McCarthy Asks Opponents to Join a Series of Debates

Lt. Gov. Leo T. McCarthy is inviting his opponents in the U. S. Senate race to a series of debates starting in South-Central Los Angeles as a way to “reflect California’s diversity.”

With initial reaction from U. S. Reps. Barbara Boxer and Mel Levine positive, the schedule of debates for some Senate candidates may start to get crowded: Senate hopefuls will air their views May 23 in a taped session in San Francisco; the League of Women Voters is planning a similar session, and several Inland Empire and Central Valley television and radio stations want to host debates.

On Tuesday, McCarthy, Boxer and Levine appeared together on KABC radio in Los Angeles for an hourlong talk show, fielding questions from moderator Michael Jackson and listeners.

The three Democrats want to succeed Sen. Alan Cranston, who is retiring.

They took shots at the Bush Administration and only occasionally aimed their ammunition at each other.

McCarthy and Boxer swiped at Levine’s attendance record in Congress--the second worst last year--and at his support for “fast-track” negotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement. McCarthy and Boxer said Congress ought to have a role in drafting the treaty; Levine said that that was not practical.

Boxer had to confront one problem that has been plaguing her for weeks. A caller asked about the revelation that the congresswoman wrote more than 100 bad checks on the defunct House bank.

“I absolutely should have paid more attention,” she said.

Levine this month launched a multimillion-dollar television advertising campaign that mentions the bad check issue--without mentioning Boxer’s name. He told Tuesday’s radio audience that the check scandal is important because it shows the “seduction of power” among officials who are “out of touch with the people.”

Levine, one of the wealthiest members of the California congressional delegation, has said he used the House bank for only a brief time.

The most animated exchanges came when the three tried to position themselves as the best candidate on women’s issues, and again when McCarthy and Levine tried to paint each other as the candidate most dedicated to fund raising.

Jackson may have raised the most eyebrows by asking the candidates whether they had ever engaged in extramarital affairs. He said he was asking to make a point--that some details of personal conduct are irrelevant in a political campaign.

The three candidates answered “no.”