Wilson Campaign Finance Chief Resigns : Politics: Debt estimated at hundreds of thousands of dollars. Another adviser loses much of his authority, and more changes are expected.

In the face of a campaign debt sources estimate at hundreds of thousands of dollars, the national finance director for Pete Wilson’s presidential bid became the first official casualty of a major shake-up in the California governor’s organization Tuesday.

A longtime Wilson adviser--George Gorton--also lost much of his clout as the campaign scrambled to try to correct a zigzagging strategy and the serious shortage of money.

Campaign officials said more staff changes are expected this week as part of an overall reorganization. They said a significant number of the estimated 90 people on Wilson’s campaign payroll will be laid off.

In the first of the changes, Ann LeGassick voluntarily resigned her finance post as part of an overhaul that ultimately is designed to consolidate decision-making authority with campaign chairman Craig Fuller, campaign sources said.

They said the campaign has suffered from a series of mixed signals about the governor’s strategy that were partly caused by a board-of-directors style of management. The problems grew dangerous recently when the campaign found its debt mounting into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, the sources said.

Fuller reportedly went to Wilson in the midst of a controversy about the campaign’s decision to close its office in Iowa, site of the nation’s first caucus next year, and demanded the changes. Wilson agreed and, as a result, he clipped the wings of Gorton, whose service to the governor spans 25 years.

Gorton has worked on Wilson campaigns since the 1970 San Diego mayor’s race, and he served as a key strategist for Wilson’s four consecutive statewide victories in California--two for U.S. Senate and two for governor.

Aides said privately that Gorton still holds the title of campaign manager, but they said he is serving as an unpaid “volunteer” and his duties will be limited to communications and message development. Previously, Gorton played a role in all of the campaign’s major decisions.

Wilson spokesman Dan Schnur said Gorton and Fuller volunteered to forgo their salaries in an effort to save money for the financially strapped campaign.

“This is the kind of bump in the road that a lot of campaigns go through, but the most important thing is that the campaign is taking the necessary steps,” Schnur said. “The governor has asked Craig to oversee a restructuring of the campaign, and one portion of that restructuring will be to bring costs in line with the campaign’s fund raising.”

Fuller and Gorton have known each other since they worked for Wilson campaigns in the 1970s. But sources said their relationship on the presidential campaign was marked by a rivalry that split the organization into two camps--one composed of Gorton associates from the 1994 governor’s campaign and another recruited by Fuller from his days as a top aide to George Bush’s successful 1988 presidential campaign.

Sources said one of the items the two strategists clashed on was the use of media in the presidential campaign, with Gorton arguing for heavy use of television ads that Wilson traditionally has relied on in California. As a result of Fuller’s new authority, the sources said, the campaign is likely to rely more on the type of personal contact with voters more common in the early primary campaigns in small states.

LeGassick was in Gorton’s camp. She ran Wilson’s finance effort in California last year, raising about $29 million for his gubernatorial reelection campaign. But sources said her resignation resulted in part from her inexperience in raising money under the strict limits of a presidential campaign.

Federal campaigns are prohibited from accepting contributions of more than $1,000 from individuals; in contrast, there is no limit on donations to a California gubernatorial candidate.

Republican observers have noted that Wilson has had trouble raising money from many traditional supporters in California because those backers remain angered that he ran for President after they worked hard to help him hold onto the governor’s office and were assured by him that he would not seek the White House in 1996.

Wilson aides said they expect that LeGassick’s duties will be assumed by Margaret Alexander Parker, former national finance director for the Republican National Committee and for Bush’s 1988 campaign. Parker was already serving as LeGassick’s deputy.

Last week, the campaign announced that Fuller and about half of the staff in the Sacramento headquarters were planning to relocate to a new office in Washington and other operations in the Northeast. The shift was intended to help the campaign focus more intensely on the early primaries in New England, where Wilson strategists believe the candidate has the best shot at a strong showing.

On Tuesday, officials said Fuller will delay his move to Washington and remain in Sacramento at least until the campaign restructuring is complete.

Campaign officials scrambled to boost their fund-raising effort before an upcoming federal finance report reveals the extent of their problems.

The problems are a dramatic change from the confident boasts Wilson’s campaign made last spring when it claimed to have received about $15 million in pledges and was well on its way to raising $20 million by the end of the year.

Last July, the campaign reported that it had raised less than $4 million, and officials now predict that they will be far short of the $20-million level by January.