Wilson Leads Republicans to San Diego for Convention : Politics: Gubernatorial candidate will be a major focus of three-day event. Party leaders are hoping to downplay any notes of disharmony.

Four months from an election that could decide the boundaries of political power for the next decade, the state Republican Party gathers in San Diego today for its semiannual round of self-congratulation and internal back-biting, the stuff of all political conventions.

Pete Wilson, the hometown favorite who is aiming for a political hat trick--former mayor, current U.S. senator, and if he gets his way, the next governor--will gain a lot of the attention at the California Republican Party’s three-day state convention. But he will not be alone.

Mindful of the strong challenge expected to come Wilson’s way this fall, the GOP also will be mounting a showcase of prominent Republican women. The women, who will include Secretary of Labor Elizabeth Dole and other less-known Administration figures, are expected to launch a few brickbats at the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, Dianne Feinstein.

Overall, party leaders are hoping for as little disharmony as possible.

“Basically, it’s going to be a unity convention,” said Frank Visco, party chairman. “We’re going to focus on the things that bind us together as Republicans.”

Wilson’s campaign staff expects disputes from some conservatives who have long opposed his more moderate approaches on issues such as abortion rights. But campaign director Otto Bos played down the odds of a serious confrontation.

“If you take a look at the Republican profile for the state of California, it’s a Pete Wilson Republican,” said Bos. “It’s someone who is tight with your dollars, someone who provides a balance between business and environment, (who supports) strong values . . . education and children. That’s a pretty good match.”

If Wilson opponents hold any sway, it may be because of the comparatively small number of Republican party delegates who plan to attend. By midweek, only a quarter of the 1,400 eligible delegates planned to show up in San Diego.

“I’m hoping there’s a quorum,” said Visco, more optimistic than others in the party. “I think it’s possible.”

One thing is likely to be true about the weekend gathering: The outcome may not matter. Democrats, after all, booed Dianne Feinstein at their spring convention and endorsed her opponent, Atty. Gen. John K. Van de Kamp. Two months later, she convincingly defeated him.

It is also probable that despite the rosy predictions of leaders, the convention will engender at least a little controversy. A potential touchy subject is abortion rights, which has perplexed the party nationally and across California.

Wilson, the state’s leading Republican, describes himself as an abortion rights advocate, and the party’s platform ignores the issue. Opponents of abortion tried to float a resolution that would have put the state party on record as approving abortion only in cases of rape, incest or danger to the life of the mother.

But the effort was quashed on a technicality, and proponents of the abortion resolution will have to appeal that decision during the convention.

“They are attempting to submarine it,” said Jim Bieber of the Young Americans for Freedom, author of the resolution.

Taxes--and specifically President Bush’s recent somersault on his “no new taxes” pledge--are also likely to attract notice. Resolutions to be considered on Saturday include ones with “harsh” denunciations of Bush’s move, party officials said.

“It’s a little frustrating on everyone’s part,” said Visco. “Their philosophy is no taxes, but they’re not sitting in the Oval Office either.”

Attention will also center on the GOP’s lopsided defeat on two reapportionment initiatives before the voters last month. Outspent and outmaneuvered, the initiatives both lost by 2-1 margins.

The issue is crucial to Republican efforts to increase their numbers in Congress, because current district lines favor Democrats. The next redistricting, which will determine political boundaries for 10 years, depends largely on who wins the upcoming governor’s race and state legislative battles.

Republican leaders, who will bear the brunt of criticism about the lost campaigns, are trying to focus the debate forward and “not finger-point,” Visco said.

While concerned about the June returns and their chances in the fall, Republicans will have something to gloat about. They are continuing their slow march toward parity with the Democrats in California. In May, the last month for which there are statistics, the secretary of state’s office reported that 39.7% of Californians were Republican, while 49.7% were Democrats.

The figures marked a small increase for Republicans and an equal decrease for Democrats from earlier in the year, when the Democratic party slipped below the 50% mark for the first time in 56 years.