Grisham’s Defeat Blamed on Lack of Grass-Roots Effort

Almost a stranger to defeat, Orange County Republican Chairman Thomas A. Fuentes Wednesday blamed the GOP loss in the state’s 33rd Senate District on Republican colleagues in Los Angeles County and their heavy use of “high-priced campaign hacks” at the expense of “old-time, grass-roots” organizing.

Unfamiliar with victory, county Democratic Chairman John Hanna, found himself declaring that for once “Democrats ended up voting for the Democratic candidate. . . . We didn’t have defections.”

“We hung tough,” said Hanna. “. . . Those people who thought the Democratic Party was dead” were proven to be “dead wrong.”

However, the results were heavily influenced by the bi-county nature of the district, 75% of which is in a mostly Democratic area of southeast Los Angeles County.

In Tuesday’s balloting, Democrat Cecil N. Green stunned Assemblyman Wayne Grisham (R-Norwalk) with a 53.8% to 44.9% margin of victory despite what Republican legislators said was the GOP’s best campaign effort in 10 years. Two minor party candidates, Libertarian Lee Connelly and Peace and Freedom Party member Ed Evans, each received less than 1% of the vote.

With the exception of the 33rd Senate District, the GOP in recent years has successfully installed Republicans in every legislative seat with an Orange County constituency.

Based on Tuesday’s results, Democrats said they are once again on the move in the county, the state and the nation and may be able to mount strong challenges to several Orange County Republican incumbents next year.

But Republicans disagreed, arguing that winning an open seat split between two counties is not as difficult as knocking off an incumbent who has a single-county constituency.

Tuesday’s turnout was 30.2%. Although voter registration is 54% Democratic and 38% Republican, this was considered a “swing” district because of the area’s tendency in recent years to support Republican candidates.

Of the district’s 275,000 registered voters, 25% live in the Orange County communities of Buena Park, La Palma, Cypress and Los Alamitos. The Los Angeles County portion of the district includes Downey, Norwalk, Lakewood, Cerritos, Bellflower, Santa Fe Springs, South Whittier and Hawaiian Gardens.

In the March 17 primary, only the heavily Republican Orange County portion of the district prevented Green from claiming the seat without a runoff contest. And so in Tuesday’s runoff contest, Grisham’s campaign focused on getting Orange County Republicans to the polls.

At first blush, the tactic seemed to work. Grisham boosted his share of the Orange County vote from 47% in the primary to 53.6% in Tuesday’s runoff. But Green surprised GOP strategists by greatly improving his winning margin in Los Angeles County, from the 50.1% share he took there in the primary, to 56.5% in Tuesday’s balloting.

Despite previous claims that the Senate seat was up for grabs, Fuentes claimed Wednesday that the GOP was hurt by the built-in 54% to 38% Democratic registration advantage.

County Remained Republican

“We are proud that Orange County remained a Republican bastion,” he said. “But in light of the fact that Orange County is only one quarter of the district, there’s just not enough volume to overcome the Democrats’ strength in Los Angeles County.”

Fuentes said he and others had referred to his own party’s election strategy as “the paid campaign hacks’ full-employment act of 1987.”

The use of high-paid campaign staffs tends to make grass-roots volunteers feel less involved, Fuentes said. Had he run the campaign, Fuentes said, he would have added to such expensive talent a much stronger emphasis on grass-roots organizing, which was particularly lacking in the Los Angeles County part of the district.

Hanna said Tuesday’s election results show that Democratic defections and losses have already peaked and that “the Democrats have come home.”

“I think it’s an excellent signal for 1988,” said Hanna, who pointed out that Green’s 44.2% of the Orange County vote virtually matched the 45% Democratic registration in this portion of the district.

Hanna said the results indicate chances are good for Democratic candidates against Assemblywoman Doris Allen (R-Cypress) and Assemblyman Richard Longshore (R-Santa Ana) in 1988. Allen’s 71st Assembly District overlaps a portion of the 33rd Senate District.

Loss Called Historic

But Fuentes said there will be no long-term impact, citing the big difference between successfully battling for an open seat and defeating a well-entrenched Republican incumbent.

Grisham said his loss is historic because it shows that Democrats now know how to win special elections, a fete once monopolized by Republicans.

The results leave a politically wounded Grisham with the prospect of a stiff challenge next year in the 63rd Assembly District. A disappointed Grisham said Wednesday that he will not run for state Senate again but will seek reelection to the Assembly seat he has held since 1984.

As Green claimed victory though, at least three Los Angeles County Democrats were talking confidently about their chances against Grisham in an Assembly showdown.

On the victory stand, surrounded by some of the state’s leading Democrats, Green told 500 noisy supporters on election night, “We’re back. . . . We have shown that good old Democratic politics is back in high gear in this district.”

Grisham said he failed to win the crossover vote in cities like Downey and Cerritos, where conservative Democrats often vote for Republicans, particularly in general elections.

At 63, Green entered the race as the underdog against Grisham, who had much wider name recognition. But Green, backed by powerful state Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles), won key endorsements from labor, local educators and Latinos.

‘Should Not Have Won’

On election night, the 64-year-old Grisham said his defeat was “devastating . . . but it’s a reality . . . . There’s nothing wrong with my opponent. He’s a city councilman from Norwalk. He’s a very nice person. But he should not have won the election.”

A businessman and resident in Norwalk since the early 1950s, Green sold himself as the “guy-next door” who understood the area’s needs and concerns.

As Norwalk’s first state senator, Green expects to be sworn in to fill the unexpired term of former state Sen. Paul B. Carpenter (D-Cypress) early next week after the secretary of state’s office certifies Tuesday’s election results.

Green will not have long to savor his win because next year he will have to defend the seat in what the Republicans have promised will be another another bitter battle in the 33rd.

Times political writer Claudia Luther contributed to this story.

Senate GOP plans to oust floor leader. Part I, Page 3. SENATE DISTRICT 33 VOTE BY COUNTY

L.A. County Orange County Total 100% Precincts Reporting Votes Pct. Votes Pct. Votes Pct. Cecil N. Green (Dem.) 35,918 56.5% 8,220 44.2% 44,138 53.8% Wayne Grisham (Rep.) 26,859 42.8% 9,964 53.6% 36,823 44.9% Ed Evans (Peace & Fdm.) 405 0.6% 170 0.9% 575 0.7% Lee Connelly (Libt.) 361 0.5% 177 1.0% 538 0.7%