7 Considered in Running for Nestande’s Seat : Several Begin Campaigns to Be Appointed

Even before Orange County Supervisor Bruce Nestande announced his resignation Wednesday, several officeholders and political activists were positioning themselves as possible successors or were being considered as potential candidates to fill his 3rd District seat.

By Wednesday afternoon, at least five veteran Orange County political figures were indicating an interest in obtaining Gov. George Deukmejian’s appointment to the post, among them a mayor, a former mayor, a one-time Assemblyman and two former supervisorial aides. Another aide could not be reached for comment, and a member of the county fair board declined to discuss her plans.

Although by law the position of county supervisor is nonpartisan, the 3rd District seat is expected to go to a Republican because the governor is a Republican, the district is overwhelmingly Republican in party registration, and GOP activists indicated that they would like to keep the board all-Republican following Democrat Ralph Clark’s retirement earlier this month.

While many names were being discussed around the county Hall of Administration in Santa Ana Wednesday, these were the most prominent political figures mentioned as Nestande’s possible successor:

- Fullerton Mayor Richard C. Ackerman, 43, an attorney, who by Wednesday afternoon had claimed the endorsements of Assemblyman Ross Johnson (R-Fullerton), state Sen. Edward R. Royce (R-Anaheim) and Rep. William E. Dannemeyer (R-Fullerton), among others. Nestande once urged Ackerman to run for the seat if the supervisor ever decided not to seek reelection. Moreover, Ackerman’s longtime political consultant, Dave Vaporean, has been gathering support on Ackerman’s behalf for the past two weeks.

- Jim Beam, 52, a former mayor of Orange who lost a bitter and costly campaign for Clark’s 4th District seat last Nov. 4 to former Anaheim Mayor Don R. Roth. Beam said he may “finalize” a change of address into the 3rd District “in the next day or two” to meet the legal residency requirement but believes it would be “counterproductive” to directly lobby the governor for the appointment. Beam told friends and associates that he was moving into the 3rd District several weeks ago.

- Charlotte Cleary, 52, a Deukmejian appointee to the Orange County Fair Board and veteran of Republican women’s groups. Cleary said she had been out of town for a week and had not heard about Nestande’s resignation until told by a Times reporter. She declined to say whether she would seek the post. However, Assemblyman John Lewis (R-Orange) said Cleary would be a likely contender.

- Former Assemblyman Ron Cordova, 40, a Democrat-turned-Republican who unsuccessfully competed for appointment to the seat when Supervisor Ralph A. Diedrich was imprisoned for bribery in 1979. Cordova, a former deputy district attorney, said he will apply for the seat again. The Saddleback Coordinating Council, a community planning organization in south Orange County, had asked the governor to appoint Cordova before last November’s election on the chance that Nestande might have been elected secretary of state in a GOP sweep of statewide offices.

- Carolyn E. Ewing, 45, a former aide to Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder, now the state Transportation Department’s deputy director for administration and transportation programs. A former Yorba Linda mayor and City Council member, Ewing said she would consider seeking Nestande’s seat. “I just have to evaluate it. I just have to think about it,” said Ewing. “A top priority right now is my own job. I’m enjoying this job, and the governor does have a transportation package (program). I’m committed to that.”

- Ron Rogers, 35, Nestande’s former executive assistant and chief of staff. Rogers said he will apply for the appointment. A longtime Republican Party worker, Rogers worked on the 1982 and 1986 Deukmejian campaigns and was statewide director of President Reagan’s 1984 reelection effort. He and Ewing have the strongest political ties to Deukmejian, political activists said Wednesday.

- Gaddi H. Vasquez, 32, a former Nestande aide and City of Orange police detective, now the governor’s chief deputy appointments secretary in Sacramento. Vasquez did not return telephone calls from The Times. However, a political consultant purportedly acting with Vasquez’s knowledge recently asked Supervisor Roger R. Stanton to hire Vasquez, reportedly so that Vasquez could position himself to seek Nestande’s seat from Orange County rather than from Sacramento.

Assemblyman Lewis, who holds the seat previously vacated by Nestande, denied reports that he is bored with his duties in the Legislature and would seek the appointment for himself.

“I prefer dealing with state issues,” Lewis said Wednesday.

He would not say whom he favors for the job, but Lewis acknowledged that he is closest to Beam, whose losing campaign for the 4th District supervisorial seat Lewis helped to direct.

“I’ll put my own 2 cents in with the governor,” Lewis added, “but I’m not interested for myself.”

For his part, Nestande said he will leave the choice of his successor up to the governor.

Deukmejian spokesman Kevin Brett said the governor will appoint Nestande’s successor “as soon as possible, consistent with the time that’s needed to make a quality appointment.”

Brett said there is no set procedure or timetable for making such an appointment. He said the governor will accept applications from residents of the district and will “seek input from individuals in the community as to who would be the best candidates for an appointment.”

Since taking office in 1983, Deukmejian has appointed 14 county supervisors. He is also weighing three pending appointments to boards of supervisors in Kern, Merced and San Joaquin counties.

Times staff writer Kim Murphy contributed to this story.

Nestande resignation story. Part I, Page 1.