GOLDEN STATE NANNYGATE

California Gov. Pete Wilson, who plans tomake illegal immigration a central issueinhis presidential campaign, must now explain why he hired an illegal immigrant as a maid sixteen years ago but still has not paid her Social Security taxes.TIME Los Angeles bureau chief Jordan Bonfantereports that the Republican governor is employing a new "counter-opposition" strategy in which he will disclose as much potentially negative information as possible in the hope that the impact fades before 1996. "When you learn of some vulnerability of your own," Bonfante explains, "you come forward with as much information as you can, you make amends -- and, in this case, you write a check." Ironically, Bonfante says, Wilson's ex-wife took his campaign by surprise by disclosing the incident even as the governor was preparing to report it himself. The couple hired the part-time maid while Wilson was mayor of San Diego in 1978 or 1979. Democrats and Latino political rivals were quick to attack Wilson. But Bonfante says the governor, who plans toformally declare his candidacy in two weeks, will stick to his guns on immigration: "What he cannot and will not do is alter one of his basic issues because of this."