Governor Campaign Takes Sharp Right Turn

When leading Republicans cast about last year for a gubernatorial candidate to resuscitate their flagging party, they spoke of finding a different kind of California Republican.

But now, as the GOP primary winds to a nasty finish, the contest has reverted to a familiar fight over tax-cutting, Reagan-loving and who can best shrink the reach of Sacramento.

In short, it has become a quarrel over which candidate is the most traditional Republican.

For all their calculations, it now seems the wise men of the GOP--from the White House down--ignored one important element of Tuesday’s election: the people who go to the polls.

“Republican voters, particularly those who vote in primaries, aren’t in on the grand strategy of trying to do a make-over on the image of the Republican Party,” said Allan Hoffenblum, a veteran GOP strategist who has long fretted about the party’s declining support among women and minority voters. “That’s insiders talking, not your small businessman living in West Covina . . . He votes for people he tends to believe.”

That more than anything else may explain the rocket-ship rise of businessman Bill Simon Jr., the most conservative candidate in the race, and the tumble of former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, the favored candidate of the party establishment.

With two days left, Riordan is in a tight contest with Simon, as the third major contender, Secretary of State Bill Jones, limps behind.

Gov. Gray Davis, the incumbent Democrat, played a crucial role in boosting Simon by spending an unprecedented $10 million in meddlesome advertising that savaged Riordan as a flip-flopper lacking core values. It was only after Davis wounded the front-running Riordan that Simon began investing the personal millions he needed to run a serious campaign.

And now, even Riordan strategists concede they miscalculated by looking past Tuesday’s primary to the general election. In the process, Riordan “ran around sticking his finger in the eyes of conservatives,” as one supporter put it, touting his endorsement of legalized abortion and gay rights and lecturing GOP activists on their need to be more tolerant.

“By saying to people, ‘Change or die,’ it’s inherently saying to them, ‘You’re wrong,’ and it was too negative an approach,” said the Riordan backer, who helped entice the former mayor into the race and did not wish to be identified criticizing him.

Strategically, the campaign could have worked to draw more moderates to the polls Tuesday, but it did little of the specific targeting--with campaign mailers, candidate appearances or aggressive phone calls--needed to activate that support.

Even more damaging, Riordan strategists say, were attacks over Riordan’s donations--totaling more than $1 million over the years--to Democratic campaigns and political causes. That hurt his standing even with moderate to liberal Republicans.

“People in this party tend to wear their partisanship on their sleeves,” said Ken Khachigian, an advisor to Republicans as far back as President Richard Nixon. “It’s like being a good neighbor. They say if you’re not 100%, if you don’t like our neighborhood, you should move across the street.”

Campaigning Saturday, Riordan continued the rightward tack he began as soon as Simon erased his lead in opinion polls.

“The basic thing is, I’m a conservative when it comes to the things that count: tough fiscal management, education, health care, strong businesses, quality jobs for everybody,” Riordan said. “These are things that all Californians want. We need a conservative in Sacramento to implement those.”

But at the same time, the candidate continued his emphasis on broadening the appeal of the state GOP, which has failed to elect a governor, senator or deliver California to a presidential candidate since 1994.

Dialing from a campaign phone bank outside San Francisco, Riordan told a voter named Karen that he was “a tough conservative fiscally, although I reach out to women and minorities.”

That is precisely the formula that most analysts believe California Republicans need to start winning top-of-the-ticket elections again. And it is one of the reasons that Riordan’s candidacy was so attractive to many party leaders, starting with President Bush, who urged him last spring to run for governor.

“Dick Riordan is the only Republican who has the ability to reach out effectively to women, Hispanics, Asians, African Americans and other minority groups,” said Republican Rep. David Dreier of San Dimas, one of dozens of congressional and legislative lawmakers--many far more conservative than Riordan--who have endorsed the former mayor.

“He is one who very much wants to have a message of inclusion that is out there,” Dreier said. “And I will tell you, there are some within my party who, unfortunately, want to have a closed shop. That is a vision of the past.”

Yet for all the talk of outreach and broadening the party’s appeal, there is still the matter of Tuesday’s Republican primary. And California’s statewide electorate is vastly different from the far thinner ranks of voters expected to turn out for the GOP contest.

A recent Los Angeles Times poll of registered voters found them roughly split among self-described liberals, moderates and conservatives, with each constituting about one-third of the electorate. However, the survey found that 75% of likely Republican primary voters called themselves conservative, while 16% were self-described moderates and just 9% identified themselves as liberals.

The differences came through on specific issues as well. While 63% of registered voters statewide supported legalized abortion, it won the support of only 47% of likely Republican primary voters--with 49% believing it should be outlawed.

And while 51% of registered voters favored stricter gun controls, 77% of likely Republican primary voters believed the state’s control of firearms was just about right, or should even be relaxed.

“Fundamentally, the Republican Party is still a conservative party,” said Sal Russo, chief strategist for Simon’s campaign.

Rather than its stand on issues, such as lower taxation and reduced regulation, Russo suggested the California Republican Party has a “brand problem”--its image “is not particularly warm.”

That would explain both the perpetual smile on Simon’s face and his downplaying of touchy issues such as immigration, abortion, gun control and environmental protection. Stands on those issues were central to the defeat of the party’s last gubernatorial nominee, Dan Lungren, who lost to Davis in a 20-point landslide.

Simon spent Saturday at five brief campaign rallies at airports across the northern part of the state. As the theme of “Top Gun” blared over loudspeakers, Simon and his wife, Cindy, descended from a small prop-jet plane in Sacramento.

Asked how he would deal with charges by Riordan and Democrats that he is too extreme to be elected in November, Simon insisted the election would be a referendum on ideas rather than ideology.

“What really matters is our California dream,” he told reporters. “What really matters are our schools, roads, water and power.”

Jones appeared with former Republican Gov. George Deukmejian in front of the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach on Saturday afternoon, where the candidate addressed a crowd of about 50 supporters.

Jones reiterated his criticism of Simon for giving money to the reelection of San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, a contribution actually made by a business partner of Simon’s investment firm.

Jones Pushes On With Confidence

Despite his lowly standing in opinion polls, Jones continued to express confidence in victory on Tuesday, citing as inspiration Deukmejian’s 1982 upset primary victory over former Lt. Gov. Mike Curb. He also took a swipe at the free-spending ways of millionaires Riordan and Simon, suggesting they were “trying to buy the Republican Party.”

“I don’t think the Republican Party is for sale,” Jones said.

Whoever wins Tuesday, several Republican strategists said the outcome would not necessarily represent a repudiation of moderation or efforts to move the party toward the center. They noted that Bruce McPherson, a state senator from left-leaning Santa Cruz, will probably emerge as the party’s nominee for lieutenant governor. (That contest, however, has gotten barely a flicker of attention from voters.)

“If Bill Jones or Bill Simon wins, it doesn’t mean they can’t be inclusive and reach out,” Khachigian said, citing Reagan, Deukmejian and former Gov. Pete Wilson as “good examples of people who, in their prime, had strong conservative Republican principles and yet were able to bring in all elements of the majority.”

As for Riordan and his backers, their endeavor to reconstitute the state party has been an ambitious one and, politically, was always something of a gamble. By staking his candidacy on that effort, Riordan--at the least--has turned an apparent romp into a race he is now struggling to win.

“Candidates always start out their campaigns by wanting to change democracy,” said Dan Schnur, a Republican consultant who helped Riordan during the exploratory phase of his candidacy.

“All three of the candidates would agree the party needs to do something to change its approach,” he said. But as an enticement to the party’s true believers, “It’s not a particularly motivating way to turn out your vote.”

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Major GOP Gubernatorial Candidates on the Issues

BILL SIMON JR.

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ABORTION

* Opposes legal abortion, would uphold the existing laws and would shun any single-issue residentresidentlitmus testsearsears as governor.

BUDGET/ECONOMIC GROWTH

* To help improve the business climate, would reform the

California Environmental Quality Act and the Endangered Species Act.

* Reduce the capital gains tax.

* Proposes a 15% cut in the stateearss operating budget.

* Initiate a state hiring freeze.

* Has pledged to not raise taxes to deal with the stateearss budget shortfall.

EDUCATION/SCHOOLS

* Create residentresidentblock grantsearsears that would send money directly to schools without interference by outside administrators.

* Build more schools.

* Open more charter schools.

* Provide child care before and after school at every campus.

ENERGY

* Develop alternative energy sources and have private companies build additional power plants. * Renegotiate energy contracts the state has signed with energy providers.

WATER

* Increase water storage by raising dams, building more off-stream storage facilities and expanding the storage of water underground during wet periods for use during droughts. Pay for this through partnerships with corporations.

* Take immediate steps to conserve water.

* Develop new water sources through reclamation and ocean de-salting programs.

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BILL JONES

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ABORTION

* Opposes legal abortion except in cases of rape, incest or to protect a womanearss life.

BUDGET/ECONOMIC GROWTH

* Reform the workerearss compensation system.

* Reduce the capital gains tax.

* Expand business tax credits.

* Has pledged to not raise taxes to deal with the stateearss budget shortfall.

EDUCATION/SCHOOLS

* Limit all school districts to 30,000 students.

* Establish new teacher-training academies at decommissioned military bases, where college students would earn bachelorearss degrees and teaching credentials.

* Their tuition would be covered by the state in exchange for commitments to work in neighborhood schools for at least six years.

* Create residentresidentblock grantsearsears that would send money directly to schools without interference by outside administrators.

ENERGY

* Abolish the California Public Power Authority.

* Supports relying on private sector to create more energy for state.

* Wants to renegotiate power contracts signed by Gov. Gray Davis last year.

WATER

* Construction of water storage projects must begin immediately at already identified and studied locations. Develop plans for additional storage facilities as well as improve existing facilities.

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RICHARD RIORDAN

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ABORTION

* Supports abortion rights.

BUDGET/ECONOMIC GROWTH

* Introduce zero-based budgeting.

* Create a California Business Team to help businesses create jobs.

* Supports a sales tax exemption on the purchase of manufacturing equipment.

EDUCATION/SCHOOLS

* Calls for the stateearss school district administrators to make their budgets public.

* Appoint a science advisor to promote the importance of science and ensure science education is a priority.

ENERGY

* Renegotiate long-term energy contracts signed by Gov. Gray Davis.

* Adjust electric rates according to the time of day so customers would pay higher rates at times of peak demand.

* Form a joint organization with other Western states for electricity purchases to enhance Californiaearss bargaining power on wholesale prices.

WATER

* State must expand supply of safe, reliable water to accommodate farming and expected population growth in California.

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Governor’s Race

(text of infobox not included)

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Times staff writers Michael Finnegan, Erika Hayasaki and Nicholas Riccardi contributed to this report.

RELATED COVERAGE

Election 2002: A look at the issues and candidates, B1, B4-8