Race for 38th District Officially On as Judge Files Candidacy Papers

After weeks of walking precincts--and wearing holes in the bottom of a pair of black penny loafers--Superior Court Judge David O. Carter on Wednesday gave the county registrar of voters 4,038 signatures in support of his candidacy for Congress.

Carter filed a week after another Orange County Democrat, Assemblyman Richard Robinson (D-Garden Grove) turned in his papers for the 38th Congressional District seat now held by conservative Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove). Dornan filed for reelection two weeks ago.

County Registrar A. E. Olson said he would know by Monday if Carter has the required 3,000 signatures of registered voters. If not, Carter must gather more signatures or pay up to $749 in filing fees.

Formally Under Way

With Carter’s filing, the race for the 38th District is formally under way. Expected to be the most hotly contested race in Orange County this election year, this is not just another partisan battle: It is a grudge match.

Democrats in Orange County and Washington, D.C., are still angry that Dornan, a former Santa Monica-area congressman who lost his seat after Democratic-controlled reapportionment in 1982 and then moved to north central Orange County, defeated five-term incumbent and liberal Democrat Jerry Patterson in 1984.

Democrats plan to spend money and and use volunteers in Dornan’s district this year in a bid to regain the seat. But first they must go through an unexpected, contested primary between Robinson, a skilled politician, and Carter, on leave of absence from the bench for the first partisan, political race of his life.

In his campaign announcement last week, Robinson barely mentioned Carter, instead attacking Dornan’s record. Likewise, Carter on Wednesday vowed: “The target is Dornan.” He said he would be campaigning on his background as “a good citizen” because “you have to be a good citizen before you’re a good politician.” Carter has pointed to his weeks of precinct-walking, talking to voters and collecting signatures as examples of this effort.

New Addition to Campaign

A new addition to the Carter campaign was Clinton Reilly, a San Francisco campaign consultant who is also handling former Rep. Patterson’s campaign this year for Orange County supervisor. Reilly said he expected that Carter would need to raise $250,000 in the primary and another $350,000 in the general election. Like Carter, he promised a positive campaign, stressing Carter’s background as a former prosecutor and judge. “Our campaign will focus on promoting our own candidate, rather than denigrating our opponent,” he said.