Ueberroth gets into the mix

Mike Swanson

Let the games begin.

Peter Ueberroth, leading organizer of the 1984 Olympics, former

baseball commissioner and an Emerald Bay resident, is among 135

candidates seeking to replace Gov. Gray Davis if Californians vote

for a recall Oct. 7.

Ueberroth, a registered Republican, will run for governor as an

independent candidate with a bipartisan campaign team. He said he’s

committed to serve only the remaining three years of Davis’ term “to

stop California’s compounding economic death spiral while it is still

possible, reverse it, and put California back on track,” then won’t

run again in 2006.

“California’s problems need to be fixed and they need to be fixed

now,” Ueberroth said in a statement released Aug. 8. “But I have

learned from experience that there are no solutions that are not

bipartisan.

“The only way to successfully confront those challenges and have

the opportunity to turn around California’s economy is for

Republicans and Democrats alike to put down their weapons of

political and financial destruction and work together to solve this

crisis.”

Ueberroth, 65, received widespread praise for organizing the 1984

Olympics in Los Angeles, which turned a $215-million profit through

corporate sponsorships and media contracts during an event many

feared would fail.

Ueberroth then started his term as commissioner of Major League

Baseball in October of 1984. He stepped down when his first term

ended in 1989. He was harder on baseball’s drug users during his

tenure than any other commissioner in its history, regularly

suspending and fining players who failed drug tests on the grounds

that they were acting as poor role models. In 1985, he reinstated

Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays, who had been banned from baseball for

allegedly working for an Atlantic City casino.

“We, as Californians, would benefit greatly from the managerial

and financial skills of a man like Peter Ueberroth,” resident Andy

Alison said. “Whether he can succeed in the glitz, smoke and mirrors

of California politics is yet to be seen.”

A poll released early this week showed Ueberroth among the top

five candidates in the recall race, but his 8% backing trailed

front-runner Arnold Schwarzenegger by 23%.

“As a candidate, I find him very interesting considering his

Perot-esque statement that he wants to clean up and then get out,”

said Dawn Mirone, Laguna Beach High School government teacher. “I

hope he’ll want to be a guest speaker in my class and explain to

students why he felt it necessary to jump in this race and how he

plans to turn things around in Sacramento.”

Mirone said Ueberroth appeared as guest speaker at a Laguna Beach

High School graduation ceremony many years ago, and she called it “a

wonderful speech.”

Mayor Toni Iseman said she and Laguna Beach residents have been

proud of Ueberroth for years and love to claim him as their own. She

added, however, that replacing Davis as governor during a time of

such economic strife doesn’t appear to be the most enviable position.

“The entire recall is a distraction from other things going on,”

Iseman said. “We’re taking our eye off the ball by paying so much

attention to this recall.”

Councilman Wayne Baglin said he also doesn’t agree with recalling

a governor less than a year after he’s voted in, but added that Davis

should look in the mirror for someone to blame.

Baglin said he hasn’t looked into Ueberroth’s or any other

candidate’s aims enough yet to choose whether Davis should be

recalled. Ueberroth’s Laguna Beach connection won’t affect Baglin’s

decision.

“I can’t recall having seen [Ueberroth] involved with something

specifically Laguna,” Baglin said. “Like a lot of the celebrities who

live in town, he seems to stay pretty low key and below the radar.”

Ueberroth isn’t the only local going for Davis’ title.

Iris Adam, 84, a Laguna Beach resident and artist who participates

in the Sawdust Festival and Art-A-Fair, will run as a Natural Law

party contender. She also ran in the 2002 regular election and

received about 1% of the votes.