Riordan Takes Off Gloves in Latest Ad

Two weeks after Gov. Gray Davis launched a blistering series of ads against him, GOP gubernatorial candidate Richard Riordan struck back Friday with his own spot criticizing the governor’s record on energy and the budget.

Riordan’s ad responds to just one of Davis’ charges--that Riordan is not a true supporter of abortion rights. The ad says the Democratic incumbent has attacked Riordan’s record on abortion to divert attention from Davis’ own failures as governor.

It also accuses Davis of taking “more money from Enron than any [other] politician in America.” In fact, Republican President Bush has accepted far more in Enron donations over his career than Davis.

“Gray Davis--he hasn’t done his job,” the Riordan spot concludes. “But he will say and do anything to keep it.”

The tit for tat between Riordan and Davis is escalating even though they are not running against each other at this point. Riordan is facing a Republican primary March 5 against California Secretary of State Bill Jones and businessman Bill Simon Jr. Davis faces no serious opposition in the Democratic primary.

Nevertheless, Riordan and Davis have exchanged barbs for weeks, many of them over abortion and Riordan’s stand on the issue.

In Riordan’s newest ad, the former mayor of Los Angeles looks directly into the camera and explains his position.

“I strongly dislike abortion,” he says. “But just as strongly, I respect and support the right of a woman to make her own choice.”

Riordan has made his support of abortion rights a centerpiece of his campaign. But the Davis ads point out that he donated to anti-abortion groups in 1987 and 1991. One of them shows Riordan saying in 1991 that he thought abortion was “murder.”

The new Riordan spot reflects his campaign’s concern over the potential damage the Davis ads could inflict upon him just as he tries to introduce himself to voters outside Southern California.

The Davis campaign has pulled its two abortion attack ads but is continuing to run others that go after Riordan on crime, the death penalty and the state energy crisis.

Before Friday, Riordan’s campaign had responded to the Davis onslaught with just one ad saying that the governor had “chosen to attack me personally” and that “Californians deserve better.” It did not address any specific charges.

Officials with the Riordan campaign declined to discuss the shift in tone. Privately, however, strategists have been fuming at Davis’ perceived meddling in the GOP primary. Some worried that a failure to respond to his attacks could undercut Riordan by allowing the governor’s charges to stick.

The former mayor is leading his GOP foes in fund-raising and early polls. But Simon, a multimillionaire who is largely bankrolling his own campaign, has tripled his television ad spending this week. He is airing a series of spots in which he is identified as “conservative Republican Bill Simon.”

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Staff writer Nicholas Riccardi contributed to this report.