Primary Races Point Toward Decision Day

Millions of dollars have been spent, hundreds of campaign appearances have been made, and California’s primary campaign all boils down to Tuesday, when voters will cast ballots that give some politicians life until November and exile the rest to electoral anonymity.

Democrats could nominate their second straight woman for the governorship, if front-runner Kathleen Brown beats back the last-minute efforts of John Garamendi and Tom Hayden.

Republicans will vote yea or nay on the tenure of incumbent Gov. Pete Wilson, who has presided during a long string of natural and economic disasters. The state’s hardiest political figure, Wilson finds himself under assault from political neophyte Ron Unz.

Also included on the statewide ballot are contests for party nominations to the U.S. Senate seat now held by Democrat Dianne Feinstein, seven other statewide offices and nine propositions.

The various contests, which have grown substantially hotter in recent days with the release of negative campaign commercials, apparently have not yet caught the fancy of voters. Acting Secretary of State Tony Miller predicted the lowest turnout for a regular state election since figures were first compiled in 1916--39.8%

The previous low turnout for a gubernatorial primary was 40.45% in 1986, followed closely by 41.49% in 1990.

Campaign officials, however, characterized the electorate as more angry than apathetic.

“Voters are very angry and they are very scared,” said Darry Sragow, Garamendi’s campaign manager. “What people are scared about is the economic future of California and their own safety.”

Indeed, the economy and crime have dominated the gubernatorial campaign, both on the Republican and the Democratic sides.

Brown, the daughter and sister of the only Democratic governors to lead the state in the last half a century, started the race as the favorite and ends it that way, although her path has been littered by potholes. In the fall, she was criticized as wishy-washy, so she launched a series of multi-point issue speeches. In the spring, she was criticized as floundering, so she signed up a new campaign management team. During April’s Democratic convention, Brown unveiled her new slogan--”America’s best treasurer to revive America’s worst economy”--and what she termed her “mission”--to create at least 1 million new jobs in the next four years.

For most of the campaign, she ignored her Democratic counterparts to focus on Wilson. But Insurance Commissioner Garamendi consistently bad-mouthed Brown as a candidate who wanted to be governor simply to complete the family dynasty.

Garamendi, however, has been hobbled by a lack of money, which prompted him last month to loan his campaign more than $500,000. He has used it to finance commercials accusing Brown of not being sufficiently supportive of the death penalty. Brown said she personally opposes capital punishment but would carry it out as governor.

The insurance commissioner spent much of his time during the campaign on “work days,” in which he took over the jobs of ordinary Californians to illustrate his campaign slogan “Make California Work.” But he and the second major Democratic challenger, state Sen. Tom Hayden of Santa Monica, are facing an uphill battle against the well-financed Brown campaign and the recent tendency of Democratic primary voters to side with women candidates.

Hayden’s campaign has been unorthodox since its surprise beginning, when he dove into the race as a messenger of reform. Throughout the campaign, he has argued that California’s political system is so dependent on money from special interests that the needs of its residents are forgotten.

In the process, Hayden has made himself something of an elder statesman, both for being above the Brown-Garamendi fray and for tackling more than the others the hardest issue to face the next governor--the deficit-ridden budget.

On the Republican side, Wilson found himself with a surprisingly tenacious opponent, Unz. The Silicon Valley computer magnate largely financed his own campaign, which was heavy on hard-hitting commercials accusing Wilson of abandoning Republicans by raising taxes and allowing crime to proliferate.

Apart from a single radio debate, Unz has been ignored by the governor’s campaign, which contends that his criticisms will fade before November.

The governor himself spent the primary season taking early shots at Brown, often focusing on the issue of illegal immigration. Wilson advocates amending the U.S. Constitution so that children born of illegal immigrants on American soil are not automatically U.S. citizens. Brown and the other Democrats oppose such a change.

Both Wilson and Brown have argued that the federal government should assume the costs of illegal immigration into California, since it is charged with protecting the borders.

Like the governor’s race, the contest for nominations to the U.S. Senate has been marked by candidates who virtually skipped the preliminaries and began contesting the general election.

On the Republican side, one-term Rep. Michael Huffington, a millionaire who moved to Santa Barbara several years ago from Texas, has ignored his party opponent, former U.S. Rep. William Dannemeyer. The tactic was so pronounced that Dannemeyer took to sending out missing person reports about the elusive Huffington.

Dannemeyer, a Fullerton resident, is making his second consecutive run for the Senate; in 1992, he lost the Republican primary to appointed Sen. John Seymour. As he did in that campaign, he has stuck this year to a few favorite issues. He says that his opponent’s socially moderate views are wrong, and that he would guard against wasteful spending.

Like it or not, however, Dannemeyer has been ignored by Huffington, who set his sights on Feinstein. The 46-year-old Huffington has spent millions of his own money in advertisements targeting Feinstein’s votes for the Clinton economic plan and criticizing her as a career politician.

Feinstein, who has no major challengers for the Democratic nomination, ignored Huffington’s gibes for months. But last week, with her poll numbers falling as a result of the assault, she went on the air with an ad that characterized Huffington as a Texas carpetbagger who dodged California income taxes.

She based her contention on the fact that Huffington and his wife claimed separate residences from 1988 to 1991--with Arianna Stassinopolous Huffington living in California and her husband in Texas, a state that has no income tax.

Huffington quickly responded with a television commercial questioning whether she has paid enough federal taxes. Neither campaign has evidence of wrongdoing.

While the two big-ticket races have dominated news coverage during the primary season, they are far from the only matters on the ballot. Nominations for six of the seven other statewide offices are still open this year, because of the decisions by some state officeholders, such as Brown and Garamendi, to seek higher office and the retirement of others.

The highest profile among the down-ticket races has been achieved in the mud-splattered contest for state treasurer, which on the Democratic side has pitted longtime state Senate leader David A. Roberti of Van Nuys against former state party chairman Phil Angelides. Gubernatorial candidate Brown is the current treasurer.

Angelides in late May unveiled the most controversial ad of the state office campaigns, a broadside that accused Roberti of placing into power in the Legislature three corrupt state senators “even though . . . he knew of their sleazy reputations.” The three, Alan Robbins of Van Nuys, Paul B. Carpenter of Downey and Joseph Montoya of Whittier, have been convicted on corruption charges.

Roberti called the ad a “smear job.”

Angelides also targeted for assault Roberti’s opposition to abortion, implying that he condoned the slaying of a Florida abortion doctor. Roberti, the most prominent abortion opponent in the Legislature, responded that he was appalled at the shooting of Dr. David Gunn.

Roberti gained national fame this year when he won a recall election that had been largely financed by the national gun lobby, which he angered by proposing anti-assault weapon legislation. While he has had little money to press his case in television ads in this race, he is better known in voter-rich Southern California.

On the Republican side, state Board of Equalization member Matt Fong is running unopposed.

The office of lieutenant governor is open for the first time in 12 years--incumbent Leo McCarthy is retiring--and that has spawned a Republican contest to challenge the presumptive Democratic nominee, state Controller Gray Davis.

State Sen. Cathie Wright of Simi Valley and Assemblyman Stan Statham of Oak Run both contend that they will strengthen the office, which has not had a history of being a launching pad to higher achievement.

In the contest to succeed the retired March Fong Eu as secretary of state, Republican Assemblyman Bill Jones of Fresno is unopposed for his party’s nomination, but the contest for the Democratic nomination is fast and furious. Competing are acting Secretary Tony Miller, who is the first openly gay candidate in the United States to run for statewide office; Assemblywoman Gwen Moore, who has the party’s endorsement, and former Los Angeles councilman and mayoral candidate Michael Woo.

All of the candidates for controller are playing to voters’ concerns about waste in government by pledging that they will apply strict business practices to their handling of the office.

Vying for the Democratic nomination are Kathleen Connell, a former city of Los Angeles housing director; Don Perata, a veteran Alameda County supervisor, and Rusty Areias, a San Joaquin Valley assemblyman. Republicans running for the seat are John Morris, a Los Angeles shopping center investor, and former Assemblyman Tom McClintock of Thousand Oaks.

Whoever wins election as the state’s second elected insurance commissioner--gubernatorial candidate John Garamendi was the first--will inherit a host of lawsuits, investigations and battles over insurance premiums. Nevertheless, a few major candidates are competing for the job.

Among Republicans, the major candidates are Assemblyman Charles W. (Chuck) Quackenbush of Cupertino; Wes Bannister, the 1990 nominee, and Jim Conran, former state Department of Consumer Affairs director. Democrats include state Sen. Art Torres of Los Angeles and his junior house colleague, Assemblyman Burt Margolin, also of Los Angeles.

Unlike the other state offices, the post of superintendent of public instruction is nonpartisan. But that has not lessened the competition. Major candidates include Joseph Carrabino, former president of the state Board of Education; Delaine Eastin, an assemblywoman from Fremont; Maureen DiMarco, the state secretary for child development and education; Wilbert Smith, a Pasadena businessman, and Gloria Matta Tuchman, an Orange County school board member and teacher.

Only in the race for attorney general are the two nominations already determined. On the Republican side, incumbent Dan Lungren is seeking reelection. And on the Democratic side, 1990 nominee Arlo Smith dropped out of the race, paving the way for the nomination of Garden Grove Assemblyman Tom Umberg.

Voters will also find on their state ballots a host of measures, most of which involve new spending. Three are related to the Jan. 17 Northridge earthquake, which not only caused widespread damage but also raised concerns about the safety of existing buildings.

Proposition 1A would approve the sale of $2 billion in bonds to pay the state’s share of earthquake damage and to strengthen freeway bridges. Proposition 1B is a $1-billion issue that would improve seismic safety in and otherwise renovate elementary and high schools. Proposition 1C would sell $900 million in bonds to strengthen and renovate California’s college campuses.

There are also non-earthquake-related issues on the ballot. Most notable are Proposition 175, which would reinstate the $60 per person renter’s credit, and Proposition 180, which would authorize $2 billion in bonds to buy parklands, historic sites and wildlife areas.

Some local races are contested on the ballot this year. Los Angeles will elect two supervisors, a sheriff and assessor.