CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS / GOVERNOR : Brown Raps Wilson for His Support of Prop. 187 : Democratic nominee says the initiative on illegal immigration would turn school officials and other public employees ‘into Big Brother.’

Before a classroom filled with a multiethnic array of high school students, state Treasurer Kathleen Brown on Wednesday lashed into Gov. Pete Wilson for his support of the anti-illegal immigration Proposition 187, saying that it would cost the state money--not save it--and turn school administrators and other public employees “into Big Brother.”

“I think we need less government, not more Big Brother government,” she said, adopting a favorite Republican line.

As sharply as she has in her campaign to unseat Wilson, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee characterized Wilson as a man who has used the issue of illegal immigration to his own political advantage. She upbraided Wilson for actions he took as a U.S. senator that increased the number of immigrants allowed into the state.

“Illegal immigration didn’t start overnight,” she told students at Pasadena High School. “It’s been here. And the incumbent governor has got fingerprints all over the issue of illegal immigration.”

Her remarks came as two noted conservatives broke ranks with Wilson and came out against Proposition 187. Jack F. Kemp, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Bush, and William J. Bennett, education secretary under President Ronald Reagan, denounced the initiative as “fundamentally flawed” and said it could provoke a backlash against minorities.

Wilson, in a campaign appearance in Long Beach, dismissed the objections of his Republican peers.

“Those are two guys who are in Washington and it is very clear that they have been there too long,” the governor said. “When you spend too much time in an ivory tower think tank, you begin to lose touch with reality.”

Brown said she believed that the Kemp-Bennett statement would help the campaign being waged against the initiative. “It shows that this is an issue that cuts across party lines,” she said. “These are very conservative thinkers.”

As Wilson campaign spokesman Dan Schnur noted, however, it currently is support for the proposition that cuts across party lines. A Los Angeles Times poll published Saturday noted that while support among Republicans is running high--75% to 19%--the measure also leads among Democrats, 52%-40%. Independents favor it by a margin of 57% to 34%.

Proposition 187 would deny government services to illegal immigrants, and would require medical professionals, school administrators and others to report those they suspect are in the country without proper papers. It has inspired strong emotions on both sides, from supporters who argue that the state is going broke trying to pay the bills of illegal immigrants to opponents who say it will increase crime, health concerns and incidents of bias against minorities.

Brown’s contention that the initiative would cost California money was based on the Clinton Administration’s threat to withhold $15 billion in funding for state schools if Proposition 187 is passed. The initiative apparently would violate a Supreme Court decision requiring states to educate illegal immigrant children.

“We can’t afford to lose that $15 billion,” she said.

Wilson spokesman Schnur scoffed at the threat, however. “We don’t believe Bill Clinton is going to shut down California’s public school system the year before he is up for reelection because the voters have passed an initiative he doesn’t agree with,” he said.

Brown’s reference to Wilson’s Senate actions was aimed at his support for an amendment to a comprehensive immigration reform act. The amendment, as drawn by Wilson, would have allowed employers to hire immigrant workers temporarily to pick perishable crops. Democrats in the House of Representatives changed it to make it easier for the workers to remain in the United States. Wilson said he voted for the Democratic version because it was part of the overall immigration reform act.

In her criticism of Wilson, Brown said he acted at the behest of his friends and campaign donors in the agriculture industry.

“He did that when it was politically convenient for him,” she said. “He received over $600,000 in campaign contributions from his special interest friends who wanted cheap labor. So he fought for it then and now in a tough reelection campaign he wants to ride this issue.”

Unlike Wilson, who believes that illegal immigrants are lured to California by the promise of government-paid benefits, Brown argues that they are after jobs. Thus, she said, she would press for tamper-proof identification cards for all Californians seeking employment, and would strengthen sanctions against employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.

In other remarks to the high school students, Brown renewed her criticism of Wilson for what she characterized as his failure to apply for a federal grant to fund programs that help guide students from school to jobs.

“Our governor . . . was asleep at the switch, missed the application deadline and so California has lost out on getting $43 million this year,” she said.

Wilson spokesman Schnur said Brown was factually wrong. The Wilson Administration applied last spring for a Department of Education planning grant to help it put together a proposal for the larger grant, he said. Twenty-eight other states proceeded the same way, according to Schnur.

“California hasn’t missed anything,” he said.