Robinson, Badham Win; Sumner Closes Gap : Beam Leads in Race for Open Supervisor Seat

With absentee ballots counted, Orange Mayor James H. Beam was leading three candidates Tuesday in the hotly contested race for a vacant seat on the Orange County Board of Supervisors.

Beam had 1,181 votes for 41.7% of the vote in early returns, but was closely followed by Anaheim Mayor Donald R. Roth with 852 votes for 30.1% and former U.S. Rep. Jerry M. Patterson with 684 votes for 24.2%. The fourth candidate, Manuel P. Mendez, had received only 109 votes for 3.8% of the vote.

Beam, a Republican, said he wished Patterson were in second place because he would prefer to face a Democrat in the November runoff for the nonpartisan post, rather than another Republican. Roth is a Republican. A runoff will be necessary if no candidate gets more than 50% of the votes cast.

In the race for Orange County sheriff, three-term incumbent Brad Gates drew 11,860 absentee ballots for 65.6% for an early lead over his challengers, Sheriff’s Sgt. Linda Lea Calligan with 3,402 votes for 18.8% and Municipal Judge Bobby D. Youngblood with 2,803 votes for 15.5%.

“I think it’s looking really good,” Gates said, adding that he believes he should be able to avoid a runoff in November.

Elsewhere, Supervisors Thomas F. Riley and Harriett M. Wieder had wide leads in the tally of absentee ballots, and incumbents in other county posts were running ahead.

In the race for Superior Court judge, Office 5, with only absentee ballots tallied, William W. Bedsworth, a deputy district attorney, had 6,499 for 40.3%; Robert H. Gallivan, an attorney, had 6,037 votes for 37.4% and Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Joseph L. Barilla had 3,568 votes for 22.1%

“I had predicted a runoff between Bob (Gallivan) and me all along,” Bedsworth said. “I would like to think that I will win in November on my qualifications, but I think what it will boil down to is that voters will be most interested in my qualifications in criminal law, and I believe that’s where I’ll have the edge on Bob.”

In the race for Superior Court judge, office 15, Municipal Judge David H. Brickner was leading Deputy Dist. Atty. Anthony J. Rackauckas 8,608 to 7,720, or 52.7% to 47.2%.

Supervisor Ralph B. Clark’s decision not to seek reelection after 16 years as a supervisor set off a scramble for his 4th District seat, which covers Anaheim, part of Orange, La Palma and Buena Park.

Patterson was the last of the three major candidates to enter the race and was unable to match the fund-raising efforts of Beam and Roth.

The most recent campaign finance reports, filed May 17, showed Patterson raising $128,564 this year. Roth raised $110,011 but had raised $212,349 last year, before Patterson was a candidate. Beam raised $204,659 this year and $189,663 last year.

Roth and Beam used extensive campaign mail in the race’s final week. Patterson relied on literature in which his name was one among several candidates, a cheaper but less effective method, according to political analysts.

Beam’s No. 1 issue was transportation. He cited his experience as a member of the Orange County Transportation Commission and promised to work for a state constitutional amendment to get gasoline sales taxes restricted to transportation projects.

Although all candidates opposed a proposal to put a 1,500-inmate jail near Anaheim stadium, as Anaheim mayor, Roth was best able to capitalize on the issue. He even flew to Sacramento on Monday to testify against the location rather than spend the day campaigning.

Patterson’s main theme was that supervisors must act cautiously to prevent “irresponsible development.”

In the 5th District race, Riley, a supervisor since 1974, faced energetic but under-financed Orange Coast College geography professor Jon Brand. The third candidate, Kenneth Palmer Pratt, was never considered a serious rival for the coastal seat.

In the 2nd District, which runs north and inland from Huntington Beach, Supervisor Wieder faced only nominal opposition from David J. Meslovich, an ambulance service employee.

Candidates for sheriff Youngblood and Calligan attacked the personal integrity and public conduct of incumbent Gates. Dismissing their allegations as spurious and issues long ago resolved in his favor, Gates ran on his record.

Several of Calligan’s allegations were ruled “false and misleading” and were stricken by a superior court judge from her statement in the sample ballot mailed to all registered voters. A large percentage of Calligan’s and Gates’ campaign funds were consumed by legal fees in their bitter court fight. Three weeks before the election, Calligan’s campaign had only $925 cash on hand and had outstanding debts of $30,408. Gates showed a $54,796 surplus.

Youngblood, whose campaign had $10,783 in cash in mid-May, asked authorities to “investigate” numerous charges about Gates. A favorite Youngblood theme was that Gates became rich while drawing a sheriff’s salary.

Gates pointed out that an FBI investigation of his personal finances in 1978 found no grounds for prosecution.

After reviewing some of Youngblood’s allegations, authorities found no impropriety. But most of the charges remain under review by the state attorney general and state Fair Political Practices Commission.

In the district attorney’s race, incumbent Cecil Hicks, first elected 20 years ago, ran on his record as a tough prosecutor. His opponent, Nick C. Novick, an 18-year deputy prosecutor, left the office to run against his boss.

Going into the final three weeks of the campaign, Hicks had outspent Novick $49,810 to $2,873.

In one of two other races in which employees sought their bosses’ jobs, Deputy Assessor David J. Holbert took a two-month, unpaid leave of absence to run against incumbent Assessor Bradley L. Jacobs. Holbert spent $210,000 from his deceased mother’s estate seeking a job that pays $70,907 a year. Jacobs, meanwhile, accused Holbert of trying to buy the office.

County Clerk Gary Granville, appointed by the Board of Supervisors to fill a vacancy, was opposed by William F. Norris, one of his deputies.

Although the clerk’s job is nonpartisan, Norris received campaign help from the county Republican Central Committee, and Granville received some but not as much help from Democratic Party activists.

County Recorder Lee A. Branch, was opposed by Greg Winterbottom, the March of Dimes regional director, who was privately supported by a majority of county supervisors. The third candidate was Larry Bales, 43, a deputy county assessor.

In perhaps the most obscure countywide elective post, Public Administrator William A. Baker was opposed by attorney Victor E. Hobbs, who ran unsuccessfully against then-incumbent Public Administrator James E. Heim in 1982.

The race for a superior court judgeship left vacant by retiring Judge Mark F. Soden offered distinctive alternatives for voters. Rackauckas said a Superior Court seat is a good position from which to promote court reform. His opponent, Brickner, viewed the job more traditionally, as a forum for deciding issues on a case-by-case basis.

According to a survey by the Orange County Bar Assn., the tightest judicial race in terms of qualifications was the contest for the seat vacated with the retirement of Superior Court Judge James F. Judge.

In the survey, Bedsworth, a deputy district attorney, and Gallivan, an attorney, were rated qualified by 97% of those responding. The third candidate, Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Joseph L. Barilla, was rated qualified by 71% of those responding.

Times staff writers John Needham, Ray Perez and Jerry Hicks contributed to this story.