Lungren trails in tight race for governor

Thursday, October 22, 1998

Lungren trails in tight race for governor

REPUBLICAN: Candidate overcame past setbacks, but lags by 4% in
polls

By Dasol Kim

Daily Bruin Contributor

Things weren’t looking too good for Dan Lungren in 1990. After
being refused for the California treasury appointment by the State
Senate in 1988, Lungren was in a tight spot ­ being a
Republican after then-President George Bush broke his "read my
lips" promise.

Lungren, however, went on to squeeze past his opponent to win
the California attorney general election by 28,000 votes ­ and
earned the nickname "Landslide Dan" in the process. He was
reelected in 1994.

Now, Lungren faces Lieutenant Governor Gray Davis, who currently
leads him by four percentage points in recent polls, in a close
race to be the next California governor.

Education

Higher education has been one of the main focuses in this year’s
election. Davis, along with other Democrats, has charged Lungren
with not having as strong of a platform for education as does
Davis.

Some believe that Lungren’s silence about the issue has damaged
him during this election year.

"He probably is concerned about some (education) even though the
Democrats say that he’s not," said Charles Adrian, professor
emeritus of political science at UC Riverside.

"The Democrats are pretending that he doesn’t and he has allowed
them to grab the high road," he said.

Lungren opposed affirmative action, advocating Proposition
209.

"We did the right thing with Proposition 209," Lungren said in
an interview on MSNBC.

"We can’t be satisfied with that. We have to see how we can make
greater opportunity available," he said.

Lungren has the support of the state’s Republican leaders in his
stance on the issue.

"Dan Lungren makes no apologies for not playing the racial
preferences game," said Mike Madrid, political director of the
California Republican Party.

"The vast majority of Californians believe that racial
preferences have no place in society," he said.

Lungren has also suggested the reformation of the K-12 system
would better prepare students for post-secondary education.

To absorb some of the impacts of Proposition 209, Lungren has
suggested implementing programs that would make it easier to
transfer classes between the three California school systems.

Lungren proposes developing a virtual university that would
allow students to attend class without having to be physically
present, in order to accommodate for the projected enrollment
increase at public colleges in California.

Lungren also supports the development of UC Merced, the new UC
campus that is set to open in 2004 to absorb the expected increase
in college students, also known as Tidal Wave II.

His Platform

Lungren and Davis were known to ride on opposite sides of the
fence in their platforms. Lungren, who sponsored bills such as
Megan’s Law and the Three Strikes Law, was always seen as
conservative.

"He’s running on a platform that reflects the right-wing
supporters that have given to him a lot of financial support," said
Adrian. "He doesn’t resonate with the voters of today."

However, other experts believe that his conservative influence
when he was attorney general would also help him if he was to
become governor.

"Lungren’s expertise is in law enforcement. He has served
effectively as attorney general of the state and there’s no reason
to believe that that experience won’t help him when he’s governor,"
said John Strelow, a general representative of the Undergraduate
Students Association Council, and internal vice-chairman of Bruin
Republicans.

The Race

The California economy has been the best in a generation.

"Lungren’s chances are very good. There’s been a conservative
trend in the state over the past five or six years and Lungren
should benefit from that," Strelow said.

With a Democrat-controlled assembly and state senate, the
governor’s seat is especially crucial this gubernatorial election
year. If Lungren loses, and if the Republicans fail to recapture
the Assembly, they will be hold little legislative power until the
next election year.

However, some think that the past success of the Republican
party points to a victory for Lungren.

"In 1982, George Deukmejian was down 10 points in the polls two
weeks before election day," Madrid said. "In 1990, Pete Wilson was
down eight points. Dan Lungren’s down four points."

"So if history serves us as a guide, Dan Lungren is well on his
way to being the next governor of California," he said.

On a Personal Level

Even from the beginning, Lungren faced setbacks. After
graduating from law school at Georgetown University, Lungren ran
for Congress and lost. He tried again in 1978 and won himself a
seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing his
hometown of Long Beach.

He served the next 10 years in the House, and was featured as
one of the 10 "Rising Republicans" in a 1996 Time magazine
article.

After being elected California’s attorney general in 1990, the
U.S. attorney general honored Lungren with the Wyman Award, the
highest award in 1996.

Despite his high political profile, Lungren still is
down-to-earth, according to Madrid.

"When I first met him, he was the type of guy who walked into
the campaign office, picked up a slice of pizza, a carton of milk,
and was stuffing envelopes on a campaign," he said.

"He’s just that type of guy. He’s not a stuffed-suit governor.
He’s an everyday kind of guy that real people can relate to," he
said.Sirlin Photographers

Attorney General Dan Lungren

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