Gates’ Fund Appeal Heartens His 2 Foes

In an apparent acknowledgement that Sheriff Brad Gates might not win reelection in the June primary, six of his financial supporters are seeking contributions for him, saying that Gates needs $50,000 or he must cancel planned campaign mailings and newspaper and radio ads.

Gates’ opponents, Municipal Judge Bobby D. Youngblood and Sheriff’s Sgt. Linda Lea Calligan, said Thursday that the appeal for funds shows the incumbent is in trouble.

“He’s running scared,” Youngblood said.

However, Gates said Thursday that he feels the chances of being forced into a runoff election in November are “very, very slim,” adding: “I don’t see any possibility that we will lose.”

As of March 17, Gates reported a $114,000 campaign surplus, contrasted with $7,999 for Youngblood and only $32 for Calligan. The three candidates will meet in the June 3 primary.

But in an April 14 letter, real estate developer Tony Moiso, president of the Santa Margarita Co., wrote that Gates had to spend “a huge chunk of his campaign funds” on legal efforts to remove Calligan’s “vicious lies” from sample ballot pamphlets mailed to voters.

The legal fees, estimated by one of Gates’ attorneys at up to $45,000, stem from a lawsuit in which Superior Court Judge Judith M. Ryan ruled Calligan’s statements to be “false and misleading” and struck them from the pamphlet. The legal wrangle involved appeals by both sides and proceedings in federal and state appellate courts.

“The fact is,” continues Moiso’s letter, “that Brad now has insufficient funds to correct the damage already done to his reputation.” The letter, mailed to about 150 people, asks that “you and some of Brad’s other closest friends” contribute $1,000 each.”

“In 1978, many of us did not take the threats against Brad seriously, and he ran only a minimum campaign,” the letter continues. “That lack of concern resulted in a hard-fought and expensive run-off election. We just can’t let that happen again!”

Other Orange County supporters of Gates who signed the letter are Bill Voit, whose family made a fortune in the manufacture of sporting goods; Dick Bertea, an aerospace executive; Dick Hausman, a pharmaceutical executive, and developers Ron Birtcher and John L. Curci.

But on Thursday, Moiso played down the solicitation.

“I don’t think that it’s that desperate,” he said. “It’s possible that winning outright in June could be a question, but in my heart of hearts I don’t think so.

“I think the money is important to have. (But) there are monies still in the till. The hope is not to have to spend all of it.

“We had a luncheon two years ago to raise money for the sheriff--$1,000 a guy. One-hundred men and women (attended). That money has been depleted with legal fees and campaign expenses.”

Gates said he personally approved the letter but insisted that there has been no change in his campaign strategy.

“I’m kind of like a Boy Scout,” he said. “I like to be prepared.”

He added that the wording of the letter may make the appeal seem more urgent than it is.

“Any time you go to raise money, you don’t become successful . . . by telling them you don’t need it,” he said. “I consider every election a serious challenge,” Gates said, adding that taking public support for granted is “a big mistake.”

Calligan maintained, however, that Gates initiated the legal dispute “and now he’s crying about it. It sounds like sour grapes to me.”

“I think (the Moiso letter) is significant in that it indicates (Gates) is politically troubled,” she said.

“I think (Gates) is finding it difficult to raise the kind of money he has in the past,” added Calligan, who suggested that Republican donors may be concentrating on other campaigns. (Gates, Calligan and Youngblood are all Republicans, but the sheriff’s race is nonpartisan.)

Youngblood, who is on unpaid leave of absence while running for sheriff, contended that Moiso’s appeal for funds is only the latest sign indicating that Gates feels he is in a hotly contested race. Despite Gates’ vow early in the campaign not to debate his opponents, he appeared last week for the filming of a public television debate with Youngblood and Calligan.

“There’s no reason for him to sit there and listen to Calligan whip him on the left and me whip him on the right in front of the Republican women from Balboa if he’s such a shoo-in,” said Youngblood, referring to campaign appearances by all three candidates on Wednesday.