Unz TV Ad Says Wilson Failed L.A. During Riots : Politics: Governor calls his opponent’s charges ‘completely wrong and a new low in this campaign.’

In his sharpest critique of Gov. Pete Wilson to date, Republican gubernatorial challenger Ron Unz has unveiled a television ad that says Wilson completely failed Los Angeles during the 1992 riots.

“He let the National Guard sit on its hands as mobs of criminals burned and looted my native city for days. That’s leadership?” asks Unz, a 32-year-old Silicon Valley entrepreneur who grew up in North Hollywood. Unz then questions the value of “Wilson’s election year crime summit--getting together with a bunch of other politicians to talk about crime? Did that make the streets any safer?”

The 30-second spot, which began airing statewide Saturday, is Unz’s third foray into television (he has also broadcast two radio ads around the state). In other ads, he has berated Wilson for his handling of the economy, public education and the “three strikes” law. But the latest ad, which features footage of Los Angeles in flames, is by far the most biting.

Wilson’s reelection campaign has consistently downplayed the importance of Unz’s bid, which so far is being financed with more than $1 million of Unz’s own money. But Friday, the governor’s campaign responded for the first time to Unz’s criticisms, issuing a three-page news release that calls the latest ad “completely wrong and a new low in this campaign.”

“Governor Wilson offered Los Angeles the National Guard before they even asked for it. . . . Whether it’s rebuilding a freeway fast or getting the Guard on the street, Pete Wilson is the man for a crisis,” the statement said.

It continued: “The Crime Summit did indeed make our streets safer. It directly led to passage of the ‘three strikes (and) you’re out’ law that puts repeat violent felons away for life.”

This is not the first time that questions have been raised about the National Guard’s deployment during the riots. On the evening of April 29, just hours after the rioting began, Wilson ordered the Guard to deploy 2,000 troops to Los Angeles, and soldiers were quickly assembled.

But the troops were unable to move into assignments because of a series of problems, the most notable being that their ammunition did not arrive until 2 p.m. the next day. Wilson was critical of the delays--in the wake of the civil unrest, he ordered an investigation that found that top Guard officials were mostly to blame for the snafus. Eventually, Wilson replaced the head of the California National Guard.

But Unz, whose platform is “smaller government, lower taxes, fewer regulations and traditional values,” said he believes that the governor was responsible. The Wilson campaign’s responses only made him more adamant.

“Wilson is commander in chief of the National Guard. . . . He can blame others, but the buck stops at the top,” Unz said in an interview. “I watched my city burn. . . . That is something I’ll never forgive Pete Wilson for. I don’t regard it as a low blow. I regard it as the height of cynicism for him to campaign on the crime issue.”

Unz mentioned Spike Lee’s 1989 movie “Do the Right Thing” and added: “After I saw that movie and heard all the rap songs promising to burn down Korean stores and after all the publicity surrounding the Rodney King (beating) trial, I was certain that the level of ethnic tension meant there could be riots. . . . As governor, I certainly would have taken that into account and had some preparation on hand.”

On the “three strikes” law, Unz said: “Mike Reynolds is the person behind “three strikes and you’re out.” Reynolds and his wife spent their life savings to get it on the ballot, and then Wilson jumped on the bandwagon. . . . Wilson is a fraud. He’s going to drag the Republican Party down with him unless we get rid of him now.”

The impact of Unz’s media blitz is as yet unmeasured. Unz said his campaign will soon conduct polling to assess whether he is luring voters away from Wilson. But political observers predict that Unz, while he will probably appeal to conservative Republicans, will get only limited mileage out of continued attacks on Wilson.