Harman Stresses Education, Crime in Launching Bid for Governorship

With a tacit acknowledgment of the political importance of her gender, Rep. Jane Harman opened her campaign for governor Friday by leaping aboard the bipartisan bandwagon seeking to improve California’s faltering education system.

A six-year congressional veteran who has largely been silent on state issues since she announced her pending bid last month, Harman fleshed out her ideas somewhat in her Torrance speech but left unanswered basic details, including how much she would spend and how she would finance her proposals.

She said that California must ensure every child access to high-quality child care and preschool classes, and that teachers, principals and students should be held accountable for academic performance.

As to how, Harman left the door open.

“The next governor must listen to parents and students, listen to educators and listen to researchers and policymakers,” she told about 150 supporters at the wind-swept Torrance Civic Center. “Only by creating a conversation about education can we build the consensus we need in order to move boldly into the future.”

Harman wove more detail into her remarks later when questioned by reporters. She said that she opposes the so-called Unz initiative on the June ballot, which would essentially shut down bilingual education, but that she would support other ways of reforming the system by which many students learn English.

She also voiced support for a $9.2-billion school bond measure that had died in the Legislature earlier in the day, and called on Gov. Pete Wilson to “work a little harder” to broker a deal placing the proposal on the November ballot.

Although Harman did not directly address her status as the sole woman in the Democratic gubernatorial field--and the only major female candidate in the race--the symbolism of her gender was evident.

Harman, 52, is seeking to become the state’s third consecutive female Democratic gubernatorial nominee this decade, after Dianne Feinstein in 1990 and Kathleen Brown in 1994. Since 1990, the predominantly female Democratic Party has given its California gubernatorial and U.S. Senate nominations solely to women, and that factor helped propel Harman into the race this year after Feinstein decided not to run.

At Harman’s announcement, not one active male politician graced the stage, although longtime friend and former Rep. Mel Levine introduced her.

Instead, Harman was surrounded by Democratic powerhouse Roz Wyman, Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina, Reps. Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-Carson) and Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose), and Washington-based Ellen Malcolm of EMILY’s List, which raises funds for female candidates. Malcolm’s presence signaled that women’s groups nationwide will watch the race.

Harman’s gender influenced the handling of two issues she addressed. She suggested that, as a mother of four, she would be sensitive to abortion rights, which she supports. She also made a point of declaring herself “tough on crime,” an issue that often presents a hurdle for female candidates.

“I support prison construction, three strikes and the death penalty,” she said. “But we must reject ideologies on both sides who would make us choose between prevention and punishment. We need both.”

Before Harman entered the race, political consultants believed that only a person poised to take advantage of the party’s recent tilt toward female candidates could make a run at the other Democratic entrants, businessman Al Checchi and Lt. Gov. Gray Davis.

“The reality is that it is the only factor that even arguably makes her viable in this race, pure and simple,” said Garry South, who is running Davis’ campaign. “If this was Congressman Jim Harman, the candidacy, coming at the last moment, would be a joke.”

But Harman also has the benefit of a deep personal bankroll, which has financed weeks of television ads across the state. In fact, her ads have outpaced Checchi’s in recent weeks, although he has been on the air since November and his spending still far outstrips hers.

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Neither gender nor financial resources received much public attention Friday from Harman as she sought to position herself between Davis, who has spent his life in government, and Checchi, who has left business to make his first bid for elective office.

Ideologically, all three candidates present a fiscally conservative, socially moderate image. All have pledged to be tough on criminals, help spur California’s economic recovery and improve schools. Checchi and Davis, however, have been far more specific in releasing the road maps they would follow.

In part, Harman’s lack of detail comes from the haste in which her campaign has been mounted--she has been organizing only a month, compared to 15 months for Checchi and years for Davis. But aides said Harman spurns 10-point plans in favor of convincing voters she is a leader, an approach much in evidence Friday.

“I am the only one running who has a combination of private sector and public sector experience, and I have a style of leadership which I have demonstrated in the Congress which builds coalitions and gets things done,” she told reporters. “I think [Checchi and Davis] can talk about it, and I agree with a lot of what they are saying, but I can do it.”

Like many members of Congress, Harman is little known outside her district, which encompasses the South Bay. She did seek to broaden public knowledge of herself Friday by challenging Checchi and Davis to debate regularly before disparate groups of voters.

“I call on them to debate not in some remote TV studio, but in front of audiences in a series of get-togethers around the state,” she said. “I’m eager to debate, and I hope the others will be too, because there simply is no better way to cut through the baloney of most campaigns to the issues that really count.”

The challenge was greeted with rolled eyes at the other campaigns’ headquarters, largely because Checchi and Davis were talking to voters months before Harman decided to join the fracas.

“We’re happy to debate,” said Darry Sragow, a Checchi strategist. “Al Checchi has spoken to over 500 groups in the last 15 months, and he loves exchanging views. We assume there will be debates and look forward to them.”

Davis strategist South sought to one-up them both. “Al Checchi and Jane Harman need to go up and down the state of California to meet the state’s voters,” he said. “Gray Davis has spent the last 22 years talking to the people of California. . . . The other two don’t have that same starting point.”

Davis’ kickoff tour next week will end the formalities of entering the race--and usher in a more frenetic pace--for the Democrats and the sole major Republican entrant, state Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren.