State Politicians Rush to Prepare for ’98

The 1996 election is just days old and already a host of California politicians--including Democratic Senate President Pro Tem Bill Lockyer and Republican lawmaker Jim Brulte--are off and running for higher office in 1998.

The aim is to beat the Jan. 1 limits on campaign contributions imposed by Proposition 208, which voters approved Tuesday.

The measure not only restricts the size of donations but also bans statewide candidates from accepting donations until a year before the primary election.

That means as of Jan. 1, candidates cannot begin raising money until June, which is one year from the 1998 primary.

By acting swiftly to create new campaign fund-raising committees, Lockyer and others will be able to carry over into 1998 campaign money collected before Proposition 208’s restrictions take effect.

Lockyer, who must retire from the Legislature in two years because of term limits, indicated in required filings with the secretary of state that he would run for attorney general.

Ruth Holton, executive director of Common Cause, which co-sponsored Proposition 208, said office-seekers are engaging in an eleventh-hour fund-raising frenzy.

“They’ve got to get everything out of the candy store before it closes permanently,” Holton said. “There is a very small fund-raising window of opportunity before the end of the world as they know it.”

The formation of a new fund-raising committee does not commit a candidate to seek a particular office. But to raise funds legally, the candidate must designate an interest in the office.

Other legislative veterans also signaled their interest in future elections. Assemblyman Jim Brulte of Rancho Cucamonga, who was elected to the Senate on Tuesday, filed documents Thursday creating a committee for state treasurer, a post now held by Republican Matt Fong.

State Sen. Charles Calderon (D-Whittier), who also must leave the Senate under term limits in 1998, indicated that he wants to run for attorney general. The current occupant, Republican Dan Lungren, is expected to run for governor.

State Sen. Tim Leslie (R-Carnelian Bay), whose term expires in 2000, has formed a committee for lieutenant governor in 1998. So has former state Democratic Party Chairman Phil Angelides of Sacramento, who was defeated for treasurer in 1994.

In an interview Friday, Lockyer said that formation of his new committee did not commit him to run for attorney general, but “I feel I am best qualified for this office.”

He filed the papers Tuesday, the same day Californians were voting on Proposition 208 and a rival measure, Proposition 212, which was defeated.

Proposition 212, which would have taken effect the day after the election, would have clamped restrictions on the size of contributions and outlawed accepting contributions until nine months before a primary.

Proposition 208’s restrictions generally limit donations to statewide office-seekers to $500 per individual or organization.

Lungren and his potential rival for governor, Democratic Lt. Gov. Gray Davis, long have had fund-raising organizations in place.

By filing with the secretary of state’s office, Lockyer and other lawmakers will be legally able to transfer surplus funds from their current legislative campaign committees to their new statewide committees for 1998 races.

As the architect of victories that expanded Democratic domination of the Senate on Tuesday, Lockyer raised and spent more than $10 million. He said he does not know how much surplus would be transferred to his new committee because “we’re still paying the bills.”