CAMPAIGNING ON CRIME\Dole calls for tougher laws in Death Row tour.

Byline: Daily News Staff and Wire Services

Sen. Bob Dole stressed the issue of crime Saturday as he campaigned for the Republican presidential nomination in Northern California, before he comes to the Orange County area today seeking votes in Tuesday's primary election.

Dole, R-Kan., toured San Quentin with Gov. Pete Wilson to stress his support for executing violent criminals and limiting the numbers of death penalty appeals.

"Justice delayed is justice denied," said Dole, with the San Quentin guard tower looming over his shoulder. "The liberals in the Congress don't see things our way."

Dole, the Senate majority leader, has proposed a measure that would limit Death Row inmates to one timely appeal, a measure that President Clinton has vetoed because it was included with changes to Medicare. Clinton supports and has enforced the death penalty while he was governor of Arkansas and has spoken in favor of limiting appeals.

At one point, Dole and Wilson said Clinton had been given three opportunities to change the federal law, but later acknowledged only one of those measures ever made it to Clinton's desk.

Hoping the crime issue would help him cut into Clinton's big early lead in California, Dole toured San Quentin's Death Row and was briefed on the three executions there in the past quarter century, including last month's execution of so-called "Freeway Killer" William Bonin, who was convicted of 14 murders and spent 15 years on Death Row.

Such lengthy stays, Dole said, are unfair to crime victims and their families. He also criticized lenient sentencing guidelines, noting that one-third of murders in the United States are committed by repeat offenders.

"The revolving prison doors keep swinging and Americans keep dying," Dole said. "We're not punishing the criminals. We're punishing the victims."

In his remarks, not once did Dole mention that the state's GOP presidential primary is Tuesday. Instead, he looked past Pat Buchanan's challenge and took direct aim at Clinton.

Dole's challenger, commentator Pat Buchanan, also campaigned in Northern California on Saturday and said talk of a possible Ross Perot candidacy again this year is pressuring the Republican Party to address Buchanan's own issues on trade.

"Ross Perot, if he is a candidate of the Reform Party, would hurt the Republican Party - undeniably," Buchanan said during a tour of a yam and sweet potato packing plant 110 miles southeast of San Francisco.

"The fact that Ross Perot has suggested he may run has enormously strengthened my hand with the Republican establishment," Buchanan said.

Speculation about the Texas billionaire's political plans intensified following a string of media interviews last week culminating Friday with an appearance on CNN's "Larry King Live." He stopped short of announcing his intention to run, a second time, for president.

Earlier, when asked at a campaign rally if he would consider being the nominee of the Reform Party, Buchanan avoided a direct answer.

"Some of my staff have been talking a little out of school" about a third-party candidacy, the conservative television commentator said. "There's been no decision."

Dole and Buchanan are scheduled to resume their campaigning in Southern California today, with Buchanan in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

Dole will meet with Republican supporters at the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda and then campaign in the Little Saigon area of Garden Grove to talk about affirmative action.

Dole has already clinched the Republican nomination as a result of last week's primaries, but he has delayed claiming victory until after Tuesday's California primary election.

During his California campaign, Dole has stuck carefully to a made-for-California script crafted by his political advisers here, including Wilson and Attorney General Dan Lungren.

Dole's decision not to have a Senate vote to repeal the 1994 ban on certain assault weapons is also viewed as smart politics for California, where the ban enjoys deep public support.

Still, the Dole campaign found itself pressed to reassure California Republicans who have complained that Clinton is ever-present in the state and that Dole needs to spend much more time here.

"We are going to contest Clinton in California, period," Dole campaign manager Scott Reed said in a recent interview.

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Photo (1) Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole, center, his wife, Elizabeth, and Gov. Pete Wilson walk away after a tour of Death Row at San Quentin Prison. (2) Republican presidential hopeful Pat Buchanan talks to reporters at a rally in Sacramento. (3) Sabrina Alonso, right, screams out against the death penalty as Bob Dole's car passes through the gates at San Quentin Prison. Associated Press