Pubdate: Tue, 24 Oct 2000 Source: San Francisco Examiner (CA) Copyright: 2000 San Francisco Examiner Contact: http://www.examiner.com/ Forum: http://examiner.com/cgi-bin/WebX Author: Eric Brazil Bookmark: For Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act items: http://www.mapinc.org/prop36.htm Note: Drug policy portion is past the center of the article. CAMPBELL, FEINSTEIN BARE FISTS IN 1ST DEBATE Accused by her underdog Republican challenger Tom Campbell of concealing her family's financial interests in China, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein lashed back with a vehement denial Tuesday in the first of their two pre-election debates. "What a difference desperation makes, Tom," said Feinstein, a Democrat. "I am really surprised. . . . I own nothing in China, (and) my husband has divested of all his investments." Undeterred, Rep. Campbell, R-San Jose, said, "Your family continues to derive income from investments in China. . . . My point is that you have an obligation to disclose (and) you did not disclose when I asked you to." Feinstein responded that she was "sorry that he (Campbell) chose to open with an attack. I've been in public life for 30 years and never an ounce of scandal or conflict. I take my public service as a trust." Campbell, who has consistently run 15 to 20 points behind Feinstein in the polls and has repeatedly challenged her to debate, seized the opportunity of Tuesday's face-off to make the points he hopes will give his candidacy a major bump: the alleged financial involvement of Feinstein's husband, Richard Blum, in investments in China and drug policy. Feinstein said her husband has scrupulously avoided doing business in a way that would impair her senatorial career. "I don't know any other American businessman who would do what my husband has done to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest," she said. And even though Campbell continued to insist that her family has investments in China, Feinstein said that every interest Blum had has been sold. The Senate Ethics Committee, she noted, has said that Blum's past investments in China do not pose a conflict of interest. True enough, Campbell said, but Feinstein's financial disclosure statements showed "only what was required of you," and not the extent of her husband's dealings with China. The Senate's disclosure rules are minimal, he said, and "she's comfortable with that system. I'm not comfortable with that system. As a senator, I would shake up that system." Debate Held In Santa Monica Feinstein opened and closed the hourlong debate, held at a Santa Monica cable TV station, by emphasizing her effectiveness as a senator and enumerating the laws she has put on the books, ranging from gun control to desert preservation to freezing the assets of cartels that violate the law. Feinstein observed that, by contrast, Campbell the congressman has introduced no legislation that has become law. Besides, she said, Campbell "has missed half of the (House) votes this year. I think how you do the job you have is indicative of how you'll do the job you want to get." Campbell chided Feinstein for voting for a $1.3 billion appropriation to interdict the cocaine trade in Colombia, and for playing down the role of U.S. advisors whose presence in Colombia will be financed by it. "The U.S. does have troops there. We just call them advisors. That is a distinction we started with in Vietnam," he said. Campbell said the $1.3 billion should be used for drug treatment. Feinstein said she's all for drug treatment, but opposes treating addicts with drugs, except for the legal drug Methadone. Feinstein said she opposes Proposition 36 on the California ballot, while Campbell is for it. The proposition would provide treatment - instead of jail time - for one- and two-time drug offenders whose crime is simple possession. Limiting Campaign Donations Both said they will support Proposition 34, which limits individual campaign contributions and established voluntary spending limits. But Campbell pointed out that he has refused to accept contributions from political action committees for his past four elections, while Feinstein has accepted them. Feinstein responded that just 16 percent of her contributions have come from PACs and added that "soft money" from groups technically not affiliated with a particular candidate is a much more severe problem. She accused Campbell of creating his own PAC, a charge that Campbell called a distortion. "It's not fair to say that I started a PAC," he said. "I started the Center for Free Enterprise," from which he did not benefit as a candidate. Feinstein and Campbell are scheduled to hold a second debate at 6 p.m. Friday on KRON-TV Channel 4 in San Francisco. - --- MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk