Political Elections

The Democratic presidential nominee played by Tom Selleck in TNT's coming "Running Mates" springs a big surprise at his party's national convention, creating the kind of defining moment that has been missing from these events for decades. Although it's complete fantasy, we can dream, can't we? Future historians and other students of politics will decide which was ultimately better for the U.S.

Gov. Kenny Guinn's decision to go out of state for prostate surgery isn't unprecedented, but his general election opponent says it shows a lack of faith in Nevada's health-care system. State Sen. Joe Neal, considered a longshot to beat the Republican incumbent Nov. 5, said Guinn could have found decent care in state. "I do have some concerns that he's not able to trust the doctors here," Neal said. "That only speaks to his lack of trust." Guinn consulted with both his family physician, Dr.

Challengers and incumbents who emerged victorious in Valley area primary elections aren't waiting until this fall's main electoral event to come out swinging. Soon after the tide turned decisively in his favor in the five-man, hotly contested GOP primary, a buoyant Richard Sybert challenged Democratic U.S. Rep.

The District of Columbia's Court of Appeals heard oral arguments Tuesday in a case that could keep Washington Mayor Anthony Williams off the Democratic primary ballot. The three-judge panel peppered both sides with questions and promised a ruling "in reasonable dispatch." The case involves a decision by the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics to reject Williams' reelection petitions as being tainted by fraud. Needing 2,000 signatures to qualify for the Sept.

The most important issue concerning the June [Los Angeles City Council] election should be how to get people to vote. The lower-than-low turnout in April is not merely an indication of apathy but an embarrassment. Voting is a privilege and right that has been forgotten. Los Angeles has crime, poor traffic conditions . . . the list is endless. These problems won't go away unless people go out and vote and show they care. Wake up and voice your opinion at the polls in June, it is the human thing to do. FRANCES TERRELL LIPPMAN Los Angeles

Just two days before the election, state Assembly candidate Mark Lit seemed to have hit his stride. Talking to friends and potential campaign contributors over cocktails and hors d'oeuvres at a supporter's home in Woodland Hills, Lit, a retired economics professor, enthusiastically explained for the umpteenth time his plans to clean up local drinking water, harness skyrocketing insurance rates and put a ceiling on the "exorbitant" interest rates charged by credit-card companies.

In the months ahead, reporters will be seeking the Holy Grail of election forecasting: an analysis of historical voting trends that yields an airtight prediction of the 1992 presidential race. Well, here it is. According to many rigorous studies, presidential elections hinge on economic well-being, as gauged by change in real disposable income per capita--what the average American clears after inflation and taxes.

Facing election-year pressures and the nonstop unraveling of the state budget, the 1992 Legislature will convene Monday in what promises to be an even more abrasive encounter with Gov. Pete Wilson than last year. "It won't be kissy-kissy," warned combative Senate Leader David A. Roberti of Los Angeles, after taking the political pulse of his fellow upper-chamber Democrats. "My guess is it's going to be a very, very nasty session," said lobbyist Ruth Holton of California Common Cause.

The initiative, once the tool of every citizen, is becoming the instrument of the elected Establishment. That's clearly not what Hiram Johnson, the father of the initiative, intended. For this year's election, no fewer than 15 initiatives have been introduced by one or more elected officials, from the governor to wannabe governors. That constitutes roughly 30% of the initiatives submitted to the attorney general this year, the first step to the ballot.

Edward J. Rollins' boast that he helped elect Republican Christine Todd Whitman governor of New Jersey by paying black ministers to suppress the vote has stirred up bitter memories in cities where big bucks and black ministers have been used to influence voters. We may never know what really happened in New Jersey. No minister is likely to come forward and admit to being bribed, and Rollins may now be telling the truth when he says he lied.

The contention by the state controller that the harbor area would not be financially healthy if it split from Los Angeles puts local elected officials on the spot, raising the possibility that the measure will not make the November ballot despite promises that it would. Ever since secession became a prominent issue in the mid-1990s, most Southern California politicians have given lip service to the idea that such proposals to break up the city should be put before the voters.

Attempting to build support for his longshot challenge to Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, a candidate in that race is accusing Baca of tolerating "groups that threaten the safety of the Los Angeles Jewish community," a reference to praise by Baca of a Nation of Islam leader. An angry Baca retorted that his opponent, Sgt. John Stites, is "literally a messenger of hate himself."

With a mix of U.S.-style democracy and Old World deal-making, Afghan American groups in California are lining up in hopes of snagging a meeting with Afghanistan's new prime minister during his expected trip to Washington in the coming weeks. Potential participants from across the state are angling to meet with Hamid Karzai, named interim prime minister last month.

Facing war and recession, California enters this election year a bundle of contradictions: anxious yet optimistic, eager for stability and yet open to change. Voters will make dozens of choices, for governor, the Legislature, Congress and seven statewide offices. Yet many of the races will be devoid of true competition, thanks to the political line-drawing of incumbent lawmakers. Candidates and issue advocates will spend tens of millions of dollars on radio and TV advertising.

When 1,000 Ohio Democrats gathered recently for the party's annual fund-raising bash, there were patriotic songs, flags at each dinner table and no end to the star-spangled speeches. But one of the biggest ovations came when Chairman David Leland offered a caveat to the evening's brotherly tone. "We all support the administration and our armed forces in bringing terrorists to justice," he told the partisan crowd. "We did not all become Republicans."

With all of the votes finally counted in two close contests for Los Angeles City Council, the winners did not change Saturday: Dennis Zine was the narrow victor over Judith Hirshberg in the 3rd District race and Jack Weiss won over Tom Hayden in the 5th District.

The District of Columbia's Court of Appeals heard oral arguments Tuesday in a case that could keep Washington Mayor Anthony Williams off the Democratic primary ballot. The three-judge panel peppered both sides with questions and promised a ruling "in reasonable dispatch." The case involves a decision by the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics to reject Williams' reelection petitions as being tainted by fraud. Needing 2,000 signatures to qualify for the Sept.

In a move that opens yet another opportunity for a major conflict over reform of the Los Angeles City Charter, members of the elected reform commission have endorsed a plan to make the proposed municipal Constitution take effect by July 2000, rather than a year later as favored by the City Council. If the plan is approved, it would give Mayor Richard Riordan a full year to run the city under a new charter that gives the mayor substantially more authority than he now has.

In the final days of the campaign, Alejandro Toledo could feel it. His noisy red bus chugged toward victory through a spectral landscape of sand and fog, entering the fishing villages north of Lima in a tumult of horsemen in white, youths running alongside in folkloric demon masks, dogs baying on the rooftops.

"Blob," a television show that exposes gaffes by newscasters, actors and other VIPs, aired a lively exchange this week between conservative tycoon Silvio Berlusconi and Rome's former mayor, Francesco Rutelli, the opposing candidates for prime minister of Italy. They were interrupted several times by close-up film of predatory insects--an odd clue that the three-minute segment was a hoax.