A weekly window on the 1992 elections<i> .</i> : Clarifying Nathanson Ties Is the Name of the Game

In the wake of the criminal indictment of political insider Mark L. Nathanson, Los Angeles area elected officials have become highly sensitive to any perceived involvement with the former state coastal commissioner.

Clouding the issue is the fact that another politically active executive, cable television entrepreneur Marc Nathanson, has almost exactly the same name.

In the recent Malibu City Council election, candidate Mike Caggiano reported a contribution from Marc Nathanson. But to make sure nobody misunderstood, he wrote in large print on the disclosure form: “Not the Coastal Commissioner.”

Incumbent Caggiano proceeded to lose the election. But he does not blame his sixth-place finish on any mistaken affiliation with the Beverly Hills real estate broker, who has been charged with trying to extort payments from such Hollywood figures as Sylvester Stallone in connection with permits to improve their Malibu homes.

THE CALIFORNIA SCENE

Riot Reaction: So who was one of the first Los Angeles area politicians to mail out campaign flyers concerning the Los Angeles riots?

The only California state assemblyman once convicted of inciting to riot: Tom Hayden.

Hayden, whose conviction for planning anti-Vietnam War demonstrations at the 1968 Democratic Convention was overturned, contended in the flyer that youth employment and education programs could help overcome “two decades of (government) self-indulgence and wasted opportunities.”

The state Senate candidate, who lives in a neighborhood of $400,000-plus homes in Santa Monica, added: “I know the fears and needs of middle-class neighborhoods like my own. I also know the people of South-Central and East L.A. from my long involvement in the civil rights movement. . . . I would like to help bridge the gap.”

Loggers’ Logic: A strong candidate for the Hyperbole of the Year award is the American Forest Resource Alliance, an organization that includes many timber industry giants.

The group’s executive director, Mark Rey, charges in a press release that a bill introduced by Rep. George Miller (D-Martinez) to limit logging on public lands “will cause so much economic havoc that South-Central Los Angeles will resemble a summer resort by comparison.”

The Ancient Forest Act, Rey continued, will cost enough jobs to result in “family disintegration, community disruptions, ghost towns and massive welfare dependency, plus attendant crime, alcoholism and drug abuse.”

Absentee Voters

The percent of Californians voting by absentee ballot, in both the primary and general election, has almost tripled since 1980, according to the Office of the Secretary of State. Below are figures for ballots cast in each general election over the last decade.

TOTAL ABSENTEE % ABSENTEE BALLOTS CAST BALLOTS CAST BALLOTS CAST 1980 8,775,459 549,077 6.2 1982 8,064,314 525,186 6.5 1984 9,796,375 913,574 9.3 1986 7,617,142 685,340 9.0 1988 10,194,539 1,434,853 14.1 1990 7,899,131 1,452,139 18.4

Source: Office of the Secretary of State, Sacramento.

Compiled by researcher TRACY THOMAS

THE NATIONAL SCENE

Perusing Perot: As Ross Perot surges into the lead in state surveys around the country, strategists in both parties are shifting their focus toward his potential impact on the Electoral College vote.

GOP strategists worry that Perot could win Sun Belt and Rocky Mountain states that have voted reliably Republican in presidential campaigns for a generation. They are also concerned that a strong Perot showing among whites in the South could allow Clinton to take back states such as Mississippi and Louisiana if he can inspire a heavy turnout among blacks.

But Clinton also needs the Pacific Coast states of California, Washington and Oregon--and in all three states Perot’s strength has pushed Clinton into third place in recent surveys.

Packwood’s problems: Longtime Oregon Sen. Bob Packwood is one of the most outspoken Republicans for abortion rights on the national scene, which generally has assured him of intense opposition when he seeks renomination. This year is no exception--his leading foe in Oregon’s Tuesday primary is a conservative lawyer who opposes abortion in all instances.

Packwood further alienated the GOP right when he voted against the confirmation of Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court last fall. All this makes for a strong anti-Packwood base, but he remains favored to survive his latest challenge.

The Democratic Senate primary, meanwhile, is being closely watched for possible fallout from the House check-writing scandal. Veteran Rep. Les AuCoin began the year as the clear front-runner for his party’s nod, but his admission that he had 80 overdrafts from the House Bank has plagued his campaign.

EXIT LINE

“Why are there animals in the desert?”--4-year-old Ivan Dellinger

“That’s where some animals like to live.”--Presidential candidate Jerry Brown

Campaign trail repartee between the former California governor, who had been taking queries on a variety of weighty matters, and young Ivan, who had been sitting on his mother’s shoulders yelling “Me! Me!”