Simon concedes Davis fund-raising allegation 'in question'; Davis calls Simon to drop out

ERICA WERNER, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, October 9, 2002
©2002 Associated Press

Republican candidate Bill Simon on Wednesday conceded that his allegation that Gov. Gray Davis illegally accepted a campaign check inside the state Capitol "is now in question," and Davis called on him to drop out of the governor's race.

Simon still defended himself for making the claim, which was based on now-discredited photographs released by a law enforcement group that is a key Simon ally and a complaint the group made to a state watchdog agency.

"I had no reason to question the California Organization of Police and Sheriffs' good faith belief in their charge against the governor," Simon said in a statement.

"They were reporting the charge directly to the government enforcement agency, and they claimed that they had documented proof of their charge," he said.

Simon made the accusation Monday after the first gubernatorial debate and said he had evidence.

The evidence turned out to be two photos COPS released Tuesday that the group claimed showed then-Lt. Gov. Davis accepting a check in his Capitol office during his first run for governor in 1998. It's a violation of state law to give or receive campaign contributions in state buildings.

Reporters and the Davis campaign determined the photos were not taken in Davis' office.

"The location where the governor received this campaign contribution is now in question," his statement said. "However, even if the specific claims made by the California Organization of Police and Sheriffs are not sustained, this outcome should not deter the Fair Political Practices Commission, other law enforcement agencies and the media from investigating Gray Davis' aggressive and shady fund-raising practices."

Davis, meanwhile, called on Simon to withdraw from the race for making the allegation.

"This whole sorry episode has backfired in Mr. Simon's face ... as a former prosecutor, he should certainly be embarrassed, and if he had any sense of honor, he would drop out of the race," the governor said on KGO-AM. "You have to check your facts in this business."

The photos show Davis standing in an office next to Al Angele, then executive director of COPS. Both men are smiling and holding a corner of a $10,000 check COPS gave Davis.

Monty Holden, current executive director of COPS, which broke bitterly with Davis to back Simon, told reporters Tuesday that Angele and Davis were in the lieutenant governor's office.

However, the office pictured in the photographs bore no resemblance to the lieutenant governor's office. Angele said he'd never set foot in Davis' office, and Davis said he was not even in Sacramento when the photos were purportedly taken.

Simon acknowledged his campaign, which has donated over $200,000 to COPS to appear on its slate mailer, had not sought to verify the authenticity of the photos.

It remained unclear Wednesday where the photos were taken. Davis said he wasn't sure but it may have been at a private office where COPS took a picture to use in their newsletter.

The episode is the latest embarrassment for Simon, a first-time candidate who lags behind Davis in polls and has suffered a series of setbacks, including a civil fraud verdict against his family investment firm that was later thrown out by a judge.

This ineptitude has been going on for months in the Simon campaign. One misstep after another. Once is a learning experience, twice is incompetence…

Here's the comment I posted on my blog:

Instead of just shooting himself in the foot, Simon blows his entire leg off.

All the papers around California are filled with Bill Simon's latest fiasco: An accusation that Gray Davis broke the law by accepting a $10,000 contribution inside the Lt. Governor's office. Except that the photographic "proof" seems to be crumbling into dust.

Timm Herdt, who is state bureau chief of The Star newspaper (my hometown paper), nailed it when he likened this to a failed reprise of "The Sting". He specifically compared it to the political ploy which propelled Tony Strickland into the State Assembly in 1998.

Let me take this occassion to bask in a little nostalgia for what was, in my opinion, one of the great political coups of all time. Back in 1998 a wealthy businessman named Rich Sybert decided to run for an open Assembly seat in Thousand Oaks, after failing to win two previous bids for Congress. The district leans strongly Republican, and Sybert collared the endorsements of the departing Assemblyman and much of the local Republican establishment (except Tom McClintock). Sybert did have some primary opposition, including a Port Hueneme city council woman and an administrative aide to McClintock named Tony Strickland, but Sybert was widely expected to far outspend them all (which he did) and coast to an easy victory (which he probably would have).

But Strickland's campaign noticed some of its large signs being torn down, and assigned a campaign volunteer to stake out remaining signs in hopes of spotting the vandals. Imagine his astonishment when he observed Rich Sybert personally sneaking around in the wee hours of the morning and ripping off Strickland's signs! Imagine the joy in the Strickland camp as they watched the videotape which the campaign staffer had taken of the vandalism!

Now comes the brilliant part. Tony Strickland held a press conference to accuse Sybert of destroying his signs, but didn't mention the videotape. Sybert indignantly denied the accusation, saying that Strickland must really be desperate to make up something like that. The Los Angeles Times quoted Sybert as further embellishing his story:

"Oh, please!" Sybert had said when informed Wednesday that Strickland had filed a complaint with the district attorney. "I've got better things to do. I'm in bed at three in the morning. I checked with my wife," he added, "and she's pretty sure the guy next to her Monday night was me."

Strickland patiently waited a day while Sybert tied the noose around his own neck and pre-positioned the rope on the gallows. Then the Strickland campaign began distributing copies of the tape to the Los Angeles television stations and other news media.

I have one of those tapes. It's an amazing thing to watch a grown man systematically commit political suicide.

Of course it was all over after that. Sybert had to admit he'd lied, but insisted that neither the lying nor the vandalism should be considered a reflection on his character. Tony Strickland was instantly converted from a young, inexperienced, little-known, long-shot candidate into the frontrunner, while all the other candidates faded into obscurity. Sybert kept spending money and refused to concede the race, and his big-name endorsers stumbled all over themselves trying to excuse and rationalize Sybert's "mistake", but in the end he got only 7% of the vote.

Following the election a Los Angeles Times article titled Sybert a Study in Ambition Unfulfilled quoted Sybert as whinging: "I don't think I was prepared for the brutality of the political process. When I look back over the last six years, it's been nothing but heartache for me and my family."

Bill Simon was hoping to inflict a bit of that same heartache on Gray Davis by "pulling a Strickland". But Davis is a hell of a lot cleverer and vastly more experienced than Sybert. Remember, campaigning and fundraising is Davis' area of expertise. It was wishful thinking to expect to be able to catch Davis in a comparable screw-up.

It was even more hopeless to expect Simon to competently execute such a political maneuver. To paraphrase Lloyd Bentsen, I know Tony Strickland. Tony Strickland is a friend of mine. And Bill Simon is no Tony Strickland.

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