CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLY ELECTION / 5TH DISTRICT : Collins, Alby Race a Test of Wilson’s Policies

An Assembly race in the rapidly developing Sierra foothills within commuting distance of the state Capitol is turning into the first political test of Gov. Pete Wilson’s policies, including his steep tax increases and sharp programs cuts.

The 5th District election Tuesday pits Wilson’s handpicked choice for the post, B.T. Collins--a charismatic and freethinking Vietnam War veteran who once called himself an atheist--against Barbara Alby, an anti-tax, anti-homosexual, anti-feminist activist, who is carrying the banner of the religious right.

The contest reflects the internal strife that is boiling within the GOP--the clash of moderate pragmatists and true believers.

Alby has made Wilson and his policies a central issue in her campaign. Collins says this proves Alby’s political naivete and shows that the governor has many allies who do not fit neatly into ideological boxes.

Collins was first approached to run by a trio of conservative Republican Assembly members, including recently ousted GOP Leader Ross Johnson of La Habra. However, seven of the most conservative Republican caucus members have endorsed Alby.

There is little doubt that a Collins loss would be embarrassing to the governor, who is eager to increase the number of friendly faces in the Assembly GOP caucus, where until recently conservative members had blocked enactment of tax increases.

“If (Collins) wins, Wilson looks like a statesman picking the right person,” said Barbara O’Connor, director of the Institute for the Study of Politics at Cal State Sacramento. “If he loses, Wilson looks like a meddler who has put his hand in the cookie jar and got caught.”

Wilson has held two receptions for Collins that raised an estimated $20,000. In response to the governor’s personal appeal, the Republican National Committee has taken the unusual step of siding with Collins in the crowded field of eight Republicans and one Libertarian, all vying to replace Republican Tim Leslie of Auburn. Leslie vacated the seat after winning a special election to the state Senate this year.

The district includes western Placer County, including Auburn, Roseville and Lincoln, and northeastern Sacramento County.

The national party has spent more than $35,000 on Collins’ behalf. “Gov. Wilson asked for it,” Steve Kinney, regional representative for the national committee said in explaining the committee’s intervention. “It was something very important to him, and our political shop complied with what the governor wanted.”

Collins, 50, is an engaging, blustery political maverick, who has served governors of both parties in top appointed positions. His unconventional views have allowed opponent Alby, 44, to make religion a point of contention. “God becomes issue in 5th District race,” blared a newspaper headline.

Conceding that he once described himself as an atheist, Collins now calls himself “an agnostic or a lapsed Catholic,” but says the issue is out of place in a political campaign. Yet, he has helped to keep the issue of his faith, or lack of it, alive by his angry response to a letter sent by Alby’s minister to parishioners, describing Collins as “a self-proclaimed atheist who has worked hard for abortion on demand and homosexual rights.”

Alby, who attends a fundamentalist church and emphasizes her Christian values, has said: “I believe in God. B.T. believes in the governor.”

Collins accuses his opponent of distortion, contending that he has defended the rights of homosexuals to fair treatment in the workplace but would have voted against an Assembly-passed bill to ban job and housing discrimination against gays and lesbians “because it is a full employment act for lawyers.”

His Establishment ties have produced the cash to run a sophisticated campaign with radio spots and glossy mailers emphasizing the heroic qualities of a man who lost an arm and a leg in the war.

Soft-spoken, self-assured and highly opinionated, Alby has comparatively little financial support and is counting on a grass-roots campaign, including volunteers from her church and aid from the National Rifle Assn., the California Right to Life Council and other conservative groups.

She leaves no doubt that she represents the conservative wing of Republican politics. She states proudly that she voted for the American Independent Party candidate in last year’s governor’s race and not Wilson, who she contends is just as liberal as Democratic Assembly Speaker Willie Brown of San Francisco. “We need a choice, not an echo,” she said in an interview, herself echoing the campaign slogan of 1964 GOP presidential candidate Barry Goldwater.

Alby sees a cabal of Establishment interests behind her opponent. “I just don’t have one opponent,” she said. “I’m running against B.T. Collins, Willie Brown, the governor and Washington, D.C.”

She is also exploiting Collins’ difficulties in qualifying for the ballot. Because he did not live in the district, he moved into the home of Wilson’s finance director, Tom Hayes, just days before the filing deadline. Now he rents a nearby apartment, but that has not stopped Alby from calling him a carpetbagger.

Both GOP candidates hope the contest will be settled without the need for a runoff election in mid-September, which would be required unless one candidate wins more than 50% of the votes cast. If there is a runoff, the winner would face the Libertarian Party nominee and possibly a Democratic write-in candidate.

Although Democrats have a narrow edge over Republicans in registration--46% to 44%--the district is seen as conservative and safely Republican if the party can field a strong candidate.

Political consultants on both sides say that Collins is far better known than his opponent because of his positions in the administrations of three governors and community activities in Sacramento.

Although a Republican, he was a fixture in the administration of Democratic Gov. Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown Jr., for whom he was chief of staff, legislative secretary, and director of the California Conservation Corps. Republican Gov. George Deukmejian appointed him to raise funds for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Capitol Park, and Collins served as top deputy to Hayes, who was Deukmejian’s pick as state treasurer. Until Collins entered the Assembly race, he was Wilson’s appointee to head the California Youth Authority.

Collins got statewide attention during the Medfly controversy of 1981 when he drank the pesticide malathion--diluted with water--to prove that the chemical was harmless to humans--still the subject of some scientific debate.

Later that year, as then-Gov. Brown’s chief of staff, Collins’ candor became an issue when he derided his boss in an interview with a Times reporter. “He’s out in Uranus half the time--thinking,” Collins said of Brown. “Ten people with real problems can be waiting to see him, and he’ll be off in a back room somewhere reading a goddamned book.”

Brown refused to fire him.

Locally, Collins has continued to have a public presence, even while working as an investment banker after temporarily leaving government. In 1987, a local television station did a series of programs showing Collins’ return to Vietnam, where he had been hit by a grenade while commanding a Green Beret unit on patrol in the Mekong Delta.

Alby said she first became involved in politics a decade ago after the 12-year-old daughter of friends was hospitalized because of complications from an abortion.

She said she went to the Capitol and tried to persuade legislators to enact a law requiring parental consent before minors could obtain an abortion, but most lawmakers she talked to said she needed an organization. “I went out into the state and mobilized 20,000 people,” she said, referring to the Women’s Lobby, a volunteer group that has been working to enact laws that affect women and the family.

Alby said there was tremendous opposition to the parental consent bill, but it was enacted four years ago. “I went nose to nose with Willie Brown and I won,” she said. However, the law has yet to be implemented because of a challenge in the courts.

Alby knows she is bound to be unpopular with abortion rights voters. “I am not a feminist, and I’m proud of that,” she said.

Collins is the clear favorite, but as a novice campaigner, he said he does not want to predict the outcome: “I know a lot about politics. I know a lot about politicians. But I know nothing about political campaigns. Gov. Brown used to say to me: ‘B.T., the only poll that counts is on Election Day.’ ”