Governor Targets 9 Assembly Democrats for Defeat

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state Assemblywoman Gloria Negrete McLeod have had their differences -- to put it politely.

The governor wanted to raise college fees to balance the budget, but the Democratic lawmaker from Chino opposed the plan.

Schwarzenegger backed bills suspending minimum funding guarantees for schools and the teacher retention tax credit. McLeod voted against both.

They also disagreed on a bill that would have allowed illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses.

Now, as though this were a scene out of one of Schwarzenegger’s tough-guy movies, it’s payback time.

McLeod is among nine Democrats targeted for defeat in Assembly races by the popular actor turned governor, who has endorsed her Republican challenger, Ontario City Councilman Alan Wapner, in the November election.

In Southern California, Schwarzenegger also is backing Republican candidates against Democratic Assembly members Judy Chu of Monterey Park and Carol Liu of La Canada Flintridge.

Republican Assembly candidates Greg Hill of Redondo Beach and Steven Kuykendall of Long Beach also have the governor’s blessing in contests for open seats.

“It will have a huge impact,” Wapner said of his 61st Assembly District race. “He has tremendous support in the state and in the district.”

Although voter registration in McLeod’s district is 48% Democratic and 32% Republican, Wapner is buoyed by the fact that 65% voted for either Schwarzenegger or conservative state Sen. Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks) for governor in last year’s recall election.

McLeod said she isn’t worried.

Schwarzenegger “has endorsed a lot of candidates,” she said. “It is part of the game.

“We are just going to run on my record of helping the district.”

Liu sounds a similar tone in assessing her race against Schwarzenegger-backed Republican challenger Lynn Gabriel.

Voters in her district are too smart to be swayed by personality, Liu asserted.

But Tad Berg, a campaign consultant for Gabriel, said the governor’s endorsement is already enlivening the campaign.

“He is a singular personality, which brings a lot of attention and potentially more money to our campaign,” Berg said.

Schwarzenegger has taken photos with the endorsed candidates for campaign mailers, but pundits say the effect of the endorsements will depend on whether he chooses to make appearances in the districts and helps with fundraising.

Schwarzenegger has been mum on that front, and has not been particularly expansive in his praise of the candidates he is backing.

“The governor thinks they all are highly qualified candidates who will serve their districts well,” said Ashley Snee, a spokeswoman for the governor. She declined to elaborate.

Legislator Invites Manly Men to ‘Road Kill Rally’

A month after Schwarzenegger referred to legislative opponents to his budget as “girlie men,” one group of lawmakers set out to show that some state politicians have no testosterone deficit.

State Sen. Rico Oller (R-San Andreas) hosted a “Wild Game Feed” for nine fellow legislators last week. The political fundraising event for Oller’s campaign, which he called “Rico’s Road Kill Rally -- No Girlie Men Allowed,” was held at the Sacramento home of Senate Republican Leader Dick Ackerman of Irvine.

The Republicans feasted on barbecued chukar (a game bird), duck, venison, elk, Chilean sea bass, clams and California king salmon. They even sampled some wild turkey -- the fowl, not the beverage -- said Bill Bird, the aptly named spokesman for Oller.

Legislators in attendance who had voted against Schwarzenegger’s budget and had to shake the girlie men label included Oller and state Sens. Chuck Poochigian of Fresno and Sam Aanestad of Grass Valley.

Poochigian called the grilled venison “better than steak,” and Ackerman said his favorite dish, the sea bass, was “almost good enough to be called California-grown.”

Despite the exotic menu, Bird said there were no reports of digestive distress. But then, would manly men own up to any such problems?

Political Softball Games Leave 1 on Disabled List

It’s that season again. The air is full of the smell of freshly mowed grass, the crack of bat hitting ball and the yelps of politicians straining muscles.

It’s that season -- political softball.

In Sacramento, Republican lawmakers defeated their Democratic colleagues, 15-9, in the annual Legislative All-Star Softball Game, which raised money for charity.

Assemblyman Tony Strickland (R-Moorpark) was the MVP, batting 2 for 3 with a home run and turning two double plays on defense.

Then last week, Los Angeles city officials thought it might be a good idea to have Mayor James K. Hahn and his staff play a friendly game of softball against the City Council and its aides, especially given the political tension between the mayor and the council in recent months.

Councilmen Antonio Villaraigosa and Bernard C. Parks, who are running for mayor against Hahn, were no-shows, but five other council members participated, and the council team beat the mayor’s team, 10-6.

Hahn played for part of the game in Westchester, getting on base once.

The game was hard fought, which explains why Councilman Tom LaBonge showed up at City Hall afterward on crutches. He pulled a hamstring.

LaBonge said he had just arrived at the park when his name was called, so he stepped up to the plate and hit the first pitch.

“I took three steps and fell on my face,” he said.

LaBonge said he later got some assistance from a former skipper of the Dodgers. “I ran into Tommy Lasorda the other night and he put me on the 15-day disabled list,” LaBonge said.

Points Taken

* U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has agreed to be an honorary chairwoman of Hahn’s reelection campaign. Feinstein, who was mayor of San Francisco, said Hahn’s tenure has seen a reduction of crime and a greater investment in affordable housing.

* In doling out millions of dollars in federal funds meant to encourage Californians to vote, Secretary of State Kevin Shelley made sure some prominent Democrats, or at least their relatives and supporters, benefited. State documents show Shelley’s office gave a $25,000, three-month contract to David Yaroslavsky, the 22-year-old son of Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. The younger Yaroslavsky, whom state officials expect will bill them only $7,000, was tasked with reaching out to voters in the Bay Area. Shelley’s office also has paid $53,000 on a contract to the Rev. Tony Pierce of Los Angeles to get more voters to the polls in the heavily Democratic district of Assemblyman Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles).

* Look for Los Angeles City Controller Laura Chick to issue another stinging audit in the fall, this time dinging the Community Redevelopment Agency for not adequately monitoring and enforcing its agreements with developers getting city subsidies. Agency administrator Robert Ovrom last week told his board: “Frankly, I think we are going to be found to be deficient in some of those areas.”

You Can Quote Me

“It’s kind of like ratting out your neighbors, but we encourage that.” -- John Newton of the Orange County Vector Control District, explaining that people should report on the mosquito potential of their neighbors’ yards to help battle the spread of West Nile virus.

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Contributing this week were Times staff writers Jean O. Pasco and Tim Reiterman.