Inside Report (4)

Ronald Reagan is eager for a fellow Republican take over the California governor's chair, from which he leaped -- four years later -- to the White House.

Insiders say his hand-picked choice for 1984, when Democrat Jerry Brown is expected to bow out, could be San Diego's middle-of-the-road mayor, Pete Wilson. So far, Wilson is a long shot. California conservatives, including Reagan's own financial "angels," favor right-leaning Lt. Gov. Mike Curb. But some think this could change.

Wilson is the nation's ranking GOP mayor and heads Reagan's much- publicized urban strategy task force.m