CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS / U.S. SENATE : Levine Officially Enters Race for Cranston Seat

Saying he is on a mission to “redefine” the Democratic Party, Rep. Mel Levine on Monday formally launched his campaign for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring California Sen. Alan Cranston.

The longtime Democratic officeholder, flanked by dozens of elected officials, party leaders and other supporters, pledged to help rebuild the American economy while maintaining the nation’s leadership role in international affairs.

“It’s become trendy for some Democratic leaders on the left and some Republican leaders on the far right to argue that now, after the Cold War, America should come home and . . . sever its ties to the international community,” Levine, 48, said. “I will not be a party to that isolationist line.”

The least-known but best-financed candidate for California’s two Senate seats, the congressman from Santa Monica has chalked up a solidly liberal record on environmental and social issues during 15 years in office.

Levine is closer to the political center on many foreign policy matters, however, and he sought to distinguish himself from his two rivals for the six-year Senate seat by pointing to his vote in favor of the Persian Gulf War.

“I am the only candidate for the United States Senate who waged a nine-year crusade to stop the Republicans from arming Saddam Hussein,” he said in announcing his candidacy at the Century Plaza Hotel in Century City.

“And (the only candidate) who also opposed the Democratic leadership by voting to authorize the use of force to stop Saddam Hussein.”

Levine faces Rep. Barbara Boxer (D-Greenbrae) and Lt. Gov. Leo T. McCarthy. Boxer and McCarthy opposed the war.

With nearly $4 million on hand for his uphill campaign, Levine must fight to raise his profile among California’s 13 million voters. Though he is well known in Westside Los Angeles politics, Levine is unfamiliar in many parts of the state.

He registered 6% name recognition in a California Poll in January--19 points lower than Boxer and 37 points lower than McCarthy.

At his announcement, Levine seemed to be attempting to position himself as a middle-ground candidate by blaming both the left and right for the nation’s economic decline.

He faulted Republicans who “insist that government should stay out of the economy--except to help the rich and powerful.” Equally liable, he said, are “too many Democratic politicians” who regard business as the enemy.

“It’s time to stop the nonsense,” Levine said.

Among his proposals are tax incentives to build low-cost housing and public-private partnerships to reconstruct deteriorating roads, bridges and other infrastructure. He proposes retraining defense industry workers for jobs in high-technology industries.

“We need leadership to ensure that ‘state of the art’ will always be synonymous with ‘made in California,’ ” he said.

Levine, who holds degrees from UC Berkeley, Harvard University School of Law and the Woodrow Wilson School of International and Public Affairs at Princeton University, was elected to Congress in 1982, after five years in the California Assembly.

A staunch supporter of Israel, he is the product of the Westside’s dominant political powerhouse, the Waxman-Berman organization. Named for Reps. Henry A. Waxman and Howard L. Berman, the organization has demonstrated extraordinary fund-raising ability among the Jewish Establishment on the Westside and Hollywood’s business leaders.

Waxman was among the politicians joining Levine in his announcement, as were several members of the Los Angeles City Council.

Later Monday, McCarthy challenged Levine and Boxer to adhere to campaign spending limits set forth in a 1991 U.S. Senate ethics bill. Under that proposed legislation, Senate candidates in California would be limited to spending $9.6 million in a campaign.

A spokesman for McCarthy said Boxer notified McCarthy’s campaign that she will agree to the limits if all candidates do. A spokesman for Levine said the congressman was not likely to agree to the limit.

Boxer also challenged McCarthy and Levine to a series of at least four debates between now and the June 2 primary.