Politics : Yudelson, Snubbed on Debate, Paints Opponent Yellow

Democrat Jerry Yudelson, Rep. Robert K. Dornan’s opponent in the 38th Congressional District, is so frustrated with the Garden Grove Republican’s refusal to debate that he’s taken to facing off with a live chicken.

“He’s refusing to debate me, so I’ve brought along a chicken named Bob,” Yudelson told a recent forum sponsored by the Garden Grove Chamber of Commerce.

“He used to be a hawk, as you can tell,” Yudelson said of the clucking bird. “But he’s become a chicken because he’s afraid of debating me.”

Yudelson can be seen with Bob--the chicken, not the candidate--on Channel 3A, the city of Garden Grove’s cable channel, today at 3 p.m. The show was taped Tuesday, a day after Dornan (R-Garden Grove) appeared on behalf of Vice President George Bush, the GOP presidential candidate, at a debate at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.

Asked on ABC-TV’s “Nightline” why Bush refused a chance to debate his Democratic opponent, Michael S. Dukakis, Dornan said that no candidate who is ahead wants to debate.

Dornan, however, added: “To be quite candid. . . . I might recommend otherwise, to the detriment of good, wise political advice.”

That prompted a Yudelson aide who was on hand to label Dornan a “hypocrite” for offering such advice to Bush while refusing all requests to debate Yudelson.

Dornan has also refused to appear on KOCE Channel 50’s series of debates for Orange County candidates. Jim Cooper, the host of the series, said Dornan is the only candidate in five local congressional races who will not appear.

“Here’s a guy who wants to be elected to Congress but can’t find 30 minutes to talk about the issues,” Cooper said. “I told him the voters lose.”

Brian Bennett, Dornan’s chief of staff, said Dornan will not debate Yudelson because he “is not a credible Democratic candidate.”

In the meantime, Yudelson said he has further plans to try to embarrass Dornan on the debate issue. He said he is hiring a person to parade in front of Dornan’s Garden Grove office until Dornan agrees to debate.

That person, Yudelson said, will be wearing--you guessed it--a chicken costume.

As for Dornan, his staff has been busy preparing for the arrival today of super-hawk Oliver L. North, who is scheduled to appear at a Dornan fund-raising luncheon in Irvine.

“Sometimes you just can’t win,” moaned Larry Morse, an aide and chief spokesman for Democrat Cecil N. Green, who is seeking reelection in the 33rd State Senate District, which includes parts of Los Angeles and west Orange County.

To generate publicity for Green, Morse decided to hold a news conference announcing an endorsement from Atty. Gen. John K. Van de Kamp and several other law enforcement officials in a Buena Park neighborhood frequented by gangs. Morse found a dead-end street with a graffiti-covered barricade, the ideal backdrop to photograph Green and Van de Kamp talking tough on crime.

“We drove for several hours to find that location,” Morse said.

At the appointed hour, Green, Van de Kamp and a dozen representatives of police unions and associations assembled in front of the barricade. But as Van de Kamp launched into his remarks, a small plane from nearby Fullerton Municipal Airport buzzed low overhead, forcing Van de Kamp to pause, then remark: “Must be Cecil’s Republican opponent,” referring to Don Knabe of Cerritos.

Green didn’t fare much better. As he began speaking, a burglar alarm in a nearby parked car went off, beeping loudly through the balance of the news conference.

To cap Morse’s day, a temperature gauge on a bank building down the street read 102 degrees, prompting several of the burly law enforcement officials to shed their sport coats and mop their brows. It may also have discouraged some reporters from attending to cover one of the few live--but most certainly staged--news events in the race for the 33rd District, which includes southeast Los Angeles County and northwest Orange County.

“Somedays, it seems like you’ve got two strikes against you all day,” Morse said after the event. As he drove past the car with the offending alarm still beeping, Morse simply shook his head.

Times staff writer Jeffrey A. Perlman contributed to this roundup.