A weekly window on the 1992 elections. : Word <i> Platform</i> Gets New Meaning in Boxer’s Case

It’s already being declared the Year of the Woman in California.

Will it also be the year of the vertically disadvantaged?

Republican John Seymour, at 5 feet, 6 inches tall, stands several inches shorter than Democrat Dianne Feinstein in the race for the two-year “short” U.S. Senate seat.

Democrat Barbara Boxer, 4 feet, 11 3/4 inches tall in stocking feet, faces off, so to speak, against the much taller Republican Bruce Herschensohn in the race for the six-year U.S. Senate post.

Seymour, who looked as if he was hanging onto George Bush’s coattails--literally--during the President’s post-riot tour of Los Angeles, has said in interviews that throughout his life, his short stature has made him fight harder to compete.

Boxer, who frequently jokes abut her height, remains pragmatic.

At a joint press conference with Feinstein the morning after their primary victories, Boxer, in high heels, stood on an eight-inch box so that the two Democrats, for TV cameras, appeared to be approximately the same size.

In addition, a pathway of eight-inch boxes wended its way to the lectern so that Boxer, when moving forward to speak, would not be captured on camera stepping down and back up.

Political graft: Herschensohn’s U.S. Senate primary victory was a surprise to many insiders. But nobody more so than the Democratic Party campaign workers who hoisted props of the Republican Senate nominees at a victory appearance in Burbank by Democratic candidates Boxer and Feinstein. The life-size color cutout of John Seymour was fine. But because of the last-minute glitch of conservative Herschensohn defeating moderate Tom Campbell, a rectangular black-and-white photo of Herschensohn’s head was glued onto a life-size cutout of Campbell’s body.

The beat goes on: He may have finished a distant third statewide, but Republican U.S. Senate candidate Sonny Bono managed to defeat both his foes, Herschensohn and Campbell, in one of the state’s 58 counties--Trinity County.

Bono easily outpaced the pair in the remote, lightly populated Northern California county--earning 637 votes, compared to Campbell’s 530 and Herschensohn’s 364.

County election official Gilda Evans says the former recording star’s hit songs with ex-mate Cher may have had something to do with his appeal. He also “made a good impression,” she added, in a late May appearance in the county seat of Weaverville.

Name game: One U.S. Senate candidate for whom name recognition was no help in rugged Trinity County was Jim Trinity.

The retired Glendale dentist, who received little publicity in the race for the second Republican Senate nomination, came in a distant third, polling 380 votes, compared to 670 for William E. Dannemeyer, 652 for Seymour and 128 for William B. Allen.

Name game, Part 2: Statewide, however, Trinity--the candidate, not the county--had political experts shaking their heads over his relatively strong showing.

With almost no visibility, Trinity managed to win 13% of the vote--outpacing college professor Allen, who stirred headlines by running TV ads depicting eight seconds of an actual abortion.

Trinity had theorized before the vote that his name could prove lucky, statewide, with Catholic voters. “With a name like Trinity, they’ll say: ‘Son of a gun, if I don’t vote for that guy, what kind of penance am I going to get?’ ”

Senate Vote and Gender

Contrary to conventional wisdom, most Democratic women did not vote for both female Senate candidates, according to a primary exit poll by the Los Angeles Times. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer were instead elected by both male and female Democratic voters, as percentages below show.

DEMOCRATIC VOTERS % WOMEN % MEN Voted for both female Senate 41 28 candidates Voted for Feinstein only 21 26 Voted for Boxer only 9 10 Voted for neither female Senate 29 36 candidate

Source: Based on June 2 Times exit poll of 4,390 state Democratic primary voters.

Compiled by researcher Tracy Thomas

Clinton-Jackson ‘92?: Not only does Bill Clinton have problems himself, but none of the top contenders for vice president under Clinton seem to excite a large group of voters.

A Los Angeles Times exit poll showed that 17% of California Demcorats who voted in last Tuesday’s primary chose the Rev. Jesse Jackson as the VP candidate who would most encourage them to vote for Clinton in the fall. Next most-popular among potential Clinton vice presidential choices was former presidential contender Paul Tsongas, 15%, followed by Texas Gov. Ann Richards, 9%; Peter Ueberroth, 9%; Texas Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, 7%, and Gen. Colin Powell, 6%.

Of course, Clinton has more pressing problems, chief among them the fact that only 40% of Democratic primary voters say they plan to vote for him in November. Another 40% plan to vote for independent Ross Perot--and 28% of these voters say they won’t be swayed back no matter who Clinton chooses for VP.

Campaign bests: Best T-shirt of the primary campaign: “Murphy Brown for Vice President” worn by partygoers at a Barbara Boxer election night victory rally in Hollywood.

Best political button: “I Met Mel” sported by a woman at a Los Angeles Jewish festival where unsuccessful Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mel Levine took time out from his multimillion-dollar TV advertising campaign to make a rare public appearance.

Best headline not published in the wake of the primary: “Levine Levine Levine Concedes Concedes Concedes.”

EXIT LINE

“Not everybody can grow up to be the President’s daughter, but almost anybody can grow up to be a congressperson.”

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores, after defeating Maureen Reagan for the Republican congressional nomination in an upscale coastal district of Los Angeles County.