Seymour Responds With Ad Attacking Feinstein’s Record

Republican U.S. Senate candidate John Seymour began running a new television commercial Wednesday in which his campaign tried to paint his Democratic opponent, former San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein, as just another inside pol. With the election less than two weeks away, the candidates are in a phase where they try to counter an opponent’s ad attack as soon as possible. Feinstein began running a similar ad against Seymour earlier this week. Seymour officials did not disclose how long the ad would run or how much time was purchased for it to run.

THE AD: On the left side of the screen, a picture of Feinstein slowly comes into focus. On the right side, messages are flashed, accompanied by an announcer’s voice saying: “What would you call a politician who talks about change but opposes term limits? Someone who allowed their own government salary to double but told others to live under wage controls? A politician who claims to be a reformer but was charged with hiding $2.4 million by the Fair Political Practices Commission? Someone who says they’re tough on crime but actually paroled 21 convicted murderers? What would you call this politician? Dianne Feinstein.”

THE ANALYSIS: The Feinstein ad released last weekend accused Seymour of voting to raise his own salary as a state senator, of being the subject of lawsuits as a realtor, and of being a big spender on Senate staff and perks.

Feinstein does oppose term limits on members of Congress from California, saying it would only give members from other states more seniority and power, along with lobbyists and congressional staff.

A San Francisco City Charter amendment adopted in 1976 while Feinstein was a member of the Board of Supervisors established a formula by which the salary of city employees was adjusted each year to reflect the cost of living. Feinstein aides said she could have nullified her own salary increase only by voting to reject boosts for all city employees. The Seymour campaign said the wage controls referred to a Feinstein newspaper comment that $31 million could be pared from the city budget by cutting overtime pay and freezing salaries.

The state Fair Political Practices Commission accused Feinstein of failing to properly report that the $2.4 million loaned to her 1990 campaign for governor by the Bank of America was obtained with the help of her husband. Feinstein claims she followed FPPC guidelines for reporting the loan and considers the lawsuit to be politically inspired.

The five-member California Women’s Board of Terms and Parole paroled 21 convicted murderers during the period Feinstein served on the board, between 1960 and 1966. Feinstein aides said the board handled 5,000 cases during that period and she was known as one of the toughest law-and-order votes on the board. Unlike the Willie Horton episode of the 1988 presidential campaign, they note, Seymour has not provided evidence that any of the 21 parolees committed any serious crimes after their paroles.