ELECTIONS : Loss Reminds Felando of Key Political Lesson : Assembly: Ousted legislator says the electorate’s desire for change threatens the jobs of all incumbents. Observers say he wasn’t as visible during the campaign.

In 1978, Gerald N. Felando, a 43-year-old newcomer, rode the winds of political change into office, defeating the dean of the California Assembly, Vincent Thomas.

Last week, the tables turned.

In Tuesday’s election, Felando, having aged into a grizzled veteran of Capitol infighting, suffered the same fate as Thomas. His bid to return to Sacramento was crushed by upstart Betty Karnette, a Long Beach Democrat who said voters were “looking for a change.”

The irony of the situation was not lost on Felando, one of a handful of Assembly members turned out of office on Tuesday.

As he sought to put the loss into perspective, he chuckled that Thomas, who died in 1980, would probably be “smiling, dancing a jig.”

Thomas had been so angry over the defeat that he refused to speak to Felando afterward and left his Capitol office barren of furniture and supplies, Felando recalled. Not even a paper clip was left behind for the new assemblyman.

But Felando, who over the years has fought several tough political challengers, said his defeat underscored a basic political lesson.

“Everybody’s job in Sacramento is in jeopardy,” he said. “Everyone knows that. If they think otherwise, they’re kidding themselves.”

Some political observers suggest that Felando himself may have forgotten that lesson and jeopardized his career by failing to be as visible in the district as he had been in past elections. In addition, the 54th Assembly District was redrawn during reapportionment earlier this year to encompass his old political turf, including his San Pedro hometown and the Palos Verdes Peninsula, but it also stretches into Long Beach, where he was unknown.

John Greenwood, a onetime aide to Thomas who later served on the Los Angeles Unified School District board, said that when Thomas ran in 1978 “his district had been changed” too.

“He represented Torrance, which he hadn’t represented, and I couldn’t get him to go to Torrance. He couldn’t adjust to the change, and I don’t know if Felando spent that much time in Long Beach,” Greenwood said.

“In both cases the challenger did all the grass-roots things,” said Greenwood, who lives in San Pedro. He recalled that in 1978, Felando “was out walking precincts, attending the meetings. . . . He was everywhere and in this election I didn’t see Jerry Felando around but it was Betty Karnette I saw around places.”

Felando cited a variety of factors for his defeat and shrugged off comparisons to 1978.

“I really feel I was a victim of reapportionment, the presidential election, the year of the woman, the anti-incumbent sentiment and the anti-Republican sentiment,” Felando said.

But he conceded that he didn’t campaign as hard as he had in the past, saying that his polls indicated he was ahead of Karnette two weeks before the election.

He pledged to do everything he can to smooth Karnette’s transition into office. “This is nothing to go out in the garage and hang yourself over,” he said.

Fourteen years ago, an elated Felando was catapulted into the limelight by defeating 70-year-old Thomas, whose 38 years is believed to be the longest period of service in the history of the Assembly. One of Thomas’ major achievements was the construction of a bridge, named for him, that links San Pedro and Terminal Island.

During Felando’s tenure, no such high-profile monuments were named for him. He has established a reputation as a tough-on-crime, anti-tax lawmaker with close ties to commercial fishing interests. In the mid-1980s, he served as Republican Assembly whip. But he also displayed a willingness to split from his party. For example, in 1986 Felando was one of only four Republicans in the Assembly to support a landmark bill aimed at selling off $11.4 billion in state investments in firms operating in South Africa.

Felando also gained notoriety for several high-profile campaigns. When the redrawing of legislative lines in the early 1980s threw him into the same district as Assemblywoman Marilyn Ryan (R-Rancho Palos Verdes), he challenged her and won the 1982 contest. Likewise, he won a resounding 1988 victory over GOP challenger Deane Dana III, son of Los Angeles County Supervisor Deane Dana.

In 1989, he disclosed he had a blood-related cancer, which he says is in remission. In that same year, the onetime smoker won a fight to ban smoking on the Assembly floor.

Felando did not voice bitterness over his loss, saying that he had planned to retire in two years anyway but that “God works in mysterious ways. He’s retired me.”

He said his 13-year-old son suggested that there was a silver lining to the defeat: They could go fishing more often because Felando won’t be commuting to Sacramento.

Felando said he shot back: “You bet.”