A Day Not to Take Political News Seriously

Had it been true, the press release that turned up on 100 fax machines around California would have been very big news.

“State Treasurer Kathleen Brown today announced that she is dropping her quest for the governorship and will accept an appointment with the Clinton Administration,” said the release. Brown, it continued, would be replacing Atty. Gen. Janet Reno, “who wants to return to Florida.”

Discerning readers saw through the prank right away. The date typed atop the missive provided one clue: April 1, 1994. The sender’s name was another: Darry Sragow, who is managing the gubernatorial campaign of Brown’s chief Democratic opponent, Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi. Sragow had even confessed, ending the release with the words: “Happy April Fool’s!”

But in the incestuous world of politics, where rumors ricochet with alarming speed, at least a few people got suckered. Dan Schnur, spokesman for Gov. Pete Wilson’s reelection campaign, got a call late Thursday from a wire service reporter who was trying in earnest to track down the story.

“My first reaction was, obviously it’s an April Fool’s joke,” Schnur said. “But given the way that campaign has been running lately, nothing is totally out of the question. . . . If they’d said that Kathleen had actually taken a position on a tough issue, then I would have known it was a joke right away.”

Sragow said the stunt was intended to get the 100 or so insiders who receive his campaign memos to “laugh at ourselves. Voters don’t take politics as seriously as campaign managers do and it’s important to remember that.”

Apparently, hilarity was in the air. When reached for comment, Michael Reese, Brown’s campaign spokesman, said he had just finished reading the “news” of his boss’s withdrawal from the race.

“Here’s something even funnier,” he said. “Unlike countless Californians who are still waiting, Kathleen Brown today received her Proposition 103 rebate in the mail for the full amount required by law. She thanks John Garamendi for his fine work. April Fool’s!”