Jones Says Enron Gifts Taint Foes

Trying to tie his campaign for governor to national outrage over the collapse of the energy trading company Enron, Secretary of State Bill Jones sharply criticized Gov. Gray Davis and former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan on Thursday for accepting campaign contributions from the politically active firm.

“When it comes to ethics in government, you are either part of the problem or part of the solution,” said Jones, who with Riordan and businessman Bill Simon Jr. is seeking the GOP nomination for governor. The winner of the March 5 Republican primary will face Davis in November.

Jones noted that Davis has received $117,000 from the troubled energy company and its employees since 1998, and Riordan got $500 from an Enron subsidiary during his mayoral reelection campaign in 1996.

The governor has not directly said whether he would return the money, but he said he adopted a policy last year not to accept money from independent power companies, including Enron.

During a Republican debate Tuesday, Riordan said he had not received money from Enron. But his campaign corrected him Wednesday.

A spokesman said Thursday that the former mayor plans to return the money.

“Maybe Dick either didn’t know or didn’t correctly state his record in accepting contributions from Enron,” said Jones, speaking to members of the United Agribusiness League in Anaheim.

“Dick has said repeatedly he will hire the best and brightest and empower them to do the job. . . . I guess that’s what happens when you leave all the details to others.”

Jones also announced Thursday that Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe, a Republican, was supporting him.

“It is of great significance to me that an individual so closely involved in the governing of the metropolitan Los Angeles area--in fact, who has governed side by side with one of my opponents, the former mayor of Los Angeles, Richard Riordan--has chosen to endorse my campaign,” Jones said.

Knabe, who joined Jones at a news conference on the steps of the county Hall of Administration, said he supports Jones because of his 20 years of experience in state government.

Riordan, meanwhile, ignored his opponent’s swipes.

He spent Thursday making campaign stops along the Central Coast, where he touted his plan for reforming California’s schools.

In Sacramento, the third candidate, Simon, held a brief news conference on the steps of the state Capitol to announce his endorsement by state Sen. Ray Haynes (R-Riverside).

But even Haynes’ backing came with a reminder of the untested nature of Simon, who is making his first run for office. Haynes said he held off endorsing Simon because, “I was worried, quite frankly, about where he was going to go with the campaign. . . . When you get the new guy on the block, will he be able to make the commitment, especially the guy who’s got to write the check?”

Haynes said his concerns were eased by Simon’s performance in the debate and while campaigning. “I’ve been impressed by how far he’s come,” Haynes said. “I’ve been impressed by Bill’s willingness to talk about his conservative agenda for California.

“When we’ve been faced with Republicans who think the way to win an election is to articulate a Democratic message,” Haynes continued in a swipe at Riordan.

Simon spoke briefly, saying Haynes is “a real, true conservative.”

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Times staff writer Michael Finnegan contributed to this report.