Candidates Seek to Heal Racial Wounds

When the subject is race relations, businessman Al Checchi, a Democratic candidate for governor, tells listeners to forget--for a moment--about compassion. Think about self-interest.

“That usually gets their attention,” he says.

Doesn’t it make sense, he continues, that a diverse population is an asset for a state competing in a global economy?

If more people feel disenfranchised from society, won’t the standard of living deteriorate for everyone?

And if you want the best college students or employees, shouldn’t you credit the tenacity of those who reach higher education only after overcoming major social hurdles?

“I feel in my heart that the most fundamental responsibility of leadership is to help people understand . . . their mutual dependence,” Checchi told an Asian American organization in Alhambra recently. “That is the job of a governor--leadership that absolutely stresses every single day the value of its diversity.”

It is the wealthy businessman Checchi who has been the most outspoken and eloquent of the gubernatorial candidates on the issue of race relations this year. But it is a regular topic in campaign speeches for all three of the major Democrats as well as the lone Republican in the race.

As they describe it, this is a year of introspection for California politics.

The last two elections here were dominated by controversial battles over illegal immigration and affirmative action that drew a national spotlight to the state’s rapidly changing demographics. This time, the candidates are emphasizing the need to heal wounds and work toward sharing--not just dividing--the economic pie.

“One of the greatest challenges we face is how we can unite in common purpose our increasingly diverse people,” said Lt. Gov. Gray Davis, one of Checchi’s two Democratic rivals in the June 2 primary. “I will highlight the strengths of our people, not the weaknesses, and I will remind people of what we can accomplish together.”

The trend in this race is toward “a unanimous rejection of wedge politics,” said Constance L. Rice, a Los Angeles civil rights lawyer.

In particular, the attention to the state’s growing Latino community has been unprecedented, with sharp competition for Latino endorsements and wide use of Spanish-language television commercials.

On Saturday, all four major candidates for governor are scheduled to attend a bilingual debate in Los Angeles, co-sponsored by California’s largest Spanish-language media--the newspaper La Opinion and the television network Univision.

“It is interesting to wonder whether we have finally crossed the watershed from the idea that bashing Latinos is good politics . . . to an era where courting Latinos is an essential element of any future political race,” said Raul Hinojosa, director of the North American Immigration and Development Center at UCLA. “We’ll see.”

Two of the most significant indications of the changing discussion on race are in the Republican gubernatorial campaign of state Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren and in Proposition 227, a June ballot measure that would virtually end bilingual education.

Lungren supported Propositions 187 and 209--the Republican-backed ballot measures in 1994 and 1996, respectively, aimed at ending most public benefits for illegal immigrants and halting affirmative action in government. So community leaders expected that he would spark racial controversy this year, perhaps by linking his campaign to the widely popular Proposition 227.

Instead, Lungren came out against the ballot measure last week, joining all three Democrats in opposing it. His decision effectively removed any likelihood that the proposition would become a battleground for the competing candidates.

“Even Lungren says we need to stop scapegoating, stop blaming each other and figure out how to get everybody to the table,” Rice said.

She attributed at least part of the change to an improving economy. Minorities and immigrants became a target for politicians to blame when the last recession caused layoffs and tough job competition, she said.

There are other reasons for the change too. The Latino community is continuing to grow in California and--partly in reaction to Proposition 187--has stepped up its political activity. Also, political strategists say voters are weary of the angry and controversial campaigns that surrounded the state’s recent battles on race-related issues.

“I opposed Propositions 187 and 209 because they were divisive and intended to drive wedges between people,” said Rep. Jane Harman, a Torrance Democrat running for governor. “I believe that the average Californian is fair-minded, good, caring and reasonable.”

Like Harman, the other two Democratic candidates opposed the ballot propositions against affirmative action and illegal immigrant benefits. But there are distinctions among the competitors.

Both Davis and Harman have said they would work to minimize the impact of Proposition 209’s ban on affirmative action in government with aggressive outreach programs to disenfranchised communities.

Checchi has gone a significant step further, promising that if he is elected he will seek another ballot initiative to repeal Proposition 209. Proponents of the measure suggest that Checchi is out of step with voters.

“He seems to forget the [1996] electorate that passed 209 was not voting in a conservative Republican year,” said Jennifer Nelson, spokeswoman for the American Civil Rights Institute. “They were the same voters who passed the medical marijuana initiative, gave the state Assembly back to the Democrats and put Bill Clinton back in the White House.”

Checchi’s critics have also questioned whether he is a credible spokesman on race relations because of his record at Northwest Airlines.

Shortly after he became co-chairman of the company, Northwest settled a discrimination lawsuit brought by African American employees. The settlement included a federal consent decree that required Northwest to spend more than $4 million over five years to enhance job opportunities for blacks.

Three years later, after complaints that the company was not fulfilling the agreement, a federal judge extended the order for one year.

Checchi has denied discrimination problems during his tenure at Northwest, and he has vigorously contended that the company took significant steps to hire and promote minorities.

One other topic on which the candidates differ somewhat is the nearly 3,000 appointments they would control as governor.

Checchi has pledged to appoint minorities in proportion to their share of the state’s population. Davis has said he would exceed the record of former Democratic Gov. Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown Jr., who gave 42% of his appointments to women and minority applicants while Davis was serving as his chief of staff. Harman has limited her promise to appointing people who share her “vision of inclusivity and diversity.”

Lungren has also suggested that he would increase the diversity in government ranks. “I would like to have more people that reflect California,” he said at a campaign appearance Tuesday.

Legal experts say it is questionable to what extent these pledges can be fulfilled under the terms of Proposition 209.

Despite some specific policy proposals, however, the campaign discussion about race relations has largely been limited to hopeful rhetoric.

That’s not surprising, community leaders say. Government at all levels is still searching for the appropriate response to the complex and delicate subject. Where the debate does become more specific, there is still disagreement within many groups about the proper course.

“I suspect no campaign manager worth his or her salt would want to go further,” said Rice. “It’s a minefield. . . . The question of how we deal with where we are is still a touchy issue even within like political groups. The politicians can’t really address it much beyond this superficial level. But I don’t want to downplay the importance of that level.”

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On Race

Race relations and diversity are frequent topics in the governor’s race.

AL CHECCHI

* Gubernatorial appointments: Would seek to match the state’s demographics.

* Quote: “Affirmative action is not a reward for the color of your skin or your heritage. Affirmative action exists as a remedy for the results of discrimination. Now if you can tell me we are living in a society that is free of discrimination, then I will telll you that we can end affirmative action.”

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GRAY DAVIS

* Gubernatorial appointments: Would seek to exceed former Gov. Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown Jr., who gave 42% of agency and department head jobs to women and minorities.

* Quote: “The next governor will play a leading role in determining what kind of State California will be and what kind of a people we are. He can appeal to the best in us or he can appeal to our darkest instincts. He can distract people by focusing on what they don’t like about one another, or unite them by focusing on what we can do together.”

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JANE HARMAN

* Gubernatorial appointments: Would share her vision for diversity.

* Quote: “This diversity is a cause for celebration, but it also can create tensions. California’s governor must take an active role in minimizing such tensions and building one, united California.”

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DAN LUNGREN

* Gubernatorial appointments: Would seek to increase the number of minority workers in state goverment.

* Quote: “I happen to be one of those that supported Proposition 209. I don’t believe in my gut and in my review of the Constitution . . . in ethnicity based or gender based or race based, quotas. But does that mean I’m satisfied with the number of under represented minorities we find at the UC system and the Cal State University system? The answer is a resounding, no.”