Women Challengers Face Tough Races for State Senate : Politics: Democrats hope that anti-incumbent sentiment gives them the edge over veteran Republicans in the 29th and 21st districts.

SAN GABRIEL VALLEY —  Two Republican state senators running for reelection in revamped districts in the San Gabriel Valley are being challenged by two women who hope to sweep into office on a Democratic tide from voters ready for change.

But it will take an extraordinary voter revolt to deny another term to Sens. Frank Hill (R-Whittier) and Newton R. Russell (R-Glendale), proven vote-getters running in strong GOP districts.

The 29th District, where Hill is seeking reelection, stretches from Arcadia eastward to Claremont and south to Whittier. Russell’s 21st District includes Pasadena and neighboring cities.

In the 29th District, the theme of Democrat Sandy Hester’s campaign against Hill is “Integrity . . . for a Change,” and she never misses a chance to point out that the FBI has been investigating Hill for alleged corruption for four years.

“There is room for doubt about the integrity of Frank Hill,” Hester said.

Candidates have tried that tack against Hill before without success. “That’s old news,” Hill said, pointing out that he has won reelection to the Assembly and his current Senate seat since the FBI disclosed it was investigating him and other targets in Sacramento.

Still, Hester is pinning her hopes for an upset on that cloud on Hill’s reputation, the fact that reapportionment has pushed his district farther north into the San Gabriel Valley, and a general dissatisfaction with incumbents coupled with her promise to improve education, create jobs and protect the environment.

Hester faces a formidable task because Republicans outnumber Democrats in the district 46% to 41%, and Hill has raised $247,714 for his campaign compared to her $20,235. At the end of September, Hill had $116,273 in cash for a campaign that will include seven mailers to voters. Hester had $448 in the bank to finance her efforts.

Despite all this, Hester said the assumption that the 29th is a safe Republican district is wrong. “Nothing is safe any more,” she said. “Look at the variables we’re facing: incumbency, the Year of the Woman, a brand-new district, the economy.”

Hill, 38, is a former congressional aide who served eight years in the state Assembly before moving up to the Senate in 1990.

In 1988, his office and those of three other legislators were searched by the FBI as part of a federal sting operation that targeted political corruption in Sacramento. During the sting, Hill accepted a $2,500 campaign contribution from undercover FBI agents posing as businessmen seeking special-interest legislation. But no charges have ever been filed.

Meanwhile, since moving to the Senate, Hill--who was allied with the most conservative wing of the Republican Party in the Assembly--has gained a reputation as a pragmatist with an independent streak. He teamed with a Democratic assemblyman to try to break the deadlock over the state budget in August, gaining praise for his efforts.

Hill said a survey of voters in the district shows that they appreciated his work to try to resolve the budget mess. “Clearly from the survey, it was a huge home run,” he said.

But Hester said Hill is just part of the problem, not the solution in Sacramento. She said he has done nothing to promote jobs in the district, his earthquake insurance legislation was so flawed it had to be repealed and his stand against abortion rights for women is at odds with the views of most voters.

Hester has proposed a number of initiatives, including a plan to develop a high-tech center for new businesses at an idle defense plant in Pomona.

Hill said he is working on a $500-million bond issue to promote the design and construction of rail cars in California that will create jobs. He defended his earthquake insurance plan as a sound concept torpedoed by the insurance commissioner. And he said that even though he personally opposes abortion except in cases of incest, rape and endangerment of the life of the mother, a woman’s right to abortion is protected by the state Constitution and is not going to be repealed.

Hester, 49, a resident of Claremont for more than 20 years, owns an environmental consulting business and is a former associate director of the program in public policy analysis at Pomona College.

Russell, 65, has served in the Senate since 1974, consistently winning reelection with support of 70% of the voters. The Republican registration advantage has disappeared with the redrawing of district lines. Democrats now outnumber Republicans 43.8% to 42.7%, but the district is still considered safe for the GOP because Republicans are more likely to vote for their candidate.

Democratic nominee Rachel J. Dewey, 36, a rocket scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, hopes to capitalize on discontent over the economy--the district has been hit hard by layoffs in the aerospace industry--and also draw the votes of some Republican abortion rights supporters. Dewey hopes she can ride what she sees as a Bill Clinton victory over George Bush in the presidential campaign to a victory of her own.

The two major candidates differ on many issues.

Russell opposes abortion and a national health care system, while he supported cuts in education made in this year’s state budget and backs the death penalty. Dewey supports abortion rights for women and a national health care system modeled after Canada’s, opposes cuts in education and is against capital punishment.

A low-profile conservative known as a consensus builder, Russell has served as minority whip in the Senate since 1986.

On occasion, he has broken ranks with conservatives. In February, 1990, he reversed his longstanding opposition to all forms of gun control and voted in favor of a bill to require purchasers of sporting rifles and shotguns to wait 15 days before taking possession of their firearms. He explained that he rethought his position because of “what seemed to be an increasingly violent society” in which “people in a fit of rage buy a gun and use it on someone.”

In general, Russell takes conservative stands on economic issues. On social issues, he has supported legislation requiring schools to teach that abstinence is the only sure protection against unwanted pregnancy, AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. His priorities for his next term are reducing government regulation and working to attract new businesses to the state.

Russell, who was born in Los Angeles, received a business degree from USC and served 10 years in the Assembly before winning a seat in the Senate.

Although incumbency and familiarity may be Russell’s greatest advantages, rival Dewey says these same qualities may be his liabilities. She calls her opponent “a Sacramento insider” and casts herself as an agent for change and creative thinking.

Dewey, who has a bachelor’s degree from Harvard and doctorate from Princeton, has made a strong effort to recruit Republicans who support abortion rights.

“I will fight for reproductive freedom for all women, regardless of age or economic status,” Dewey said. “My opponent is 100% anti-choice. He shares the views of the ultra-right radicals who have seized the Republican Party and would deny women rights over their own bodies.”

The biggest challenge the state faces, she said, is salvaging and rebuilding its public education system from kindergarten through graduate school.

“Even people who don’t have children in public school should support them,” she said. “Public schools are the schools that will educate most of our future co-workers, employees and neighbors.”

Also running are Libertarian James R. New and Jan B. Tucker of the Peace and Freedom Party.

THE DISTRICTS

The 29th District takes in most of the eastern part of the San Gabriel Valley. It includes Arcadia, Bradbury, City of Industry, Claremont, Covina, Diamond Bar, Duarte, Glendora, La Habra Heights, La Mirada, La Verne, Monrovia, San Dimas, Sierra Madre, Walnut and West Covina and part of Azusa, Temple City and Whittier. The 21st District spans parts of the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and San Gabriel valleys, taking in Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, Altadena, San Marino, South Pasadena and a portion of Temple City.