California Elections : THE LT. GOVERNOR’S RACE : One-Time Foes of Deukmejian Now Sing His Virtues

SACRAMENTO —  Just four years ago, former Lt. Gov. Mike Curb was calling George Deukmejian, the then-attorney general on his way to becoming governor, a “career politician” and worse as the two men locked horns in a bitter Republican gubernatorial primary election.

And Curb was getting help from GOP state Sen. H. L. Richardson of Glendora, whose computer mailing firm sent out tens of thousands of broadsides against Deukmejian.

But this year, Curb and Richardson, the one-time allies, are opponents in the June 3 Republican primary for lieutenant governor.

And the two rivals are fighting to outdo each other in efforts to persuade Republican voters of their friendship and loyalty to Deukmejian. Both display the chief executive prominently in their television ads, hoping Deukmejian’s appeal to Republicans will give them a little extra edge in what appears to be an increasingly close race.

Praise for Deukmejian

Curb, as he tours the state in an effort to win back the job he held from 1979-83, is effusive in his praise of Deukmejian.

“The longer I’m in politics, the more I like the Deukmejian type of view--common sense, balance, low key,” he said during a recent interview.

Richardson, a combative conservative who once said Deukmejian lacked guts and criticized him for “kissy-mommy” politics, now calls himself “a fan” and describes the chief executive as a “very, very good governor.”

The two are fighting it out for the right to challenge Democratic incumbent Leo McCarthy in the November general election. McCarthy is running unopposed in the primary.

They argue that Deukmejian needs a fellow Republican in the state’s No. 2 job.

Importance of Office

The lieutenant governor’s job, often maligned as being largely ceremonial and having no real power, is important because whoever holds the post fills in for the governor when he is out of state and is designated to succeed the chief executive should he be unable to fill out his term.

It is considered a natural springboard for someone with ambitions to become governor--although only one lieutenant governor in the last half century, Goodwin J. Knight in 1953, has moved up to the top office.

Deukmejian, running for reelection this year, has had strong philosophical disagreements with McCarthy. Despite past differences with Curb and Richardson, Deukmejian says he would be willing to give either a helping hand in the fall election.

Larry Thomas, directing Deukmejian’s reelection campaign, said the governor “believes that either would be a welcome improvement over the current lieutenant governor.”

Deukmejian posed with Richardson for the lawmaker’s television commercials and said he would do the same for Curb. But Curb already had a clip showing him side by side with the governor. It was filmed the night Deukmejian defeated him in the 1982 GOP primary.

Despite the reputations of both Curb and Richardson for an explosive brand of politics, their fight in this GOP primary has been relatively calm.

Curb, 41, is working hardest to keep the campaign quiet. After early public opinion polls showed him to be enjoying a comfortable lead over Richardson, Curb decided that the best strategy was to avoid anything that might provide his opponent with exposure.

The former lieutenant governor has rejected repeated challenges by Richardson to debate. He also refuses to appear with Richardson at any event. While he allows interviews with individual news reporters, Curb has not held a single general news conference.

But there are signs that Curb’s strategy may be backfiring. A statewide survey by the independent California Poll, released on Thursday, showed that Richardson had made up substantial ground, cutting Curb’s lead from 19 points in March to only six as of early May. Curb was leading in the latest poll by 43% to 37%, with 20% undecided.

Richardson told The Times: “You can’t leave me the state to run around in, which Curb has done, and not appear in front of the press, not appear in front of Republican groups, and still expect to sustain any kind of lead.”

‘Strategy Has Backfired’

McCarthy, who had been telling reporters that he expected to face Curb in November, said: “For the first time, I think perhaps Richardson can win. Curb’s run-and-hide strategy has backfired.”

McCarthy, however, dismissed results of the poll that showed Curb running slightly ahead of him, by two points, and Richardson trailing by 10 points--substantial gains by both Republicans since March.

“For five months, they both have been taking shots at me. That has to take its toll, so it doesn’t worry me,” McCarthy said. “After the primary when we are going head to head, you are going to see very different poll numbers.”

Curb’s low-key battle plan has underscored his desire to project what he calls a “new” and “more mature” image to voters after a relatively short but contentious political career.

“For once, I want reporters to write stories after the election and not use the word bitter to describe it,” said Curb, who opened his campaign with a highly unusual apology for not doing a better job during his four-year term as lieutenant governor.

He said he wanted another chance. “I am starting over,” he declared.

A self-made millionaire who owns a record company bearing his name, Curb at one time was regarded by many Republicans as the heir apparent to the California political organization of President Reagan. He was elected lieutenant governor at the relatively young age of 32 with the backing of party bigwigs and powerful Republicans who helped give Reagan his political start.

Impulsive and Controversial

But as lieutenant governor, he proved to be impulsive and controversial. When then-Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. left the state, Curb sought to usurp some of the traditional powers of the governor by doing things such as trying to appoint judges. One night, he raced by car from San Francisco to Sacramento to sign an executive order, trying to arrive at the Capitol and sign the document before Brown’s jet flew into California airspace. Curb lost the race by two minutes.

Outside the Capitol, Curb got embroiled in one bruising election after another.

Curb attacked his 1978 GOP primary opponent for lieutenant governor, Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich, now a candidate for the U.S. Senate, as a right-wing extremist. In the runoff, he made an unsubstantiated allegation that the Democratic incumbent, Mervyn Dymally, now a congressman from Compton, would be indicted on criminal charges. Against Deukmejian, he made so many charges that the soon-to-be-governor claimed that he was being victimized by a “smear” campaign.

Curb’s opponents, meanwhile, struck back. The squeaky-clean Curb image was tarnished by disclosures that he dubbed the sound track of a cult movie, “Mondo Hollywood,” which featured female nudity. It was revealed that he was classified for the military draft during the Vietnam War years as 1-Y, which excused him from military service for still undetermined reasons. He was forced to admit that he had not registered to vote until he was 29; thus, he had not been eligible to cast a ballot for Reagan for governor, the death penalty or other issues that he said were close to his heart.

During a recent interview, he called such disclosures “hazards of the profession” and indicated no bitterness.

To prove the point, he hired as his campaign manager Bill Roberts of the Dolphin Group, the man who managed Deukmejian’s 1982 primary campaign.

‘Better Join These Guys’

“This time around, I decided I better join these guys,” Curb joked.

Curb blames his troubles as lieutenant governor on his philosophical disagreements with Brown. He said things would have been smoother had he been able to serve with a Republican. As for some of the other mistakes, he candidly blames them on immaturity and his relatively young age. “When you are that young, you are going to make mistakes,” he said.

Richardson, 58, does not feel at all awkward running against his one-time ally.

In fact, the legislator, who heads up statewide organizations promoting gun owner rights and law-and-order issues, said it was his close-up knowledge of Curb that caused him to enter the race.

“I know him very, very well,” Richardson said during an interview. “I watched him under pressure. I don’t think he has the stuffing to be lieutenant governor.”

At another point, he questioned Curb’s character. Richardson said that because of what he learned about Curb during the 1982 campaign, “I was not sorry when he lost.”

There have been suggestions that Richardson got into the race because he has a score to settle with Curb. After the 1982 campaign, Richardson claimed he was “stiffed” by Curb for $36,000 in unpaid fees. But Curb since has paid the debt, and both men deny any lingering animosity on that score.

Curb has carefully avoided saying anything critical of Richardson. “I think it would be a mistake to turn this into a divisive primary,” he said.

Criticism Toned Down

Richardson, for his part, tones down his criticism of Curb. He wants badly to debate Curb. In Los Angeles recently, Richardson rented 100 rose plants to criticize what he termed Curb’s “rose garden” campaign strategy, so named because of the practice of Presidents to wage low-profile reelection campaigns from the relative safety of the White House rose garden.

Richardson acknowledges that he and Curb are in basic agreement on fundamental issues. Both are strong supporters of the death penalty and are working to defeat California Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird in her reelection bid. But he believes his 20 years in the Senate, including sponsorship of death penalty, anti-rape and child pornography legislation, gives him a much weightier record of public service than Curb can claim.

Richardson claims that Curb is afraid of exposing weaknesses that a debate would highlight. “If he can’t handle me, what’s he going to do against McCarthy?” Richardson asks.

Curb retorts: “He was very supportive of me when I ran for governor. I haven’t changed any of my views since then, so I don’t know what there is to debate.”

While Richardson says he expects to raise about $1 million for his campaign, he fears Curb, a prodigious fund-raiser, may be able to raise twice that.

Raised Over $1 Million

Curb is so good at extracting financial contributions from Republicans that he served for three years as chief fund-raiser for the Republican National Committee after his 1982 defeat, helping raise $100 million for the party. In the current campaign, he already has raised well over $1 million and makes no estimates on where he will end up.

Neither Curb nor Richardson said he entered the race with an overwhelming desire to be lieutenant governor. Curb said running for lieutenant governor “was not even in the back of my mind” when he made plans to move back to California from Washington after leaving his national party post last year. But he said he received a call from Roberts, who convinced him that he could defeat McCarthy.

Richardson said he unsuccessfully tried to talk other candidates into running because he does not believe Curb can defeat McCarthy.

Each feels that he can beat the Democratic incumbent, believing McCarthy is vulnerable because he will suffer from voter backlash against Bird. McCarthy is one of the few Democrats in the Capitol supporting Bird in her confirmation fight.

Curb, obviously looking past the primary, already is taking potshots at McCarthy. He says in one of his television ads: “I oppose Rose Bird, and my opponent in this fall’s election supports her.”

McCarthy said he is looking forward to a campaign against Curb should the former lieutenant governor win the primary.

He said the issue will not be Bird, but Curb’s own record as lieutenant governor and a public figure.

Former Assembly Speaker

McCarthy, 51, a former Speaker of the Assembly when he represented a San Francisco district in the lower house, stresses his accomplishments as lieutenant governor, including sponsorship of legislative packages dealing with toxic chemical cleanup and nursing home reform.

He points out in contrast that Curb once described much of what he did as a waste of time.

“I couldn’t possibly harm him the way he has harmed himself,” said McCarthy during an interview in his Capitol office. “I don’t care how much money he has to spend on television, and I expect him to have twice as much as I have. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men will not put Humpty Dumpty back together again.”