S.D.’s Lowery Abandons Bid for Reelection

SAN DIEGO —  Rep. Bill Lowery, a six-term incumbent facing a tough reelection battle because of the double political whammy of redistricting and his involvement in the congressional check-bouncing scandal, abruptly withdrew from his Republican primary Tuesday.

Expressing disdain for the kind of “mud wrestling” campaign that many advisers counseled him would be necessary to win in June, Lowery said his withdrawal stemmed from his glum realization that his race against freshman Rep. Randall (Duke) Cunningham (R-Chula Vista) and three other Republicans was unlikely to “rise above the noise level generated” by the House banking scandal.

“I am realistic enough to know that the constant drumbeat of attack . . . will continue,” Lowery told a news conference at Cabrillo National Monument that was attended by about 100 supporters. “Politicians are taught to believe that the most important thing is being reelected. Not to me. I am simply not willing to put my family through this any more.”

Lowery’s decision transforms Cunningham into an overwhelming favorite in the new 51st Congressional District, a northern San Diego area whose 54%-30% Republican Party voter registration edge over the Democrats lured both incumbents into a showdown that party leaders tried unsuccessfully this spring to avert. Eschewing an adjoining district with a much narrower 45%-39% GOP advantage, Lowery chose instead to take on Cunningham in the newly formed and more politically secure 51st District, unwittingly setting the stage for his own demise.

Though Lowery’s seniority initially was seen as giving him a narrow edge, the dynamics of the race were altered dramatically last month when the former San Diego councilman admitted that he and his wife had written 300 bad checks totaling about $104,000 during a 39-month period.

While Lowery contritely conceded to being “part of the problem” in a Congress viewed as arrogant and out of touch with average citizens struggling through a lingering recession, that admission did little to stem the resulting political damage over the past four weeks.

“After the check thing broke, our polls really went in the tank,” said one Lowery confidant, explaining that Lowery’s own surveys showed him going “from a sure winner to an underdog” within days of the banking scandal.

Although Lowery insisted Tuesday that he was “still within striking distance” of Cunningham, a popular former Navy fighter pilot, Cunningham said his own recent polls put his lead at 20 percentage points and widening.

“I’m glad that we’re not going to be bumping heads right down to the final line,” said Cunningham, who shifted to the 51st District to avoid potential problems of his own in the heavily Democratic district that he won in a 1990 upset. “But I’m also thinking about how I would feel if I had to do the same thing, so I don’t have a very good feeling about that part of it.”

Despite his withdrawal, Lowery’s name will remain on the June 2 ballot along with Cunningham and three Republican long shots--cost analyst William Davis, surgeon Adelito Gale and lawyer Michael Perdue. While he said that he regards the possibility of a fluke victory as unrealistic, Lowery conceded that he was “not willing to make a Sherman-esque” refusal to accept the nomination, should that occur.

Five Democrats and three minor-party candidates also are competing for their respective nominations in a district that covers San Diego communities north of Clairemont and straddles North County from Del Mar to Escondido.

Lowery, who said he has no definite plans after he leaves Congress next January, saw his once seemingly secure political career begin to unravel in his 1990 reelection campaign when he narrowly survived against a lightly regarded Democratic opponent whom he had trounced by 2-to-1 margins twice before.

In that campaign, Lowery drew strong criticism over receiving more contributions than any other House member from savings and loans executives, more than $10,000 of which came via illegal donations that had to be returned. Combined with his ranking among the top 100 junketeers in Congress, that episode--which his opponents continue to emphasize--created ethical doubts that hardened into opposition amid the House banking scandal.

Certain that Cunningham, who already had started running radio ads on the check scandal, would focus his campaign on those controversies, Lowery said he realized that he no longer had “the instinct for the jugular” as he contemplated the potentially bitter, divisive primary.

“I have come to the conclusion that every time you do something to ‘destroy’ an opponent, you destroy a little more of the American political system in the process,” said the 44-year-old Lowery. “Somewhere, the cycle of negative campaigning must end. And if it costs me this job, so be it.”

Within Lowery’s inner circle of advisers, there remained a division of opinion as to whether--and how--he might overcome his political liabilities, virtually up to the moment of Tuesday’s withdrawal. His wife, Katie, for example, said Tuesday that she was still advising him to “stay in and fight to the death” as late as an hour before the mid-afternoon announcement.

Others candidly told Lowery that they believed his political baggage had finally become too heavy amid the public’s deepening anti-incumbency mood. Some argued that the race was winnable--but only if Lowery was willing to run a sharply negative campaign attacking Cunningham. Those strategists advised him, Lowery said, that he “must fight fire with fire” in an attempt to “destroy the opponent before he destroys you.”

“There was a time, not too long ago, when I might have been willing to (do so),” Lowery said. However, in the end, Lowery’s refusal to breach his month-old pledge to run a positive campaign, coupled with the public’s angry preoccupation with the banking scandal, destroyed his hopes of mounting an issue-oriented race, he said.

“There comes a time when the prize is not worth the price,” said Katie Lowery, who choked back tears while flanking her husband as he made his announcement.

During his 11 years in Congress, Lowery has compiled a sizable list of accomplishments--detailed in a 30-page compilation released by his staff Tuesday. Highlights of his record include helping block oil drilling along San Diego’s coast, securing funding for expansion of the San Diego Trolley and sewage treatment, and helping to push through more than $2.5 billion in local military projects.

Lowery also prodded the Navy to sweep canyons in Tierrasanta, developed on the site of a former artillery range, for unexploded ordnance after two boys were killed by a World War II vintage ordnance bomb in the early 1980s. His seat on the powerful House Appropriations Committee and a non-confrontational manner that solidified relations with key Democratic leaders as well as Republicans have enabled him often to help guide legislation vital to San Diego through Congress.

In a 1991 interview in his Washington office, Lowery reflected on those accomplishments while also looking to the future, choosing words that proved to be far more prescient, much sooner, than he imagined at the time.

Noting that he had “dreamed of being in Congress since I was 12,” Lowery said: “It’s a rare human being who has the privilege of being chosen by his fellow citizens to be their representative to the federal government.

“The Capitol dome at night is such an inspirational sight for me--and one I never take for granted. I love this job, but I don’t look at it as a lifelong occupation. I don’t know that I’ll still be here 10 years from now--though I might. In this job, you have to always be ready to step back and join the people you represent. You never know when that moment might come.”