CANDIDATES MAKE A LATE PITCH FOR THE UNDECIDEDS

Rep. Jane Harman said she would support efforts by city officials to
provide marijuana to sick people in San Francisco, even if she's not sure
it's the right answer for the rest of the state.

In a campaign visit with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who has endorsed her,
Harman said she backed "city officials taking whatever steps they think
they need to take" to assure access to the drug for the truly ill.

Lt. Gov. Gray Davis, who leads Harman and financier Al Checchi in the
polls, was also in The City, touting his endorsements by San Francisco
officials.

An Examiner poll released Friday showed Davis with a double-digit lead over
his Democratic rivals Harman and businessman Al Checchi.

As the campaign for the primary election wound down to its last couple of
days, Davis and Harman campaigned in The City, while Checchi delivered his
education platform to schools in San Diego and El Centro, Imperial County.
Attorney General Dan Lungren, the expected GOP nominee, campaigned in Los
Angeles and called for eliminating the state's vehicle license fee over the
next five years.

Davis, who opposed the voter-approved medicinal marijuana Proposition 215,
said he supported legislation by state Sen. John Vasconcellos that urges a
three-year study of the effects of marijuana on particular ailments.

"I'm not in favor of legalizing marijuana," Davis said. "On the other hand,
I don't believe politicians should interfere with medical judgments."

The Democratic front-runner, who began the campaign lagging third in the
polls, appeared confident at pep rally-style press conference with a
rainbow coalition of elected officials -- including Mayor Brown and Oakland
Mayor Elihu Harris -- and labor leaders.

"I believe voters all along were looking for someone with my profile,"
Davis said in an interview, "but couldn't find me until I could get on
television (with campaign ads)."

"I believed that once my message got out, the voters would support me," he
said.

Asked what he planned to do in the final days of the campaign to hold his
lead, Davis replied: "Just get up every morning, fight for every vote and
share my vision with people in the state."

Davis' message is three-pronged: As governor, he will preside over the
booming state economy in a logical manner, fix schools and bring the people
of the state together.

"As governor, I will end the politics of division," Davis vowed from a
podium set up outside the War Memorial Building. "The era of wedge-issue
politics is over. ... The long nightmare of Pete Wilson is passing on to
wherever he's going -- San Diego, New Hampshire."

Harman was in The City for a series of events, including a news conference
on gun violence and an evening rally with gay and lesbian activists
headlined by Democratic Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts.

Appearing on the Ronn Owens show at KGO-radio Friday morning, she was asked
by a caller about her stand on medical marijuana. She said she had opposed
Prop. 215, the initiative passed by voters that legalized medical
marijuana, because she thought it was too broad.

She said she favored more research into medical marijuana, and wanted to
fine-tune Prop. 215 to end the current stalemate between pot clubs and law
enforcement officials.

"I support efforts to limit distribution so we are not promoting drug use,
but so that we are helping heal people who are suffering," Harman said. "If
that's our principle, if cities have the best tools to implement it, cities
should do it, but otherwise the state should supervise it."

After the event, she said the idea of allowing city officials to provide
pot to patients, suggested by San Francisco District Attorney Terence
Hallinan, should be considered.

"I feel it should be looked at," Harman said. "But I don't know whether
that makes good sense for every city. We have to consider whether the
states or the cities should be the primary vehicle for refining the
intention of 215."

However, Harman added, "I support city officials' taking whatever steps
they think they need to take to do what they need to do."

Feinstein, in her first public appearance with Harman since endorsing her
last week, praised the third-term congresswoman for her experience and her
ability to work with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle. She
also challenged the notion that Harman was out of the race because of polls
showing she was tied with Checchi well behind Davis.

"There's a big undecided (vote)," Feinstein said. "If the undecideds move
her way, she could win."

Feinstein also took a swing at Checchi, saying his bottoming out in the
polls reflected the negative approach of his TV ads.

"I just hope this shows you can't trash somebody to pump yourself up,"
Feinstein. "I hope it sounds the death knell for this kind of political
advertising in the state." Examiner news services contributed to this report.

1998 San Francisco Examiner

Checked-by: Richard Lake