Candidates Hit Streets in Final Push

They knocked on doors. They stumped from picnic benches. One congressional candidate rode her bike for miles along the Pacific. Another stopped by a Little League field and passed out free combs. Still another invited a soap opera star to make the pitch for her.

Walking, talking and pushing pamphlets, election hopefuls and their volunteers fanned out across Southern California on Sunday, hoping to squeeze a few more votes from the final weekend before Tuesday’s election.

On the eve of elections for offices from the White House to city hall, candidates everywhere pushed for that extra vote.

“This is how you get the best person for the job elected,” said Annette Howard, a Rolling Hills Estates resident who pedaled her bike alongside incumbent Rep. Jane Harman (D-Rolling Hills). “I want to be part of something that works.”

Harman led about 40 of her supporters in a bicycle convoy up the coast through the 36th Congressional District, which spans the beach communities in the South Bay. Along the way, Harman stopped at Veterans Park in Redondo Beach and picked up the public endorsement of the Sierra Club.

“This district has a fabulous coastline, and the Clean Water Act is one of the reasons for that,” Harman said in a pledge to defend the environment.

Down the road in Long Beach, Assemblyman Steven Kuykendall (R-Rancho Palos Verdes) worked the precincts of the 54th District. Kuykendall is trying to hold off a challenge from Democrat Gerry Schipske.

The pro-choice Republican, who spent Sunday ringing doorbells and handing out campaign literature at about 200 Long Beach homes, said he was accosted by an anti-abortion voter who followed him down the street in a car to keep up his criticism.

“Very few people ever bring up issues when you go to their house,” Kuykendall remarked. “This guy followed me down the street, and he was very obnoxious.”

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Supporters walking the streets of Torrance for Assemblywoman Debra Bowen (D-Marina del Rey) found mixed success. One squad found many residents not at home, and others unwilling to talk.

“I just knocked on one door, and a child answered, and the mother was there but didn’t want to come to the door,” said Mary Winkley, a Bowen volunteer.

Still, they found some residents ready to engage them on the issues.

“What we care about is education and affirmative action,” said Betty Heenan, who came out to her driveway in the Hickory neighborhood of Torrance. “We want to keep affirmative action. And we want to keep the schools in this neighborhood strong.”

Bowen, who held two rallies Sunday, found many voters confused by the large number of ballot initiatives. This year, California voters are being asked to decide on a wide range of initiatives on such topics as affirmative action, health care and campaign finance.

“People are asking about all these propositions--’What is this stuff, and why is it on the ballot?’ ” Bowen said. “That’s the way it is. If you have enough money, you can put anything on the ballot.”

Bowen has supported legislation that would impose stricter rules for placing initiatives before voters.

Assemblyman Jim Morrissey (R-Santa Ana) spent “only seven or eight hours” walking precincts with his supporters Sunday. Morrissey, a freshman legislator, made a name for himself in 1994 by personally walking 73 of the 103 precincts in his 69th District.

“I figured I walked all the way to Sacramento,” he said.

Morrissey, 66, now locked in a tight race with Democrat Lou Correa, is scaling back somewhat. “This year, I’m only going to get as far as about Bakersfield,” Morrissey said with a laugh.

In Encino, Democratic congressional candidate Brad Sherman dropped in on a game at the Encino Little League field Sunday in search of new supporters.

He found a few, enough to make him happy.

“If I get 15 votes today, then that’s great,” Sherman said. “I’ve seen races decided by less than 50 votes, so that’s why I am here.”

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Sherman is in a close race with a fellow Harvard Law School graduate, Republican businessman Rich Sybert. Both are running to replace retiring Rep. Anthony Beilenson in the 24th District, which spans the western San Fernando Valley and eastern Ventura County.

Sherman worked the bleachers Sunday, shaking hands and trying to sell his program.

“I’m watching the game,” one woman snapped, and Sherman quickly retreated.

Others spectators, like music executive Milton Olin of Encino, praised Sherman for making the effort.

“I think something as insignificant yet personal like a handshake can make a difference,” Olin said. “We are so overwhelmed with information from the media about the races, it could be effective for him just to shake a hand.”

In Garden Grove, soap opera star Heather Thom of “The Young and the Restless” spoke at a rally for Democratic congressional hopeful Loretta Sanchez, who is trying to knock off Rep. Robert Dornan (R-Garden Grove), the 46th Congressional District’s fiery and unpredictable incumbent.

Many people are predicting a close race, and Sanchez is among them.

“I’m working as if we are going to lose by 12 votes,” Sanchez said.

Times staff writers Len Hall and Frank B. Williams contributed to this report.