Opponents Attack Dreier’s Record on Debates

Debating Debates: It’s almost a ritual. Every time Rep. David Dreier (R-La Verne) runs for reelection, opponents accuse him of ducking debates.

Aide Brad Smith said Dreier has debated every opponent but one since he won his first term in Congress a dozen years ago, but that hasn’t stopped opponents from charging that he is, at best, a reluctant debater.

This year, Dreier and his opponents, Democrat Al Wachtel, Libertarian Thomas Dominy and Green Party candidate Walter Sheasby, will appear at a forum in Claremont Oct. 29, but Wachtel said Dreier ignored other debate opportunities. Wachtel said Dreier is “afraid to debate” and accepted the Claremont forum only because it is so late in the campaign that its impact will be blunted.

Due to reported scheduling conflicts, Dreier will not participate in a forum with Wachtel, Dominy and Sheasby, at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Methodist Hospital Auditorium in Arcadia, sponsored by the Arcadia branch of the American Assn. of University Women.

Sen. Frank Hill (R-Whittier) and Assemblyman Richard Mountjoy (R-Monrovia) also will miss the Arcadia forum, but their Democratic opponents, Senate candidate Sandy Hester and Assembly candidate Louise Gelber, will speak.

Party Shift: Democratic candidate Jonathan Fuhrman is pointing to a gain in Democratic registration in Pasadena’s new 44th Assembly District as evidence that he has a real chance to defeat Republican Bill Hoge for the Assembly seat.

Democrats have pulled more than 1,000 voters ahead of Republicans in district registration, a big turnaround since May, when Republicans held the edge by 3,362 voters.

That still leaves Hoge with an advantage, since political observers traditionally regard districts with a GOP registration of more than 43% as safe for the Republican candidate. Republicans, they say, tend to be party-loyal, while Democrats often cross over. The Republican registration, as of Sept. 30, is 43.51%, according to the county’s tentative figures. The Democratic registration is 44.06%, with the remainder divided among independents and minor parties.

The final registration figures for the Nov. 3 election won’t be available for another week, but Fuhrman said he expects his party to pull ahead by 2,000 voters. “We may have a real horse race here,” Fuhrman said.

Water Endorsement: The Monrovia City Council has approved a resolution of support for Frank Forbes, who is on the Nov. 3 ballot for Division 2 Director of the Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District.

Mayor Robert Bartlett, acknowledging that it is unusual for the council to endorse a water board candidate, said the city staff had strongly urged support for Forbes.

Forbes, a former public employee, worked 36 years for the public works departments of South Pasadena, Arcadia and San Gabriel. Division 2 covers those cities and much of Monrovia.