Simon Tries to Shift Focus

In a campaign swing through Southern California on Thursday, Republican gubernatorial nominee Bill Simon Jr. sought to turn attention back to his rival by charging that Gov. Gray Davis allows political donations to dictate his public policy.

As he pitched a proposal to increase California’s stock of affordable housing, Simon said the Davis administration had made new homes more expensive by outlawing the use of plastic piping, which costs less than traditional copper pipes. He said the state Building Standards Commission made California one of few states to prohibit plastic piping after Davis received a $1.4-million contribution from the pipe trades union.

“It’s decisions like these that make me call Gray Davis California’s first coin-operated governor,” Simon told about two dozen supporters gathered outside the Corona Civic Center in the Inland Empire.

Aides to Davis vehemently denied any connection.

“As much as he’d like to believe it, one has nothing to do with another,” said Davis spokesman Roger Salazar. “When the governor makes his policy decisions, they are based on what’s in the best interest of the state of California and nothing else.”

Questions about last week’s $78-million verdict against the Simon family’s investment firm continued to follow the candidate as he campaigned throughout the state. But he attempted to shift focus to Davis by capitalizing on the incumbent’s reputation as an insatiable fund-raiser. He repeatedly accused the governor of having a “pay to play” administration.

Salazar said he did not believe such a line of attack would resonate with voters. “When you have a successful fund-raising operation, that kind of criticism comes with the territory,” he said. Davis has raised more than $50 million to defeat his challenger, the most ever for a U.S. gubernatorial race. He has already spent a large portion of that money on television commercials accusing Simon of being an unsuccessful businessman.

During a stop in Ventura on Thursday morning, Simon said he believes Davis will sign a bill that would make farmers enter into binding arbitration to resolve labor disputes, a measure that the GOP candidate said he opposes. “As everybody knows, Davis is influenced by contributions from labor unions, all the while holding farmers and ranchers hostage to his pen,” Simon said.

Salazar said the governor did not yet have a position on the arbitration bill. “The difference between Mr. Simon and the governor is that the governor tries to strike a balance and make sure that the interests of business and workers are both served in any policy decision,” he said.

As he toured Southern California, Simon said that nine of the nation’s 10 least-affordable cities are in the California. He said he would loosen land-use restrictions and roll back prevailing wage laws, which he said drive up labor costs. In addition, he proposed giving local governments incentives to encourage the construction of more housing instead of retail developments.

In Ventura, where growth and suburban sprawl dominate the local political agenda, Simon said he believes new homes could be built without cutting into the region’s green space. He did not explain how.

“There’s a way to do it that’s environmentally sensitive, that respects agricultural land,” he said. “We need a balance.”