Battle for Supervisor Seat Makes Democrats Rivals

It’s two weeks before the Nov. 2 election, and the race has begun in earnest for a seat on the Orange County Board of Supervisors.

Assemblyman Lou Correa (D-Anaheim) and Garden Grove Mayor Bruce Broadwater are vying for the only open countywide seat. They emerged the top vote-getters among four candidates in the March primary, with Correa polling 44% and Broadwater 23%.

Both are Democrats, assuring the first partisan diversity in the otherwise nonpartisan -- but all-GOP -- board since Supervisor Ralph B. Clark retired in 1987.

But Correa and Broadwater have some clear ideological differences. Broadwater is campaigning on the issue of fiscal discipline, and he boasts of restoring his city’s financial health without raising taxes. Correa has the support of law-enforcement unions thankful for his backing of a bill that resulted in sweetened pension benefits.

The race also pits a younger Latino candidate, whose first elected office was in Sacramento, against an older member of the county’s Democratic political establishment who draws support from the Vietnamese community.

Correa, 46, said his secret weapon is a dedicated core of campaign volunteers who began with his first unsuccessful race for Assembly in 1996. His state district overlaps about 70% of the county district, adding Westminster and parts of Garden Grove.

“What people in this district want are solutions,” Correa said. “They’re interested in things like public education, health care, safe streets, transportation, jobs. They want to know where the county is headed and whether it’s headed in the right direction.”

Broadwater, 65, a deputy state labor commissioner, has banked on his success in Garden Grove, where he has been mayor for 10 years. During that time, he said, the city has gone from fiscal instability to $10 million in reserves.

“The state of California is billions of dollars in debt, and [Correa] was part of the train wreck that made that happen,” Broadwater said.

The 1st Supervisorial District includes Santa Ana, Garden Grove, Westminster and the unincorporated area of Midway City. Its population is 617,000, with about 194,000 registered voters.

It is the most densely populated of the five supervisorial districts but consistently has the lowest voter turnout. In the March primary, only 62,000 votes were cast for the four supervisorial candidates.

Democrats have traditionally outnumbered Republicans in the district, though the numbers have squeaked closer in recent months. Democrats now outnumber Republicans by just 2,700 registered voters -- 40% to 39%. Voters choosing not to state a party affiliation account for about 17% of those registered.

Though the usual factors are expected to come into play in the election -- name recognition, issues resonating from candidates’ mail pieces, the ability to get supporters to the polls -- an ethnic component is also expected, with Correa drawing Latino votes and Broadwater drawing Vietnamese voters.

The two have several areas of disagreement: Correa supports a light-rail line through Santa Ana called CenterLine, and Broadwater opposes it; Correa voted to allow driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants, and Broadwater said he opposes licenses for those who “shouldn’t be here in the first place.”

Broadwater also said he would fight to undo pension boosts granted by the county under Correa’s bill. Correa said the bill made the increase optional and noted that Broadwater voted to approve the pension increase for Garden Grove firefighters -- a move the mayor said was necessary to stay competitive with other departments.

They do share some positions, chiefly that Orange County isn’t getting its fair share of property taxes that were sent to the state. Correa attempted to give the county a bit more money -- $4 million a year -- in a bill vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Both say in candidate statements that they will fight for more tax money -- a refrain of nearly every supervisorial candidate for the past 20 years.

Both men also are home-grown politicians: Broadwater and his wife, Peggy, have lived in Orange County for 33 years and raised two sons. Correa and his wife, Dr. Esther Reynoso-Correa, have four children and live in Santa Ana.

The Orange County Democratic Party declined to endorse either man. Correa picked up endorsements from Santa Ana Mayor Miguel A. Pulido, a Democrat, and Westminster Mayor Margie Rice, a Republican. Outgoing incumbent Supervisor Chuck Smith, a Republican, also backed Correa.

But Broadwater has been helped by the California Republican Assembly, which recently mailed a brochure to GOP voters in the district comparing Correa to former Gov. Gray Davis, who was recalled a year ago.

A separate committee was formed called Republicans for Broadwater. Consultant Adam Probolsky said he would rather see the more conservative Broadwater win.

“This a competitive race,” he said. “The campaign is being run by people like me to explain to Republicans in the district that Broadwater is as close as they can come to our value system.”