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Bill Simon, said his press secretary, Bob Taylor, "is pro-life and makes no bones about the fact that he is pro-life. He has been asked that question at a number of venues across the state and he always answers it very crisply and matter-of-factly: I am pro-life and proud of it." Though Simon is pro-life, he does not intend to make the right-to-life "a centerpiece of his campaign," said Taylor, "because he thinks the predominant issues right now are the state's budget crisis and total mismanagement coming out of the governor's office." What does Simon say about exceptions? "Regarding Roe ...

RIORDAN ON ABORTION. In his bid for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, former Los Angeles mayor Richard Riordan has called for more taxpayer funding for abortion. In a November 8 interview, Los Angeles Times columnist, George Skelton asked Riordan "whether he had core political beliefs." "My basic conviction," said Riordan, "is what is in the best interest of the poor. We need to have successful businesses so there will be quality jobs.... We should fire bureaucrats in school districts who fail poor children." And, said the Republican contender, "the poor should have the same option on abortion that the rich have. ...

GOP hopefuls try less-divisive tack in effort to attract women, Latinos HARSH RHETORIC ON IMMIGRATION, ABORTION NOW SEEN AS DAMAGING Mercury News This spring's Republican primary race for governor marks a major shift for California's wounded GOP. Gone are the attacks on illegal immigrants and the cost of educating their kids that worked for Pete Wilson's 1994 gubernatorial bid. Even opposing abortion lost its luster as a Republican rallying point after Dan Lungren's epic loss four years later. At the heart of the shift is a simple acknowledgment of the demographic and social changes that began to haunt the ...

West Wing by Peter Beinart Post date 01.24.02 | Issue date 02.04.02 For the media, the dramas of campaign 2002 will be personal: Can George W. save his brother? Can Andrew Cuomo avenge his father? Can Elizabeth Dole match her husband? But the most important race won't be about personality at all--because neither California Governor Gray Davis nor his likely Republican opponent, Richard Riordan, has much of one. It will be about which party can transcend the parity of election 2000 and set itself on the road toward a political majority. Richard Riordan may be the Republicans' last chance. Everyone ...

Davis Defends Ads Questioning GOP Challenger Riordan's Abortion-Rights Stance 01/30/2002 Gov. Gray Davis (D) yesterday defended a campaign television ad in which he questions Republican gubernatorial candidate Richard Riordan's position on abortion rights, the Los Angeles Times reports. Riordan, the former mayor of Los Angeles, is campaigning as an abortion-rights supporter, "despite [his] past donations to antiabortion causes" (Los Angeles Times, 1/30). Davis' ad "accuses Riordan of trying to play both sides" of the abortion issue (San Francisco Chronicle, 1/29).The ad mentions Riordan's donations to antiabortion activists and the Republican's support for Robert Bork, a former U.S. Supreme Court nominee ...

Primary may hinge on money, TV time, polls indicate By Daniel Borenstein TIMES POLITICAL EDITOR Two new statewide polls showing wealthy businessman William Simon gaining ground in the Republican gubernatorial primary suggest that money might play an unusually important role in the March election. The surveys, by the Field Poll and the Los Angeles Times, both show former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan leading the three-way race in the GOP primary. But both polls show that Simon, a political neophyte, is doing at least as well as Secretary of State Bill Jones. And one of the polls shows Simon ...

<p>Stylistically, two men could not be more different than Gov. Gray Davis and former Los Angeles Mayor Dick Riordan, the front-runner in the GOP primary for governor. Riordan wants to charm everyone; Davis wants to intimidate everyone. Davis sticks to his script; Riordan should stick to his script. Riordan talks about "empowering" people; Davis empowers himself. Riordan is gooey; Davis is brittle.</p>

Davis and Foe Close in Poll Richard Riordan is neck and neck in a matchup with governor, a Times survey finds. Incumbent's image has taken a beating from energy crisis, economy. By MARK Z. BARABAK , Times Political Writer Five weeks before election day, former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan holds a double-digit lead over his top rivals in the GOP gubernatorial primary and runs even with Democratic Gov. Gray Davis in a prospective fall matchup, according to a Los Angeles Times poll. Republican Bill Simon Jr. seems poised to emerge as the conservative alternative to the centrist Riordan, ...

<p>While Richard J. Riordan continues to maintain a commanding 3-to-1 lead over both his competitors for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, businessman Bill Simon -- helped by a heavy burst of advertising -- has more than doubled his support and broken into double-digits, a Field Poll released today shows.</p>

PRESS RELEASE JANUARY 29, 2002 AMERICANPATROL.COM ENDORSES BILL JONES Calls for reinstatement of Proposition 187 Americanpatrol.com has endorsed California Secretary of State, Republican Bill Jones, for governor of California. Glenn Spencer, president of americanpatrol.com, says Jones is the most qualified of the three Republicans running in the March primary, and is on the right side of the illegal immigration issue. Bill Jones was on the side of sixty percent of Californians when he voted for Proposition 187, Spencer said, and polls show support for 187 is just as broad today. Dick Riordan left Los Angeles with a crumbling health care ...

Harsh rhetoric on immigration, abortion now seen as damaging This spring's Republican primary race for governor marks a major shift for California's wounded GOP. Gone are the attacks on illegal immigrants and the cost of educating their kids that worked for Pete Wilson's 1994 gubernatorial bid. Even opposing abortion lost its luster as a Republican rallying point after Dan Lungren's epic loss four years later. At the heart of the shift is a simple acknowledgment of the demographic and social changes that began to haunt the Republican Party in the aftermath of Proposition 187 -- the 1994 initiative that tried ...

Five weeks before election day, [clip]… Republican Bill Simon Jr. seems poised to emerge as the conservative alternative to the centrist Riordan, running ahead of Secretary of State Bill Jones, and could do particularly well if voter turnout is low. The survey, conducted Wednesday through Sunday, offered little good news for the incumbent. [clip] In the governor's race, Riordan's lead over Simon and Jones was sizable but hardly impenetrable. When a moderate turnout of likely GOP voters was assumed, the former mayor leads the Republican field with 34% support, followed by Pacific Palisades businessman Simon with 20% and Secretary of ...

SACRAMENTO – Rather than wait patiently on the sidelines while the three major Republican candidates for the gubernatorial nomination slug it out, Democratic Gov. Gray Davis has decided to join the fray. Davis' top campaign aides announced yesterday that he has begun airing an ad across the state that questions leading GOP candidate Richard Riordan's commitment to abortion rights, implying that the former Los Angeles mayor's previous support for anti-abortion causes means he can't be trusted. Riordan, who enjoys a large lead in polls over his two Republican rivals, Secretary of State Bill Jones and businessman Bill Simon, has made ...

Jones Gains, Simon Fades, Riordan Stalls California Secretary of State Bill Jones has emerged as the leading challenger for former LA mayor Richard Riordan, the current front runner in the race for the Republican nomination for the Golden State Governorship. That's the opinion of the influential Orange County Register following a debate between Riordan, Jones and Bill Simon. "All the candidates did fine, although Mr. Jones came across as the most polished candidate, and he scored the only zingers of the evening as he took Mr. Riordan to task for the mayor's liberal positions and support for Democratic candidates," ...

Tomorrow's release of the prestigious Field Poll has been leaked!!!! It will show California Republican candidate for Governor, Bill Jones, plunging by 6%. The great news is it will show Conservative Republican Bill Simon's poll numbers RISING by EIGHT (8%) since the last Field Poll - this is GREAT NEWS!!!!!!!!

IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 25 — As mayor of Los Angeles and before that a lawyer and takeover artist, Richard J. Riordan had always insisted he was a pragmatist with no use for ideological debates. Now that he is seeking the Republican nomination for governor of California, Mr. Riordan says he is trying not just to win but to refashion his party's traditional conservative ideology by steering it leftward. To the consternation of many stalwarts in California's highly conservative Republican Party, Mr. Riordan, 72, is campaigning by avoiding many of the things his party has stood for — tax cuts, in ...

<p>Gov. Gray Davis, whose campaign aides say he's not going to take it any more, unleashed a new television ad Friday attacking chief Republican rival Richard Riordan's views on abortion.</p> <p>The 30-second ad, scheduled to air heavily statewide, accuses Riordan of funding anti-abortion efforts and candidates despite his professed support of abortion rights.</p>

January 28, 2002 Hoping to Run California, and Recast the Republicans By JAMES STERNGOLD RVINE, Calif., Jan. 25 — As mayor of Los Angeles and before that a lawyer and takeover artist, Richard J. Riordan had always insisted he was a pragmatist with no use for ideological debates. Now that he is seeking the Republican nomination for governor of California, Mr. Riordan says he is trying not just to win but to refashion his party's traditional conservative ideology by steering it leftward. To the consternation of many stalwarts in California's highly conservative Republican Party, Mr. Riordan, 72, is campaigning ...

TownHall.com: Conservative Columnists: Debra SaundersQUICK LINKS: HOME | NEWS | OPINION | RIGHTPAGES | CHAT | WHAT'S NEWtownhall.comDebra Saunders (back to story)January 28, 2002A man for all reasons Stylistically, two men could not be more different than Gov. Gray Davis and former Los Angeles Mayor Dick Riordan, the front-runner in the GOP primary for governor. Riordan wants to charm everyone; Davis wants to intimidate everyone. Davis sticks to his script; Riordan should stick to his script. Riordan talks about "empowering" people; Davis empowers himself. Riordan is gooey; Davis is brittle. But the two men share some traits that should ...

<p>Four years ago, as Gray Davis was capping his 25-year, rung-by-rung climb up California's political ladder by running for governor, he and his TV ads often cited an appraisal of his qualifications that had appeared in the San Jose Mercury-News.</p>