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“I can’t say I wouldn’t have done the same thing, but I did think it was pretty shady,” said Berkeley City Councilmember Betty Olds about Gov. Gray Davis’ anti-Richard Riordan campaign that perhaps did not give Bill Simon the GOP primary but certainly did not hurt. 

Riordan, the former Mayor of Los Angeles watched his early lead diminish considerably as Davis pumped dollars into negative television ads that questioned Riordan’s commitment to issues such as abortion and gun control.  

Riordan fired back, blaming Davis for the energy crisis and trying to closely align him to the Enron debacle. What neither candidate did do was focus on their opponents.  

Riordan said yesterday after conceding to the newcomer Simon that the GOP’s “main goal has to be to replace Gray Davis. He’s a disgrace to this state. 

“I will work with whoever the nominee is to get rid of Gray Davis and get some real leadership in California,” said Riordan. 

He accused Davis of hijacking the Republican primary. 

Joel Fried, a Berkeley resident said he felt that Davis motives were manipulative and made him appear desperate. 

“And if it doesn’t work, he’s really going to look foolish,” he added. 

But, on the other hand, Olds stated that it was in some ways shrewd. 

“A lot of people were upset with him after this last year. But as mad as anyone was, I don’t know what Democrat would vote for Simon. But I do know several people might have voted for Riordan,” she added. 

Councilmember Kriss Worthington brought another perspective. “the most extreme candidate is not always the weakest,” he said, adding that many Democrats were ecstatic when former US President Ronald Reagan won the presidential primary. 

Earlier Tuesday, Davis defended his assault on Riordan.  

“Let’s just remember who fired the first shot. Mayor Riordan decided to make this a general election campaign and we responded,” Davis said after voting in Los Angeles. 

State Democratic Party Chairman Art Torres cheered Simon’s lead early Tuesday night, borrowing a phrase used by Riordan in the waning days of the GOP race and calling him an “unelectable extremist.” 

Davis’ chief campaign adviser Garry South said Davis, who has still has tens of millions to spend on his re-election bid, is prepared to quickly strike out at Simon’s conservative views — on such issues as vouchers for private school, abortion and gun control — even though the general election is eight months away. 

“You can assume that we will have a very aggressive campaign and it will start tonight,” South said. 

The ASSOCIATED PRESS CONTRIBUTED TO THIS REPORT