GOP Hopefuls Pick Up Pace, Cut Criticism

The leading Republican candidates for governor picked up their paces but toned down their rhetoric Sunday as they raced across Southern California making last-minute appeals to undecided voters in the GOP primary on Tuesday.

Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan kept on the attack against rival Bill Simon Jr. But Riordan--who on Friday called Simon a “sanctimonious hypocrite”--generally struck a more conciliatory tone, saying both Simon and the third contender, Secretary of State Bill Jones, would be “infinitely better” than the Democratic incumbent, Gov. Gray Davis.

“Whoever the nominee is, I will fight as hard as I can to get them elected in November,” said Riordan, whose poll ratings have fallen as Simon’s have risen.

Jones, too, stayed on the offensive as he stumped in Orange County.

He accused Riordan of changing his position on the controversial El Toro airport proposal, and he charged that Simon was trying to “buy” the GOP nomination.

For Jones, it was a mild scolding compared to his typically acid critiques of his opponents.

Simon, who with his family has pumped $5.5 million into his campaign, tried to stay above it all.

In Burbank, he appeared before a jubilant crowd of about 40 supporters who waved campaign signs and shouted, “Go, Bill, go!” He spoke for less than two minutes and spent most of his time waving, shaking hands and hugging children.

Assemblymen Tony Strickland (R-Moorpark), an early Simon supporter, introduced him as “the one gubernatorial candidate who will not just not raise your taxes, but will lower your taxes.” (Riordan also has proposed a tax cut.)

Simon stuck to his three staple issues--the budget, schools and the state’s infrastructure. He offered no new details Sunday on what he wants to do in those areas, but said they are the topics that define his campaign.

“What we’re going to do--if we’re fortunate enough to win the primary on Tuesday--we’re going to take it to Gray Davis on those three issues,” Simon said.

With that, Simon descended into the small crowd, which buried him in hugs and handshakes. A white-haired woman whispered to him, “The Bible says that when the righteous rule, the people are at peace.” Others cried: “Gov. Simon!”

Simon also dismissed Riordan’s assertion Friday that he was an “extremist”--a reference, in part, to Simon’s opposition to abortion rights, a stand at odds with the views of most state voters. Simon said he was in line with most Californians on the issues he cares most about.

“I’ve never heard anyone challenge the fact that we need to reduce our traffic,” Simon told reporters. “I’ve never heard anyone challenge the need for cheaper water and power.”

For his part, Riordan kept a frenetic pace of campaigning Sunday, dashing from downtown Los Angeles to Riverside County, then back to Pasadena and Northridge.

Riordan awoke before dawn to bike the Los Angeles Marathon route. At the end of the 26-mile ride, Riordan--sporting a blue parka and black nylon warmup pants--mounted an outdoor stage among hundreds of cyclists on a lawn at USC. He lamented the more than $10 million worth of Davis television ads that cast him as an untrustworthy flip-flopper.

“On Tuesday, we’re going to show them!” Riordan shouted. “We’re not going to let Gray Davis hijack the Republican primary.”

The ads appear to have played a large role in undermining what was once Riordan’s solid lead in the polls.

In an effort to rebound, Riordan over the last week has been striking more conservative themes to draw support from the sort of GOP primary voters who often shun moderates.

Among other things, he has played up his support for the death penalty and played down his support for gun control, saying he backs the “right to bear arms.”

But aides acknowledged Sunday that Riordan’s campaign was broadcasting a radio ad that attacks Simon for getting an “A” rating from the National Rifle Assn. The ad is targeted to stations with high numbers of women listeners--potential moderate voters in the Republican primary.

From USC, Riordan went to the starting line of the runners’ marathon in front of the Disney Hall construction site, where he posed for photographs with his successor, Mayor James K. Hahn.

From there, he went to Riverside County, where he made calls from a campaign phone bank in the Corona office of his chief fund-raiser, pharmaceutical magnate Mark Chapin Johnson.

The mood was subdued. Half of the two dozen telemarketing cubicles were empty. Several of the callers occupying other cubicles were employees of Chapin’s medical products company or members of their families. One of the callers acknowledged he did not support Riordan.

Still, Riordan supporters said they were upbeat.

“I feel good,” Johnson said. “We’re coming along well. I think we’re making progress. I’m still very optimistic.”

His wife, Barbara Hiller Johnson, was bitter about the rising popularity of Simon among conservatives, saying a victory by the novice candidate would doom the party to defeat in November.

“They’re willing to commit suicide,” she said of the GOP’s right wing.

In addition to his phone banks--which Riordan himself joined briefly Sunday--Riordan has taped messages that will be left on thousands of answering machines at the homes of GOP voters before polls close Tuesday.

Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger has taped a get-out-the-vote message for Riordan.

Another message taped by the candidate’s wife, Nancy Daly Riordan, a Democrat, is being targeted to 500,000 coastal Republican women, said Craig Wilson, a Riordan campaign consultant.

In Pasadena, where Riordan greeted passersby at shops along Colorado Boulevard, Riordan told reporters that Davis was failing to address California’s troubles in transportation, housing and health care.

“Our state’s going off a cliff,” Riordan said.

Riordan also voiced regret that he did not respond sooner to the Davis ads. “If I’d come out earlier, it would have been easier,” Riordan said. “But that’s hindsight.”