CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS U.S. SENATE : Boxer Enters Contest, Vows Domestic Agenda

Pledging to “shake up” the U.S. Senate, Barbara Boxer, the congresswoman from Marin County, filed papers Tuesday formally entering the race to replace retiring Sen. Alan Cranston.

Boxer, a 10-year veteran of the House of Representatives, portrayed herself as a fighter who would focus on domestic problems such as jobs and health care in an effort to “take care of our own.”

“This campaign is about shaking up the Senate and making government work for us again,” she said in a statement released as she filed election documents in Marin County.

Boxer, 51, is running for the Democratic nomination for the six-year seat against Lt. Gov. Leo McCarthy and Rep. Mel Levine of Santa Monica. The Republican contender will be chosen from among Rep. Tom Campbell of Palo Alto, television commentator Bruce Herschensohn, Palm Springs Mayor Sonny Bono and university professor Bill Allen.

Described as a scrappy politician with a flair for the dramatic, Boxer arrived in Congress after six years on the Marin County Board of Supervisors and brief stints as a stockbroker and journalist.

In her campaign, Boxer is unabashedly playing the “gender” card, calling herself the best feminist in the race. She encourages supporters to vote for her, in part, as a way to put more women in the Senate.

Boxer gained national attention last year when she and a group of women officeholders marched to the Capitol in Washington to demand an investigation into charges of sexual harassment made by Prof. Anita Hill in Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ confirmation hearings.

The photograph of Boxer, leading the women as they marched up the Capitol’s front steps, appeared on the front pages of major newspapers and is being used by her campaign in fund raising.

The Thomas hearings “gave people an image of what the Senate looks like,” Boxer told a recent meeting of Los Angeles-based political writers. “If people want change like I think they want change . . . then we can double the number of women in the Senate.”

Boxer is not as well known statewide as McCarthy, and not as well financed as Levine.

But she is picking up support among women’s groups all over the state--the Hollywood Women’s Political Action Committee recently endorsed her over Levine--and her campaign has been noticed by powerful national lobbying groups such as Emily’s List, an organization committed to raising money for women candidates.

Boxer has an aggressively liberal record that includes fighting offshore drilling, protecting dolphins from tuna fishers and reforming wasteful military procurement practices. She is planning an extensive tour of the state, with rallies on several college campuses, later this month, spokeswoman Rose Kapolczynski said.

For the first time in California history, both Senate seats are open in the same year. With Friday the deadline for filing, former San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein planned to officially launch her candidacy today for the final two years of the U.S. Senate term won in 1988 by Republican Gov. Pete Wilson.

Also planning to announce today was a surprise latecomer to the Democratic campaign for the two-year seat, Joseph M. Alioto, 48, a San Francisco antitrust lawyer and son of another former San Francisco mayor, Joseph Alioto.

Also seeking the Democratic nomination for the two-year seat is state Controller Gray Davis.

Contributing to this story was Times staff writer Bill Stall.