Wilson to Skip Mexico Conference

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Pete Wilson will skip an annual meeting of border-state governors this week, passing up what some allies consider his last good chance to heal relations in Mexico that were damaged by his 1994 campaign against illegal immigration.

Wilson aides say the governor cannot attend the 15th annual Border Governors Conference because he is too busy preparing for state budget negotiations, although they acknowledge that past conferences have come at this same time of year. They also said he is scheduled to be in Redding on Thursday--the opening day of the conference--for an event promoting his plan to reduce school classroom sizes.

Still, some of those involved in the meeting expect that Wilson’s absence will be interpreted by the host governors in Mexico as a snub and further evidence of hard feelings.

“For the good of the state of California and the other border states, I think a slow and gradual detente would be in order,” said an aide to one of the three other U.S. governors. “He is not liked at all there. . . . He has nothing to lose. So the olive branch would be the order of the day.”

Wilson has sometimes been uncomfortably isolated at the annual meetings, which include six Mexican state governors and four U.S. governors--all Republicans--from Arizona, New Mexico and Texas in addition to California.

Wilson is the only one in the group who supported Proposition 187, California’s 1994 ballot measure that sought an end to public benefits for illegal immigrants.

Despite the tensions, this will be the first time since his 1990 election that Wilson has missed one of the annual gatherings. It is also the first meeting to be held in Mexico since the passage of Proposition 187.

Wilson aides insist that the governor is not avoiding the conference because of lingering hostility over Proposition 187.

They note that this year’s conference will be held in Saltillo--about 200 miles southwest of Laredo, Texas--and would require a full day’s travel time. The nearest commercial airport is at least a four-hour drive from the conference, they said.

Wilson has long insisted that Proposition 187 was misunderstood in Mexico. He contends that it was needed to stop a violation of law, not immigration by legal means. California was forced to respond to illegal immigration because it faces a far greater economic burden than other states, he says.

But in the wake of Proposition 187’s victory, Wilson has not spent much time trying to convert his critics. For most, he thinks it would be useless. Instead, he chalks up some degree of hostility as the price of his political decision.

In an interview at the governors’ conference last year, Wilson blamed many of his image problems in Mexico on critics who intentionally distorted his positions.

“There has been a calculated campaign of character assassination,” he said. “Do I enjoy offending people? No. Most of us [in political office] would prefer to be liked and popular. But you know there are days when that is not going to work because--if you are doing your job--you are going to have to do something that is right and necessary but unpopular.”

The Border Governors Conference is partly symbolic and social. The hope is that personal acquaintances will encourage communication and avoid potentially damaging misunderstandings.

“When the border governors get together, we reaffirm the personal relationships we share,” said Arizona Gov. Fife Symington. “We talk about sensitive issues very directly. Half the battle is just getting to know each other and to trust each other.”

Symington, however, will not attend the conference. He is on trial for bank fraud.

On another level, cabinet secretaries and their deputies from each state meet throughout the two-day conference to discuss technical issues regarding the environment, agriculture, transportation and other mutual concerns.

Despite Wilson’s absence, California will send a nine-member delegation to Saltillo this week. It is headed by Lee Grissom, the incoming secretary of the Trade and Commerce Agency.

The value of the conference has grown substantially since the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Now it offers one of the only forums where officials from border states can discuss some of the difficult but secondary issues--like truck traffic--that are necessary to implement the new trade programs.

Mexico is now the third largest trading partner for California behind Japan and Canada. But competition for Mexico trade is sharp among U.S. states. Immediately after the passage of Proposition 187, Texas sent a brochure to Mexican business executives promoting its history of international hospitality. Today, Texas’ exports to Mexico are more than double those from California.