Horn to Leave CSU Post Early; May Run for Lungren’s Seat

Stephen Horn, the lame-duck president of Cal State Long Beach, announced Friday that he will leave office Feb. 13 “to explore” the possibility of running for Rep. Daniel E. Lungren’s (R-Long Beach) congressional seat if it comes open.

Horn named June Cooper, vice president for faculty and staff relations, to serve as acting president.

Horn’s decision to leave before his planned July 1 departure apparently ends a two-month standoff with California State University Chancellor W. Ann Reynolds over when Horn should step down.

However, it was not immediately clear whether Reynolds would go along with his appointment of an interim president. A spokesman for Reynolds, reached before the announcement, said he would have no comment on the Horn situation.

Cooper could not be reached Friday.

At a press conference on the Cal State Long Beach campus, Horn said in a statement that “I believe such exploration (of running for Congress) requires my full attention.”

In remarks to reporters, Horn said: “I decided that if I’m serious about (running for public office), I’ve got to face up to it. I can’t be torn between these responsibilities . . . and exploring (a) candidacy too.”

Last November, Horn, 56, announced plans to step down July 1 after being given a choice by the Cal State Board of Trustees of either resigning or being fired. The action followed a performance review that severely criticized him in the wake of a series of problems at the Long Beach campus, beginning with an unexpected budget deficit of more than $1 million in 1986 that required a $900,000 bailout loan from the chancellor’s office. Later, the campus president incurred the wrath of athletic boosters by threatening to drop the university’s intercollegiate football program because of a separate $719,000 deficit in the campus athletic fund.

However, Horn’s departure plans were disrupted Dec. 8 when Reynolds directed him to leave by Feb. 1 in order to use up more than 1,100 hours of vacation time accrued during his 17 years as president.

That began a period of intense negotiations between Horn and the chancellor, which have continued past the Feb. 1 deadline.

Lungren, Gov. George Deukmejian’s nominee for state treasurer, has encountered stiff opposition from Democrats who question his financial qualifications and his conservative voting record. The Assembly is still conducting hearings on Lungren’s nomination, while the Senate has scheduled hearings for later this month. Several people have expressed interest in replacing Lungren, who represents the 42nd District stretching from Torrance and the Palos Verdes Peninsula to Huntington Beach.

If Lungren is confirmed, Deukmejian will have 14 days in which to call a special election to replace Lungren for the remainder of his term, which ends in November.

Before becoming president of Cal State Long Beach in 1970, Horn served as as administrative assistant to Secretary of Labor James P. Mitchell under President Dwight D. Eisenhower and later spent 5 1/2 years as a legislative assistant to U.S. Sen. Thomas Kuchel (R-Calif.), who was then deputy Republican Senate leader.

Horn’s resignation prompted one CSU trustee, Dean S. Lesher of Walnut Creek, to challenge the legality of the board’s action. A special board meeting on Horn is set for Monday morning.