Simon and Davis trade charges in first televised debate

Published 1:33 p.m. PDT Monday, October 7, 2002

LOS ANGELES -- Trailing in the polls a month before Election Day, Republican Bill Simon accused Democrat Gov. Gray Davis of auctioning his office for campaign contributions in their first and perhaps only debate Monday.

Davis defended his four-year record during the hour-long debate, saying he has made the state safer while helping schools even in difficult times.

Simon used their only joint appearance of the campaign to blame the incumbent governor for the state's economic downturn, for alienating businesses and for squandering a record budget surplus.

Simon blasted Davis for "failing to act and then panicking during the energy crisis," and said "he completely mismanaged the state budget. He turned a record budget surplus into a record budget deficit."

He called on Davis to apologize "to all Californians for a disastrous four years in office," particularly the "awful ethical tone that you've set in your administration."

"You're the last one to give us a lecture on ethics," responded Davis, referring to a judge's reversal of a jury's $78 million civil fraud verdict against Simon's family investment firm, a fraud suit by the U.S. Justice Department against a company controlled by Simon's firm and to a $10,000 fine against Simon's family bond fund in a 1991 pay-to-play case.

"Despite tough challenges from energy and the national recession, we've made real progress in California," Davis said -- on education, health care, the environment and public safety.

All illustrate what Davis called his "starkly different vision for California" from Simon on hot-button issues like abortion and gun-control. He called Simon "a son of the first family of the far right" who is "out of step with the values of most Californians."

Simon, if elected, said he would enforce California laws, but Davis said the Republican could reverse or weaken those laws: "In his heart he is pro-gun, in his heart he is anti-choice, and I am just the opposite."

Davis defended his veto of a bill that would have let undocumented immigrants get driver's licenses, saying the measure sought by Hispanic lawmakers and groups was "massively flawed" because it wouldn't bar criminals. That veto cost Davis the endorsement of the Legislature's Latino caucus last week.

Simon defended his opposition to a bill signed by Davis that will give employees paid family leave, saying it will hurt business. He also said he would not have signed a bill targeting California auto emissions to reduce global warming in part because he said scientists have not agreed on the cause of the warming trend.

The governor wants to rebuild voters' confidence after the state's energy crisis last year, while Simon is hoping the debate will give him traction after a series of missteps and controversies surrounding his family business.

Yet statewide polls show neither candidate is popular with voters.

"My job is not to win a popularity contest, it's to lead this state," Davis said.

Davis has spent millions on television ads touting his record and bashing Simon, while Simon has sought to tie Davis' record-breaking fund-raising to his actions as governor.

Davis refused to rule out a midterm run for another office, such as president, should he be re-elected. However, he said he would curtail his prodigious fund-raising if re-elected, because he "wouldn't have the need to raise as much because I wouldn't be running again."

Davis said he is willing to sign legislation to limit campaign fund-raising during key times in the Legislature or when bills were being signed by the governor, but only "if we can do that as well as put restrictions on wealthy candidates," such as Simon, at the same time.

Simon said he didn't believe Davis would stop raising money, and criticized the governor for not releasing his fund-raising schedule so the public could compare it to Davis' bill signings.

Simon had complained the single noontime debate, sponsored by the Los Angeles Times, was scheduled to reach a minimal audience as Davis tries to avoid missteps in the final weeks of the campaign.

He had tried unsuccessfully to invite Green Party nominee Peter Camejo to the debate as his guest, sparking a last-day tempest as Simon and Davis each briefly threatened a debate boycott.

Though Camejo and Simon have formed an unusual alliance to bash Davis from the left and right, Camejo said Monday he "is into total disagreement with Bill Simon" on the issues.

Camejo wound up protesting his exclusion from outside the Los Angeles Times building. The newspaper said Camejo was excluded because he failed to gather the minimum 15 percent support of likely voters, which is the same standard previously used for presidential debates. Camejo received 4 percent of the likely vote in a poll last week by the Times.

-- Associated Press