CAMPBELL ASKS RIVAL TO ENTER DRUG DEBATE

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tom Campbell believes it's a pretty
innocuous request.

The Silicon Valley congressman wants to debate with the incumbent he is
challenging, Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, on the topic of drugs. So
far, she hasn't agreed, he said.

"It's a shame that she won't discuss this with me, because our drug policy
is a matter of life and death, both at home and abroad," Campbell told The
City Club of San Diego yesterday.

Campbell, 48, is traveling the state, touting his somewhat controversial
position on the war on drugs. In several San Diego appearances yesterday,
including The City Club's luncheon, he outlined a proposal that the
government divert $1.3 billion recently earmarked for Colombia to combat
drugs at the source to rehabilitation and education programs in the United
States.

He invited Feinstein to join him on a radio show he is putting together
that will air Sunday, but she has refused.

Feinstein's staff said she is not avoiding debate.

"We will certainly debate him on that topic and other topics," said
Feinstein's campaign manager, Kam Kuwata. "What we're not going to do is
debate him on a radio show right now."

Campbell, a congressman and Stanford professor, said California has an
estimated 160,000 cocaine and heroin addicts, but rehabilitation centers
can treat a maximum of 32,000 people.

"Can you imagine if you have the courage to get clean, to get that demon
off of your soul, and you're told there's no place to get help," he said.
"That is a crime. That is an outrage."

Three weeks ago, President Clinton promised the $1.3 billion aid package to
Colombia, with support from the Republican Congress and Feinstein. The aid
includes 63 helicopters and the use of military advisers to train Colombian
forces in anti-narcotics efforts.

But providing money to countries like Colombia in hopes that they will stop
producing drugs will not decrease the demand for drugs, Campbell argues.

"We are headed down the wrong path in Colombia," he said.

He pointed to the June 1999 death of Army Capt. Jennifer Shafer Odom, whose
plane crashed into the mountains of Colombia near the border with Ecuador
while she was on a government mission.

Odom's family believes her plane was shot down. So does Campbell.

"As America's presence in Colombia increases, it's a matter of time before
we see more images like this," said Campbell, who trails Feinstein in the
polls.