Women Gather to Plan Further Political Gains : Activism: Office-holders, candidates and advisers are expected among 1,000 attending annual meeting in L.A.

Was 1992 a foundation or a fluke?

That’s the real question facing more than 1,000 women officeholders, candidates, consultants, fund-raisers and activists expected to gather today in Los Angeles for the annual meeting of the National Women’s Political Caucus.

In 1992, women dramatically increased their numbers in Congress, jumping from two to six in the Senate and from 28 to 47 in the House of Representatives. But in the celebrated Year of the Woman, female candidates benefited from an unusually strong tail wind: widespread anger over the Senate Judiciary Committee’s treatment of law professor Anita Hill during the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

With those memories fading--and concern about restrictions on abortion also eased by President Clinton’s election--women leaders acknowledge that it will be difficult to match those gains this year. “We will be challenged to recapture some of that special excitement we had in 1992 that pulled out the dollars as well as the political muscle for women,” said Harriett Woods, National Women’s Political Caucus president.

But at a news conference Thursday, Woods and other women leaders said the 1994 election will still present significant opportunities, particularly at the state level. Flanked by six female gubernatorial candidates from both parties, Woods said that “1994 will be the year of the woman governor.”

“We’d like . . . to double the number of women governors, but we may do even better,” she said. “Gains at the statewide level shouldn’t be underestimated. . . . Remember, three of the last four United States Presidents have been former governors. Big gubernatorial wins will raise women to a different level of the political game, positioning them for future White House candidates.” Three of the nation’s 50 governors are women.

This weekend’s conference at the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles is intended as “an energizing gathering” for women candidates and activists, Woods said. Through Sunday, delegates will hear from a variety of prominent women, including Atty. Gen. Janet Reno and California Sen. Dianne Feinstein; attend panel discussions on issues such as the politics of child care, and take part in workshops on how to read polls, raise money and develop a personal image, complete with fashion consultants from Lear’s Magazine.

But as is often the case, the primary business will take place in the hallways. The conference might be more accurately described as a bazaar--a chance for women planning campaigns, and those who fund and work in them, to size up one another.

“It’s a good opportunity to network with women,” said Michigan state Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat who is planning a gubernatorial race next year. “I’ve been making major fund-raising contacts.”

The National Women’s Political Caucus is a 22-year-old organization that provides training and funding for women political candidates. It endorses women from both parties, but only candidates who support abortion rights, an equal rights amendment and policies to increase the availability of child care.

At Thursday’s news conference, Woods downplayed expectations for next year’s congressional elections, noting that women candidates will not have the advantage of competing for as many open seats as in 1992. Instead, with 24 first-term congresswomen in the House of Representatives defending their seats next fall, women will “be lucky just to hold our own,” she said.

In the Senate, women are discussing or planning bids for the Republican nomination in six states, and the Democratic nomination in 11 more, according to a caucus compilation released yesterday.

Two women Senate candidates are guaranteed a place on the ballot next fall: Democrat Feinstein in California and Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison in Texas, both of whom are seeking full terms.

After that, the most likely prospects for Democratic women Senate nominees appear to be in Minnesota, Montana and Rhode Island, with Ohio and Missouri also strong possibilities, said one leading Democratic campaign strategist. In all of those states except Rhode Island, where state Rep. Linda J. Kushner is the front-runner for the Democratic nomination, primaries are possible that would involve two women who are serious candidates. Women may also challenge Democratic incumbents Donald W. Riegle in Michigan and Dennis DeConcini in Arizona.

On the Republican side, the prospects appear slimmer. The most intriguing GOP possibility could be former National Endowment for the Humanities Director Lynne Cheney, the wife of former Defense Secretary Dick Cheney, who would be a leading contender for a GOP nomination in Wyoming if Republican Sen. Malcolm Wallop steps down.

Traditionally, federal races have most absorbed women activists, sometimes to the consternation of women running at the state level. But this year--as part of a stepped-up recruitment and training effort announced Thursday--the national National Women’s Political Caucus is trying to heighten interest in local races involving women.

In mayoral elections this fall, women are formidable candidates in four major cities now governed by men: Atlanta, Minneapolis, Detroit and Boston.

The year of the woman bypassed the gubernatorial mansions: All three of the women nominees for governor in 1992 lost their elections. That result, in part, reflects a historic reluctance of voters to trust women in executive positions, particularly those responsible for law enforcement.

This next election cycle will test the ability of women candidates to overcome that resistance. “It’s time to break the glass ceiling and show that women are ready for executive positions at the gubernatorial level,” state Sen. Mary Boergers (D-Md.), who is running for governor, said Thursday.

Women have strong chances in both of the gubernatorial races this fall. Republican Christine Todd Whitman is locked in a tight race with Democratic incumbent James J. Florio in New Jersey; in Virginia, Democratic Atty. Gen. Mary Sue Terry is the front-runner to succeed L. Douglas Wilder.

In next year’s races, Democratic women are considering gubernatorial bids in 15 states, including California, Illinois and Michigan; Republican women could be serious contenders in more than half a dozen states including Hawaii, Maine and Pennsylvania.

In Kansas, Democratic state Rep. Joan Wagnon, who supports abortion rights, plans a primary challenge to Gov. Joan Finney, who opposes them. The other two women governors--Democrats Ann Richards in Texas and Barbara Roberts in Oregon--are also expected to seek reelection next year.

None of these races, though, is likely to attract as much attention from the media or women’s activists as the California gubernatorial race. State Treasurer Kathleen Brown, who has emerged as a favorite of women fund-raisers, is expected to announce a bid for the Democratic nomination later this year.

“The biggest race in the country in 1994 is going to be the California governor’s race and Kathleen is going to be leading the parade,” said Ellen Malcolm, president of EMILY’s List, the largest fund-raising organization for Democratic women candidates.