Eu Says She Plans to Win Over Nestande

Campaigning in Santa Ana--in her opponent’s backyard--Democratic Secretary of State March Fong Eu said Wednesday that she was not particularly worried about the Republican nominee for her office in the Nov. 4 election, Orange County Supervisor Bruce Nestande.

She plans to beat him, just as she has beaten every Republican opponent since she was elected in 1974, Eu said after a speech Wednesday night. And in predominantly Republican Orange County, “if I get one more vote than he does, it’s just fine,” Eu said.

But, Eu told the gathering, she was deeply concerned about a rising tide of Republican registrations in Orange County and the state.

“As a Democrat, I’m plain scared. We’re really headed for partisan disaster,” Eu said, noting that the Democratic share of registered voters statewide as of Sept. 5 had slipped to a “very, very pitiful 50.97%,” whereas Republican registrations statewide are rising steadily and now hover around 37%.

Spoke to 100

Eu spoke at Kim’s Imperial Palace Restaurant over egg rolls and Chinese beer to about 100 Asian, Anglo and Latino activists, most of them members of Democratic Associates, a two-year-old group that is trying to revitalize the Democratic Party in Orange County.

Eu offered her own ideas for winning voters back to her party. She suggested a new agenda--one that would embrace free trade and reject protectionism and resolve “the farm mess,” treating farmers “with compassion” but still doing away with “the Rube Goldberg system of price supports.”

Still, in searching for new ideas, the Democratic Party must “retain its commitment to social and human justice and the rights of women and minorities. Those planks are non-negotiable,” Eu said to applause.

Eu made her remarks about beating Nestande as she mingled with the audience after her speech. During her formal remarks, she mentioned Nestande just once, in passing, as she discussed her concerns about low voter turnout.

“We’re ready (for the Nov. 4 election),” Eu said. “I hope the voters are ready. My nightmare is that the only ones who will come election day are the candidates. And then some Orange County supervisor will become secretary of state because he won the coin toss and the vote was one to one.”