Ads Give Political Hopefuls a Feel for the Price of Victory

Somewhere (it was either Western Civ or Jack Parr) I remember hearing long ago about the courtesans of Babylonia (or maybe Mesopotamia or East Ganglia).

It seems that the courtesans wore sandals with special designs on the bottom that made a distinctive imprint on the sandy streets, allowing the men of Babylonia (or Mesopotamia or East Ganglia) to know that their services were available.

The moral (as I remember it) was that this proves that advertising is the world’s second oldest profession.

I bring this up because advertising, which has already invaded most other nooks and crannies of public and private life, is about to secure yet another beachhead.

In a new venture, advertising is being accepted for the Candidate Filing Guide for the 1992 elections being prepared by the San Diego County registrar of voters.

That’s the booklet that explains all the deadlines and requirements for wannabe candidates from everything from U.S. Senate to City Council to the county central committees. That should be about 400 candidates for the primary, give or take a gadfly or two.

The idea is to sell advertising to people (“vendors”) who want to peddle their services and/or products to candidates: consultants, slogan coiners, image polishers, pollsters, direct mail whizzes, bumper sticker makers, phone bank managers, ward healers, spontaneous rally organizers, et cetera.

Rates are set: $300 for a full page, $200 for a half page, $125 for a quarter page. Deadline for submitting copy is Friday; interest in the (ever-growing) campaign industry is said to be high.

The county government’s goal, naturally, is to make money.

The county needs money badly. Money to keep libraries open. Money to keep health clinics open. Money to pad Norm Hickey’s pension. Every little bit helps.

The rules say only that the ads must be election-related. There is nothing, for example, to keep an impertinent reporter from placing an ad that says:

SCOOPS ARE ME. Don’t waste money on all that other stuff. It’s the press that counts. Got a juicy story about your opponent? Just leak me the facts, and I’ll do the rest, for free. Call . . . .

Now if I can only get the boss to spring for $300 . . . .

Sonny’s Side of the State?

I got you, babe, and other things.

* Is San Diego a hotbed of Sonny Bono-for-U.S. Senate sentiment?

A Bono poll shows him leading conservative Los Angeles television commentator Bruce Herschensohn 20% to 17% among San Diego Republicans. (Most voters are in the undecided-don’t know category.)

One surprise: Rep. Tom Campbell, the moderate from Palo Alto, scores a flat zero in San Diego.

Campbell backers say it’s a long time before the primary and, besides, the Bono poll had such a small sampling that its reliability is dubious.

* Superior Court Judge Dick Murphy is thinking of running for the Republican nomination in the new 49th Congressional District.

* Also considering a run in the 49th: Jim Lantry, Republican, governmental consultant, loser in a 1990 primary to Randy (Duke) Cunningham.

* San Diego Councilman Bob Filner announced Tuesday that he is “exploring” a bid for Congress from the 50th District. That could mean a Democratic primary fight with Jim Bates and State Sen. Wadie Deddeh.

* Name of the bowling team at UC San Diego’s History Department: The Revolting Masses.

* Look for Poway Mayor Jan Goldsmith vs. nurse/anti-abortion activist Connie Youngkin in the Republican primary in the 75th Assembly District.

* A mega-rally is set for 6 p.m. Monday at the Mt. Helix Cross by opponents of the court ruling that the cross must come down.

* San Diego bumper sticker: “I Brake for Photographs.”

Frazee Shows His True Colors

UC San Diego professor, upon being introduced to one Robert Frazee: “Are you paints or politics?”

Politics. Assembly (R-Carlsbad). Not related to locally owned Frazee Paint & Wallcovering.

The mix-up happens all the time.

Frazee, the pol, says San Diego State students trying to pressure him on a pending budget bill threatened never to buy his paint again. He never bothered to correct them.