July21, August, 18, 25, September 8, 15, 30, October 14, 27, 2003 Los Angeles, California
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California State Archives State Government Oral History Program Oral History Interview with JOHN K. VAN DE KAMP District Attorney, County ofLos Angeles, 1975-1983 Attorney General, State ofCalifornia, 1983-1991 July21, August, 18, 25, September 8, 15, 30, October 14, 27, 2003 Los Angeles, California By Susan Douglass Yates Oral History Program University ofCalifornia, Los Angeles RESTRICTIONS ON THIS INTERVIEW None. LITERARY RIGHTS AND QUOTATION This manuscript is hereby made available forresearch purposes only. No partof themanuscript maybe quoted for publication without thewritten permission of the California State Archivistor the Head,Department of Special Collections, CharlesE. Young Research Library, UCLA. Requests forpermission to quote for publication should be addressed to: California State Archives 1020 O Street, Room 130 Sacramento, CA 94814 or Department ofSpecial Collections Charles E. Young Research Library P.O. Box 951575 UCLA Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575 Therequest should include identification of the specific passages and identification ofthe user. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: John K. Van de Kamp, OralHistory Interview, Conducted 2003 by Susan Douglass Yates, UCLA Oral History Program, for the California State Archives State Government Oral History Program. Secretary of State KEVIN SHELLEY State of California PREFACE On September 25, 1985, Governor George Deukmejian signed into law A.B. 2104 (Chapter 965 of the Statutes of 1985). Thislegislation established, underthe administration ofthe California State Archives, a State Government Oral History Program "toprovide through theuseoforal history a continuing documentation of state policy development asreflected in California's legislative and executive history." The following interview is one of a series oforal histories undertaken forinclusion in the state program. These interviews offer insights into theactual workings ofboth the legislative and executive processes and policy mechanisms. Theyalso offeran increasedunderstanding of the men and womenwho create legislationand implement state policy. Further, theyprovide an overview of issue development in California stategovernment and of howboththe legislative and executive branches of government deal with issues and problems facing the state. Interviewees are chosenprimarily onthe basis of their contributions to and influence onthepolicy process of the state of California. They include members of the legislative and executive branches of the state government aswell as legislative staff, advocates, members of the media, and otherpeoplewho played sigmficantroles in specific issue areas ofmajor and continuing importance to California. Byauthorizing the California State Archives to work cooperatively withoralhistory units at Californiacollegesand universities to conductinterviews, this program is structured to take advantage of the resources and expertisein oral history available through California's several institutionallybased programs. Participating as cooperation institutions in the State Government Oral History Program are: Oral History Program History Department California State University, Fullerton Oral History Program Center for California Studies California State University, Sacramento Oral History Program Claremont Graduate School Regional Oral History Office The Bancroft Library University ofCalifornia, Berkeley Oral History Program University ofCalifomia, Los Angeles The establishment ofthe Califomia State Archives State Government Oral History Program marks one ofthemost significant commitments made by anystate toward the preservation and documentation ofits governmental history. It supplements the often fi-agmentary historical written record by adding an organized primarysource, enriching the historical information available on given topics and allowing formore thorough historical analysis. As such, theprogram, through the preservation and publication ofinterviews such astheone which follows, will be of lasting value to current and future generations of scholars, citizens, and leaders. John F. Bums State Archivist July 27,1988 This interview is printed on acid-free paper. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTERVIEW HISTORY i BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY iii SESSION 1, July 21, 2003 [Tape 1, SideA] 1 Familybackground—Parents Harry JosephVan de Kamp and Georgie Kalar Van de Kamp—Growing up in Altadenaduring the late thirties and early forties—Attends Trailfinders School for Boys in Altadena—^Develops an interest in conservation andpreservation through outdoor activities while at Trailfinders—More on parents—Sister Gretchen Van de Kamp—Finishes high school at John Muir Collegein Pasadena—^Mother is a Roosevelt Democrat and father is a moderate Republican—^Religious upbringing—Familytravels across the country to take Van de Kamp to Dartmouth College. [Tape!, SideB] 27 Learningto drink responsibly—^Dartmouth College—Becomes a radio announcer and station manager at the campus radio station WDBS—^Academic and extracurricular interests in college—Summer jobs include working at ABC—Joins theUnited States Attorney's Office after finishing law school and military service—^Benefits ofworking in the U.S. Attorney's Office early in career—^Van de Kamp is named interim U.S. Attorney—^Plans after completing law school—While deputy director ofthe Executive Office for United States Attorneys Van de Kamp heads special unit to look into draft violators—Overseeing Resurrection Cityand the caseof H. RapBrown—Personal thoughts about eventsofthe mid to late sixties. SESSION 2, August 18, 2003 [Tape 2, Side A] 49 In 1969 Van de Kamp begins to look into several career opportunities when Richard M. Nixon becomes president—Becomes a Democratic candidate in the 1969 special election for the Twenty-seventh Congressional District—Campaigning and raising funds—^Jesse M. Unruh—^Republican opponent Barry M. Goldwater Jr. [Tape 2, Side B] 74 More on Republican opponent Barry M. Goldwater Jr.—^More on 1969 congressional campaign—The campaign experience—After losing the 1969 election Van de Kamp decides to return to California permanently—Serves as campaign manager on Jesse Unruh's 1970 campaign for governor—More on Unruh—^Helps fnend Ed Miller in his 1970 campaign for San Diego district attorney—^Returns to Washington D.C. in the summer of1970 to work on a chapter ofthe final report issued by the President's Commission on Campus Unrest—The bi-partisan nature ofthe state legislature in the 1960s and 1970s compared to Washington, D.C.—Role ofcampaign fund-raising on increased partisanship—^Unruh'sinability to raise as much money as Ronald W. Reagan in the 1970 governor's race—Reasons for creating a federal public defender's office. [Tape 3, Side A] 97 Hiring stafffor the Los Angeles Federal Public Defender's Office—Serving as a public defender and working with defendants. SESSION 3, August 25, 2003 [Tape 4, Side A] 108 The Pheaster case—^Appointment as district attorney ofLos Angeles—Impressions ofthe District Attorney's Office in the mid-seventies—^Van de Kamp's inaugural speech addresses goals for the DA's Office—^Van de Kamp appoints Steven Trott and Andrea Ordin—Early efforts in the DA's Office to reorganize juvenile court—Cases handled by the DA's Office over the years—In response to theft and fi*aud problems in the movie industry, establishes the Entertainment Task Force. [Tape 4, SideB] 130 The Roll-out Unit is established in response to the Eulia Love incident as well as other incidents ofpolice shootings—^The Board of Supervisors—Establishes new programs and units to focus on specific issues—^Bureau ofChild Support—Improving the Bureau of Investigation—^More on new programs and units—Coming into the DA's Office as an outsider—Administrative focus. [Tape 5, Side A] 153 The 1976 Los Angeles District Attorney campaign—Opponents in the 1976 election—^Proposition 13—The 1980 campaign. SESSION 4, September 8, 2003 [Tape 6, Side A] 162 More on Van de Kamp's inaugural speech as DA—^DA's Office efforts to pursue public corruption cases—an de Kamp is a potential candidate for the FBI directorship in 1977—^Meeting J. Edgar Hoover in 1966—^The impact ofProposition 13 on the DA's Office—Changes in the DA's Office in the seventies and eighties—^Non-partisan role ofthe DA—^Meetingfuture wife Andrea Fisher—Events leading to Van de Kamp's decision to run for California state attorney general in 1982—^Democratic opponent Omer L. Rains. [Tape 6, Side B] 188 Raising funds and campaign strategies—Issues raised by Republican opponent GeorgeNicholson—Campaignplatform—Organizing the office and hiring stafffor the Attorney General's Office—Creation ofthe Cal-ID system and its use in helping to apprehend Richard Ramirez—Other technological advances include the use ofDNA and the Cal-PHOTO system—Campaign Against Marijuana Planting program is created to deal with increased criminal activity during the eighties. [Tape 7, Side A] ..211 Expands the efforts ofthe Division of Law Enforcement—^Focuses efforts in the area ofconsumer fraud and environmental protection. SESSION 5, September 15, 2003 [Tape 8, Side A] 221 Reapportionment and the Sebastiani initiative in the early eighties—Working with the Governor's Office on the budget when there is a deficit—^Division ofCivil Law—^Unitary tax law—^Reorganizing the Division ofCriminal Law and creating a Correctional Law Section—Establishes a Major Fraud Unit as part ofan effort to provide more support to local law enforcement—More on organizing the Attorney General's Office—^More on the office's efforts