CANDIDATES SEIZE THE DAY, IF NOTHING ELSE RECALL GIVES CHEAP PUBLICITY.

Byline: James Nash Staff Writer

Vip Bhola of Northridge is an earnest but politically inexperienced lawyer who believes his formula of ``fiscal responsibility with a social conscience'' qualifies him to be governor of California.

Scott Mednick of Calabasas is a slyly subversive entrepreneur who believes that running for governor will help him sell beer and T-shirts.

When voters go to the polls Oct. 7 to decide whether to recall Gov. Gray Davis, they will be able to select Bhola, Mednick and others from among the 135 names of candidates on the ballot. The top vote-getter would become governor if Davis is removed from office.

The field of contenders is dominated by a half-dozen candidates with money, name recognition or both. But elsewhere in the hodgepodge of names are people with unconventional ideas, clean-government platforms and, in some cases, a taste for political mischief and self-promotion.

The candidates from the San Fernando Valley region run the spectrum.

One one end is Bhola, a 36-year-old Northridge resident who says his centrist political views and lawyerly ability to analyze both sides of issues is more important than his lack of political experience.

On the other end is Mednick, a 47-year-old from Calabasas who says he ran for governor to expose the farce of the recall election and to promote his upcoming brew, ``Butt Monkey Beer.''

Mednick's business partner, Kelly Kimball of Tarzana, also plunked down $3,500 and more than the minimum of 65 valid signatures of voters to qualify for the historic recall ballot.

``We knew we would not actually win this election, nor would we respect any state that would actually elect us, so we decided to make a mockery of the process,'' Kimball said. ``If two guys like us can get on the ballot simply to promote a product, something is seriously wrong with the process.''

Other candidates, such as Tarzana physician Ronald Friedman, disagree. They say the recall ballot has given regular Californians an unprecedented opportunity to seek the state's highest office, liberated from the need to please special interests and raise large sums of money.

``Supposedly, each one of us can participate in the process,'' Friedman said. ``What really excited me was that every one of these people out there (as candidates) - whether it was serious or a lark - is out there getting people interested. This was a unique opportunity to do that.''

Most of the lesser-known candidates from the Valley area fall into two camps: Democrats who oppose the recall and are running to ridicule it, and Republicans who propose radical solutions to the state's problems.

Of the 13 Valley-area candidates, only one has held elective office: state Sen. Tom McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks, the leading conservative candidate in the race and the No. 3 choice of voters in opinion polls.

Many of the other candidates say their lack of experience is an asset, because they have fresh ideas and aren't beholden to special interests or narrow voter blocs.

None of the fringe candidates has even a remote chance of winning, but as a group the also-rans make it more difficult to predict the outcome of the election and will complicate the vote-counting process, said Jack Pitney, a professor of government at Claremont McKenna College.

``If you don't have the money and resources to wage a serious campaign, you're not going to attract many votes,'' Pitney said, adding that none of the minor candidates has even attracted much attention to their pet issues.

Douglas Anderson, a Moorpark mortgage broker, said the major candidates are shying away from an honest debate on illegal immigration, which he considers California's biggest problem.

``The people of California definitely want someone to address the issue,'' Anderson said. ``I will address the issue. There's nothing wrong with saying, 'I don't want illegal aliens here in California.'''

David Sams, a television producer and Internet entrepreneur from Agoura Hills, also said illegal immigration and excessive taxation are harming California. In addition to slashing the state's payroll and contracting more services to private companies, Sams said the state should raise money by selling the rights to name freeways and even local streets to private companies.

``I believe there's much more money to be made if we take a more entrepreneurial stance,'' Sams said. ``All our career politicians know how to do is tax, tax, tax.''

Canoga Park film writer and director Art Brown said he would raise money by legalizing and taxing marijuana and prostitution. He said he also would abolish the law requiring bars to close at 2 a.m. to get more tax revenue from around-the-clock drinkers.

Brown admitted that his candidacy is more of a lark intended to promote an upcoming movie than a serious run for the state's highest office.

Chatsworth resident John Beard, who owns a print shop in North Hollywood, said state government should function more like a business, with residents as customers. He said his experience managing a business with 65 employees and 420 clients gives him insight into running a customer-focused administration in Sacramento.

Beard said the recall campaign is simply an expression of dissatisfaction on the part of the state's customers toward a faulty product, Gray Davis.

``Anytime the government is not doing its job, the people have the right to get together and put it out of office,'' Beard said.

Robert Mannheim, a retired tax accountant from Agoura Hills, said government should not function as a business. He said recent scandals in large companies such as Enron highlight the need for more, not fewer, restraints on how businesses operate.

``We are not controlled by big business,'' Mannheim said. ``Would you go to a professional basketball game that had no rules or regulations? No.''

Lawrence Strauss, a Studio City attorney who like Mannheim is a Democrat, said he wouldn't dismantle regulations on business but would encourage businesses to stay in California by offering tax breaks after five years. At the same time, though, he said he'd raise taxes on the wealthiest Californians and impose a de facto tax on Indian casinos by installing toll booths near their entrances.

``I'm very good with my own budgeting - keeping my business going and my household - and I'd do the same thing as governor,'' Strauss said.

Bill Prady, also a Democrat, said he's running despite his opposition to the recall. Davis shouldn't be blamed for fiscal problems that are plaguing state and local governments all over the United States, Prady said.

``This recall makes a mockery of the political process,'' said Prady, a comedy writer and television executive who lives in Encino. ``As someone who makes a mockery of things for a living, I resent this intrusion into my professional practice.''

The comedian Gallagher - best known for drenching audiences in fruit juice and pulp by smashing watermelons on stage - insists that his candidacy is no joke.

In his run for governor, the wild-haired comedian is traveling around California and other states to urge the repeal of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which he said has devastated the manufacturing economy by sending jobs to other countries.

``The only opportunity I'm looking for is an opportunity to publicize my issues,'' said Gallagher, of Agoura Hills. ``I'm already famous as the watermelon-smashing comedian.''

CAPTION(S):

13 photos

Photo:

(1) ANDERSON

(2) BEARD

(3) BHOLA

(4) BROWN

(5) FRIEDMAN

(6) GALLAGHER

(7) KIMBALL

(8) MANNHEIM

(9) McCLINTOCK

(10) MEDNICK

(11) PRADY

(12) SAMS

(13) STRAUSS