Steve Garvey’s wholesome GOP Senate campaign image belies a complex past 

Good morning. It’s Thursday, Feb. 1. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.

• Steve Garvey’s wholesome GOP Senate campaign image belies a complex past
• Stunning satellite photos show ‘Pineapple Express’ storms heading for Southern California
• 14 places in L.A. to take a ‘treat walk’
• And here’s today’s e-newspaper

Steve Garvey’s wholesome GOP Senate campaign image belies a complex past

With the first California U.S. Senate debate in the rearview mirror and California’s March 5 primary coming up, Democratic Rep. Adam B. Schiff of Burbank leads the field. But the race for second place — between Democratic Rep. Katie Porter and GOP front-runner Steve Garvey — is neck and neck, a recent poll shows.

Garvey’s entry into the race — in which he is hoping to secure a runoff position on the November general election ballot—has prompted the question: The baseball player?

Nicknamed “Mr. Clean” during his days as a star with the Dodgers and Padres, Garvey is pushing a campaign focused on “restoring moral integrity in Congress.” Yet three of his adult children told L.A. Times investigative reporters Nathan Fenno and Adam Elmahrek another story about their father.

Here are four quick hitters about Garvey from their investigation.

Who was “Mr. Clean” ?

Garvey was the picturesque representation of the All-American look —as American as “Beaver” Cleaver, apple pie and, well … baseball.

Before entering the political arena, Garvey was an All-Star first baseman for the Dodgers and Padres in the 1970s and 1980s. He reached the World Series five times, contributing to the Dodgers’ championship in 1981.

Southern Californians revered Garvey for his prowess on the diamond, where he earned numerous accolades, including a league MVP award. Fans admired his clean-cut demeanor, charming smile and devotion to fans, charities and God.

“He collects art, not phone numbers,” legendary Times columnist Jim Murray wrote of Garvey in 1974. “He visits crippled children’s hospitals, not discotheques. … Garvey is hopelessly addicted to malted milk and getting to bed early.”

How has he curated his public image?

For decades, Garvey was portrayed as the aw-shucks role model and family man, drawing the ire of other players who felt his “persona was too neat, his near-immaculate lifestyle too perfect … nothing more than image making,” Sports Illustrated’s William Nack wrote in 1982.

Garvey insisted his image was genuine in his 1986 autobiography: “All that autograph-signing and handshaking and cheek-kissing, that’s how I am and have always been.” He stressed the need for positive role models and that there should be “at least one straight arrow among the swingers.”

A biography once posted on his website described him as “a devoted family man,” reading, “As a father of seven children, Garvey understands that in the ever-changing world we live in, there is a great necessity of being a man of honor, integrity and quality.”

What are three of his adult children saying about him?

His oldest daughter from his first marriage, Krisha Garvey, 49, said she felt it was important to tell voters that her father’s public image hasn’t always reflected his personal life. She said her father cut off almost all contact without explanation about 15 years ago, an action she finds painful.

“There is something lacking in him, something not authentic,” Krisha Garvey told The Times about what she described as “complete abandonment” by her father.

Beginning in the late 1980s Garvey became entangled in legal battles over paternity and child support, all while embroiled in a bitter divorce and visitation disputes with his first wife and Krisha’s mother, Cynthia Garvey.

Two of Garvey’s children, Slade Mendenhall and Ashleigh Young, were involved in his 1989 paternity embroglio and said they have never known their father. At the time, two different women — including his fiancée — accused Garvey of fathering their children before he ultimately married a third woman, his current wife, Candace Garvey.

Mendenhall and Young, both 34, told The Times that Garvey declined multiple attempts for meetings or even phone calls. They said they only had a relationship with him through the family court system.

They both said they have no partisan or ideological positions on the race — and have moved forward in their lives without their father.

Garvey’s actions had made him the butt of many jokes, with bumper stickers proclaiming: “Steve Garvey is not my Padre.” The Times described the situation as an “accidental double play.”

In a 1989 article, he told The Times that he promised to “accept the moral and financial responsibility” for the children because “there is a right way and a wrong way to deal with moral situations, and I believe this is the right thing to do.”

Garvey had discussed political aspirations since the early 1980s, and the article assured readers that his political prospects remained intact.

What is Garvey’s response?

Garvey’s campaign did not respond to The Times’ detailed questions about his children, financial dealings, or whether his public image mirrored his private life.

Instead, his representatives released a statement in which Garvey acknowledged his challenges after retiring from baseball were pivotal in shaping who he is today.

Garvey did not elaborate on what those challenges were.

“The lessons learned about personal accountability and integrity have made a profound, lasting impact on my life,” he added.

Garvey said his experiences have equipped him with a better understanding of adversity and will allow him “to serve the public with empathy and integrity, something that has been lacking in Washington, D.C.”

Read the full story: Steve Garvey touts ‘family values’ in his Senate bid. Some of his kids tell another story

Today’s top stories

A photo captured by NOAA’s GOES-West satellite showed a ‘Pineapple Express’ bringing tropical moisture to the West Coast on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024.

(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

Upcoming storms

• Stunning satellite photos show ‘Pineapple Express’ storms head for Southern California.
• California’s next big storm: When and where will rain, snow and flooding hit?
• The Times’ complete guide to storm safety preparedness.

California voters guide

• Your guide to Proposition 1: Newsom’s overhaul of California’s mental health system.
• Your guide to California’s Congressional District 30 race: The battle for Schiff’s seat.
• Your guide to the L.A. County district attorney race: 11 candidates aim to unseat Gascón.
• Read the full voters guide to the 2024 California primary election.

Crime and courts

• He opened a medical pot dispensary in California. The feds spent 16 years prosecuting him.
• A federal judge dismisses Disney’s free speech lawsuit against Ron DeSantis.
• A lawmaker wants California workplaces to put Narcan in first-aid kits.
• A judge rules California background check and anti-importation rules for ammo unconstitutional.
• Alec Baldwin pleads not guilty to involuntary manslaughter in ‘Rust’ shooting.

More big stories

• ‘Universal frustration’: In California, a crisis so dire Republicans and Democrats are working together.
• Ocean images may be first of newborn great white shark in the wild.
• Pioneering restaurateur behind celebrity hangout Antonio’s dies at 85.
• Thousands of California homeowners can cut their property tax bill. Here’s how.
• The planet is dangerously close to this climate threshold. Here’s what 1.5°C really means.
• This social service hotline you’ve never heard of could help pinpoint California’s next big crisis.

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Commentary and opinions

• Robin Abcarian: Need help finding a good book? Try one your ninth-grader isn’t allowed to read.
• Opinion: California isn’t prepared for turbocharged storms like the ones we’re getting this week.
• Opinion: Why is L.A. still letting single-family homeowners block solutions to the housing crisis?
• Editorial: U.S. colleges are overusing — and underpaying — adjunct professors.
• Michael Hiltzik: A judge voids Musk’s huge Tesla pay package as dishonest, and hoo boy, is he steamed.
• Opinion: How throwing soup at the Mona Lisa can help fight climate change.
• Lorraine Ali: What’s behind the right’s attack on Swift-Kelce romance? Fear of a powerful woman.

Today’s great reads

(Christian Thompson / Disneyland Resort)

A floor that feels like magic? Just another marvel from this legendary Disney inventor. Lanny Smoot at 68 is the most accomplished modern inventor at the Walt Disney Co. His innovative new floor works like a treadmill, only one that works with you rather than against you — twisting, turning and moving in the direction of your body — without traditional confines.

Other great reads

• A California beach’s grim history of racism was recognized in a plaque. Someone just stole it.
• Elmo’s innocuous check-in is met with ‘existential dread’ and mental health crises.
• Meet the veteran L.A. violinist fighting on behalf of Hollywood musicians.

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.

For your downtime

(Patrick Hruby / Los Angeles Times)

Going out

• 🚶🏽‍♀️Grab a little treat, take a little walk. 14 places in L.A. to take a ‘treat walk.’
• 🌮 Armenian-Mexican tacos — from the chef of one of L.A.’s best restaurants — find a home in Silver Lake this week.
• 🏠 Tour ‘real projects by real homeowners’ in this self-guided ADU tour throughout L.A.

Staying in

• 🎭 ‘POTUS,’ an all-female political farce, battles the patriarchy at the Geffen Playhouse.
• 📺 A glamorous squad and gossip fuel Ryan Murphy’s ‘Feud: Capote vs. the Swans.’
• 🧑‍🍳 Here’s a recipe for slow-roasted winter vegetables.
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

And finally ... from our archives

The front page of the Los Angeles Times depicting the space shuttle Columbia disaster.

(Los Angeles Times)

Here’s the front page of the Times, 21 years ago. The space shuttle Columbia, flying at 18 times the speed of sound, disintegrated over East Texas, killing all seven of its astronauts and scattering chunks of metal and machinery across two states.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Anthony De Leon, reporting fellow
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

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