Wilson Thinks Activist Image Gives Him Edge

In pitching his presidential candidacy across America, Gov. Pete Wilson will contend that he has acted to solve problems while his rivals have only yakked.

Many Californians may dispute his claims of accomplishment, but Wilson strategists believe that voters elsewhere will be swayed by his stewardship of the nation’s largest state. And nobody, they assert, is in a better position to argue that Washington has become too meddlesome and should cede power back to the states.

Being an activist governor of a big state, they theorize, will clearly distinguish Wilson from his major rivals for the Republican nomination--Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole of Kansas and Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas.

His activism, moreover, hasn’t been directed merely at issues that glaze the eyes, but at emotional gut-wrenchers. He hasn’t always been “politically correct,” in some circles, but his moves usually have been politically popular with the electorate.

Wilson quickly will note that he was the first governor to sign a “three strikes” bill aimed at career criminals, he achieved welfare “reforms” and he led the ballot fight against illegal immigration. Californians heard all this ad nauseam last year, but it’s new stuff for most Americans.

Now, as soon as he recovers from throat surgery and can talk normally, Wilson will cast his mark on the latest emotional issue--affirmative action.

“This is a problem that’s festered to the surface,” he says. “It won’t go away by being ignored.”

Certainly it won’t be ignored by candidate Wilson.

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Three months ago, Wilson emphatically endorsed a proposed 1996 ballot initiative to forbid racial and gender preferences in state government hiring, contracting and student admissions. He also promised his own beginning steps “to undo the corrosive unfairness of reverse discrimination.” His target date for that action now is May 24.

Basically, Wilson will issue an executive order scrapping elements of state affirmative action programs not required by law. The governor also will rescind executive orders issued by three predecessors, whose seemingly innocuous decrees, he says, have led to “bureaucratic excesses.”

Wilson argues that special preferences “breed resentment among those left on the sidelines, stigmatize high achievers who are women or minorities and violate the fundamental American principle of basic fairness.”

So his order will end state contracting and hiring goals that exceed the mandates of federal or state law.

For example, Caltrans has agreed with the federal government to spend 20% of its contracting money on minority or women-owned firms. Last year, it spent 27% and tossed out 28 low bids to meet the goal. Actually, most states have agreed to spend only 10%. Wilson will order the agency not to exceed its present agreement and to lower the goal to 10% when the federal contract expires.

Another example: The Water Resources Department sets aside two-thirds of its student-hire openings for minorities and women. These are mostly engineering jobs. No law requires this, and Wilson will order all hirings to be based on merit alone.

Wilson’s order also will change the way the state sets its affirmative action goals. Now, goals are based on the percentages of minorities and women in the overall labor force. That will be changed to “relevant” labor force, such as the percentage of minorities who are engineers.

A lot of paperwork will be ended. Supervisors, for example, no longer will have to explain in writing why they didn’t hire an affirmative action applicant.

And hundreds of advisory councils that monitor affirmative action programs will be abolished.

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This will be tricky for Wilson because in the past he has supported affirmative action, both as a mayor and as governor. Opponents will accuse him of flip-flopping and political opportunism, a charge he is especially vulnerable to after breaking his pledge not to run for President.

Indeed, one bill he signed extended special preferences to Portuguese. The governor says he wanted to conform state and federal laws to simplify things. In other cases, including some as mayor, Wilson insists he merely was complying with federal law.

But Wilson adds, “Times have changed. There was an understandable feeling of guilt by Americans when they were compelled to acknowledge past discrimination. Civil rights acts were long overdue. But in an excess of zeal, we created a new discrimination . . . and in many instances it led to a lowering of standards to fill quotas. I think we went overboard.”

Wilson also thinks voters will care less about flip-flops and political motivation than they do present action.