Layoffs Hit Dozens on Simon Staff

Republican Bill Simon Jr. laid off more than two dozen employees of his gubernatorial campaign Wednesday in an effort to preserve scarce financial resources for television ads, sources said.

For more than two months, Democratic incumbent Gray Davis has been running spots slamming his rival on TV stations across California, while Simon’s campaign has lacked the money to mount more than a minimal response.

“We’ve been getting hit pretty hard here,” Simon campaign chairman John Herrington said. “We plan an aggressive media campaign, beginning as soon as possible.”

After Simon won the GOP primary in March, his campaign staff swelled to more than 100 people, about triple the size of the governor’s. As of June 30, Davis reported $31.6 million in the bank, while Simon’s campaign had $5 million.