EDITORIAL: CANDIDATE JIM GRAY

In the highly publicized race in the 46th Congressional District, Judge Jim
Gray is viewed by some political observers as the odd man out, what with
Bob Dornan being Bob Dornan, Loretta Sanchez getting support from every
Democrat from Bill Clifton on down and Lisa Hughes spending scads of her
own money.

He pointed out to us at a meeting with the editorial board yesterday,
however, that he has raised more money from within the district than any of
the other Republican candidates, and he claims he has more yard signs as
well.

That doesn't mean he has the most money available, of course. Bob Dona has
spent years developing and using a nationwide fundraising list and Lisa
Hughes has a good deal of her own money and is willing to spend it. But it
suggests a level of grassroots support that might surprise some people
before the race is over.

Judge Gray, of course, became something of a public figure several years
ago when he announced publicly that his years on the bench, and before that
as federal prosecutor, had persuaded him that the country's illicit drug
policies were failing and that redoubling law enforcement efforts would
only make the failure more intense.

He then spearheaded a conference at the Hoover Institution at Stanford that
promulgated a modest statement calling for rethinking and reform of drug
policies that was signed by thousands of prominent people, including
judges, prosecutors and elected officials, around the country.

He told us his campaign consultants told him to avoid the drug issue, and
he started out that way. But people kept asking, and he keeps talking.

The drug have created so many distortions in the criminal justice system, he
says, including abuse of asset forfeiture process (which he supports but
would reform) to the imposition of mandatory minimum sentencing laws(which
he opposes) that it's almost impossible to avoid some discussion.

He's not a single-issue candidate, however. He would scrap the tax code and
the IRS as quickly as possible and is open-minded between a "flat" tax and a
national sales tax as a replacement. He belives school choice and vouchers
would promote competition and offer better incentives to achieve excellence
in the school system.

He favors eliminating federal agencies from the Department of Education to
FEMA, arguing that "our problem is not that taxpayers pay too little, it is
that government spends too much." He's skeptical about new tobacco taxes
(but he thinks moderately higher cigarette prices might dissuade some teen
smokers) and for Medical Savings accounts and an overhaul of Social
security that could entail privatizing the system after a transition period.

On daytime curfews, he says he fears for the country when proposals for such
intrusions into private lives are politically popular.

In general, he says he would work to reduce the size and scope of the
federal government. Nobel Prize economist Milton Friedman has endorsed him
and contributed $1,000 to his campaign.

Judge Gray has some possible "stealth" advantages in the increasingly
diverse 46th District. When he was a judge advocate in the Navy he and his
wife adopted a Vietnamese son, now 25. He served with the Peace Corps in
Costa Rica and speaks fluent Spanish. He also hopes to benefit from
"crossover" votes from Democrats in the primary since Loretta Sanchez is
assured of the Democratic nomination for November.

Judge Gray came to public attention by taking a controversial position on an
issue where emotions run deeply, but in person he is soft-spoken, almost
low-key. He says that will be an advantage once he gets to Congress because
it will help him get along and work with others, providing behind-the-scenes
leadership without abandoning his principles.

Checked-by: Melodi Cornett