Silicon Valley backs Lungren as Davis scares them:
Published Monday, October 12, 1998, in the San Jose Mercury News
Lungren gets tech support
Campaign boost: Republican has more than 80
Silicon Valley executives on his side.
BY PHILIP J. TROUNSTINE
Mercury News Political Editor
In 1992, then-Gov. Bill Clinton made a huge splash by announcing
support from a small but significant group of Silicon Valley executives,
including some big-name Republicans. Since then, the Democrats
have sought to convey the notion that they are the preferred party
among high-tech leaders.
But as Attorney General Dan Lungren will demonstrate today, when
he unveils an impressive list of more than 80 executives, including
some of the most prominent leaders in Silicon Valley, it wasn't true
then and it isn't true today.
Lungren's list does not demonstrate the crossover appeal that Clinton
had. But the group's statement of support -- citing the Republican
attorney general's stands on shareholder lawsuits, free trade, charter
schools, taxes and regulation -- makes it clear that they prefer
Lungren over Democratic Lt. Gov. Gray Davis.
''I think he's shown that he's a very practical guy in understanding our
issues quickly,'' said venture capitalist Floyd Kvamme of Kleiner
Perkins Caufield & Byers. As for Davis, he said, ''Every time you
turn around you see him talking to the AFL-CIO.''
Davis' campaign manager, Garry South, made light of Lungren's
support in the valley. ''Fundamentally, business executives tend to be
Republicans. Who can deny that?'' he said. ''And even though some
Silicon Valley business people like Lungren on business issues, they
do not feel particularly comfortable with his right-wing views on social
issues.''
Among those who are throwing their weight behind Lungren -- some
of whom will join the attorney general at Varian Associates Inc. in
Palo Alto this morning -- are James Barksdale of Netscape
Communications Corp., John Chambers of Cisco Systems Inc., Wilf
Corrigan of LSI Logic Corp., Thomas Ford of Ford Land Co.,
James Morgan of Applied Materials Inc., Lewis Platt and John
Young of Hewlett-Packard Co.
''Attorney General Dan Lungren understands Silicon Valley and has a
proven record of standing up for our interests,'' they say in an ad
running in today's Mercury News. ''We need him to continue to work
for us in Sacramento.''
Business leaders' views on Davis can be boiled down even further to
five words, said Lungren campaign adviser Dan Schnur: ''Supreme
Court Justice Bill Lerach.''
Trial lawyer Lerach, a strong Davis supporter, is one of the most
reviled names among Silicon Valley executives because he is known
as the king of shareholder lawsuits against high-tech companies.
Davis is vulnerable to the perception that he is beholden to Lerach
and the trial lawyers, in part because in 1996 he refused to take a
stand on Proposition 211. The measure, sponsored by Lerach, would
have made it easier to prevail in shareholder lawsuits, commonly
called ''strike suits.'' Lungren opposed the proposition, which Silicon
Valley and other companies spent about $40 million to defeat.
Now, said South, ''Gray favors a national approach to strike suits.''
As for Proposition 211, ''He didn't want to take a position on it.''
That stand -- which Clinton eschewed in the face of losing support
from Silicon Valley -- still rankles Kvamme and others. ''He didn't do
anything on Proposition 211,'' Kvamme said. ''If you're not with us,
you're against us.''
South said Davis also has considerable support in Silicon Valley. He
noted, for example, that the lieutenant governor held a fundraiser at
the home of Netscape founder Marc Andreessen with Vice President
Al Gore. But he added, it's no secret that Davis does better on the
shop floor than in the board room.
''The big business people, God bless 'em, they do a good job but
they're Republicans,'' South said. ''And we're going to kick his butt in
Silicon Valley among the voters.''
At another Silicon Valley event, on Sunday, Lungren focused on more
ethereal topics. Accompanied by his son, Jeff, he spoke at the
Cathedral of Faith Christian church in San Jose. His wife, Bobbi, was
speaking elsewhere during their Bay Area visit.
While Lungren got kudos for his comments at two morning services,
it's not certain he gained any converts.
Kevin Kittila, 33, a five-year member of the congregation and student
at San Jose City College, was impressed with Lungren's message but
said he's still likely to vote for Davis.
''I'm adamantly opposed to the death penalty. I think Davis is less
likely to go with it than Lungren would,'' he said.
Perhaps trying to soften a tough-on-crime stance that has alienated
some voters, Lungren told the congregation there's a ''mistaken''
impression in society that if you're involved in the punishment of crime,
then you're against prevention. Lungren said he supports both.
While Lungren is spending millions of dollars on pro-death-penalty,
tough-on-crime ads on television, he offered a softer message
Sunday. There's a ''mistaken'' impression in society that if you're
involved in the punishment of crime, then you're against prevention,
Lungren told the congregation. He said he supported both.
California can have all the police, jails and prisons it needs and still not
solve the social problems behind crime, he said.
''We have something called the separation of church and state and
that's good. The government shouldn't establish a state church. But
the separation of church and state doesn't mean the separation of God
from us. It doesn't mean the separation of God from the public
arena,'' he said.
Church member Jackie Russo was moved but not swayed to commit
to a vote for Lungren.
''I still need to know a little more about him. I think it's good that he
has his faith. But it's easy to say. It's all about keeping your word.''
mercurycenter.com
|
