lopsided districts and the advantages of incumbency caused most of those campaigns to be little more than formalities.

The obvious exceptions were Bates’ bid for a fifth two-year term in Congress and Marston’s battle to retain the Assembly seat that he won in June’s special race to fill the vacancy created by Democrat Lucy Killea’s election to the state Senate. In both races, the incumbent’s reelection was far from a foregone conclusion, though for markedly different reasons.

In contrast, Mojonnier’s difficulties in holding onto her seat Tuesday came as a surprise in political circles, where the conventional wisdom was that the incumbent’s name-recognition and fund-raising advantages were too formidable for Alpert and her two minor-party opponents to overcome.

Bates’ normally secure seat in the 44th Congressional District--where Democrats hold a daunting 53%-35% edge among registered voters--was jeopardized by his ethical problems, which in turn made him a target for growing anti-incumbent sentiment. That, combined with Cunningham’s relatively high name recognition and strong financial backing from national GOP leaders, produced Bates’ sternest test since he won the then-newly created seat in 1982.

Last year, the House Ethics Committee sent a “letter of reproval”--the lightest possible penalty--to Bates over two female staffers’ complaints that he had sexually harassed them by making suggestive remarks and gestures, and that he had expected aides in his congressional office to solicit campaign contributions, a violation of House rules.

Running on the slogan “A Congressman We Can Be Proud Of,” Cunningham sought to keep Bates on the defensive while simultaneously capitalizing on his celebrity as the former director of Miramar Naval Air Station’s “Top Gun” fighter pilot school, the inspiration for the popular film of the same name. One of the most decorated Navy pilots in the Vietnam War, Cunningham sometimes described Bates as “just another MiG, and an unethical one.”

In response, Bates tried to paint Cunningham as a “far-right extremist” whose doctrinaire conservatism--in particular, his opposition to abortion and gun control, and support for a constitutional amendment to ban flag-burning--put him out of step with the fiscally conservative, socially moderate district. When Cunningham pledged not to increase income taxes, for example, Bates countered by terming the promise “a free ride for the rich.”

A strong environmentalist who played a much-publicized role in exposing military procurement excesses, Bates also sought to strike a responsive chord with the largely working-class families in the southern San Diego district by stressing his heavy emphasis on constituent services and characteristic 12-hour work days.

In the county’s other congressional races, Reps. Duncan Hunter (R-Coronado) and Ron Packard (R-Carlsbad) easily won reelection against only minor-party opposition.

The most compelling state legislative contest was the 78th District showdown between Marston and Gotch, who ran against each other three times in the past seven months because of the unusual election schedule created by Killea’s elevation to the state Senate.

The fall race featured a role reversal that significantly altered the campaign’s dynamics from last spring’s special primary and runoff. Although Marston frequently criticized Gotch’s eight-year council record last spring, his brief Assembly tenure transformed the former City Hall aide into the candidate with the record to defend this fall, as Gotch faulted his votes on several high-profile issues.

Seeking to blunt Gotch’s attacks, Marston pointed to a handful of legislative successes in his five-month term, including securing $2 million in park funds for his district and a state commitment to fund and expedite the $117-million Interstate 15 expansion.

In contrast to the competitive balance in the 78th District race, San Diego’s other state legislative contests followed the familiar local political script of overwhelmingly favored incumbents in “safe” districts heavily outspending lesser-known opponents.

Even so, Alpert proved to be a serious contender in the 75th District, aided in no small measure by Mojonnier’s alleged ethical transgressions.

Recent years have produced frequent embarrassing headlines for Mojonnier, whose woes drew three GOP opponents in last June’s Republican primary. Last February, she agreed to pay a $13,200 fine for double-billing the state and her campaign committee for business trips, as well as for using political donations to pay for fashion and beauty treatments for her staff. Along with other state legislators, she also has been faulted for routinely using state-paid sergeants-at-arms for personal tasks, such as chauffeuring her children and escorting her home after evening parties.