14 From GOP to Battle for Badham’s Seat in Congress

Setting the stage for an all-out political brawl, 14 Republicans officially signed up for the June 7 primary in the 40th Congressional District before 5 p.m. Friday, the deadline for candidates to file in all congressional, legislative, supervisorial and judicial races.

The 40th District seat opened up when Rep. Robert E. Badham (R-Newport Beach) announced in January that he was retiring at the end of his sixth term. Voter registration rolls show that Republicans outnumber Democrats in the district--known throughout the nation for its financial generosity to GOP candidates at all levels--by a 2-to-1 ratio.

On the legislative side, one primary race has county Republican leaders worried because they fear it will drain GOP money needed to defeat Democrats.

Opposed by Newport Beach Mayor

Assemblyman Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach) is being opposed by Newport Beach Mayor Pro Tem Evelyn R. Hart. Hart, saying she is displeased with Ferguson’s legislative record, filed to run against him despite heavy pressure from GOP leaders to stay out of the race. Ferguson is expected to win easily, although he will have to spend some money defending himself.

In the state Senate races, the Republicans will try to wrest back the 33rd District from incumbent Cecil Green (D-Norwalk), whose district spills into some of the county’s northern areas. After a well-organized and extremely well-funded campaign, Green won the district in a special election last year over Assemblyman Wayne Grisham (R-Norwalk).

Now the preferred candidate of many Republicans, former Cerritos Mayor Don Knabe will try to topple Green in his first regular election. Green is the only elected Democrat who represents even a portion of Orange County.

Orange County Supervisors Gaddi Vasquez, who is facing his first election after being appointed to the board in April by Gov. George Deukmejian, and Roger R. Stanton filed for reelection. Santa Ana City Councilman Ron May filed against Stanton, and Sam Porter of Trabuco Canyon filed against Vasquez.

The important 40th Congressional District race already has the markings of one that will send spending into the millions despite efforts by Orange County GOP leaders to keep down the number of candidates and thus the money spent in a district that is safely theirs.

Among the GOP candidates, hundreds of thousands of dollars already have been raised, and fund-raisers are being held at a rate of several a week. The major candidates are expected to raise upward of $500,000 each to make themselves known in a district where the voters have a reputation for political sophistication.

Among the GOP candidates are three city councilmen, two Washington bureaucrats, several businessmen, one businesswoman and a former White House senior assistant counsel.

4 Others to Run

In addition to the Republicans, four other candidates, including two Democrats, filed to compete for their parties’ nominations.

The most prominent candidates for the seat, all Republicans, are Irvine City Councilman C. David Baker, 35; Badham’s surprise 1986 opponent, Newport Beach businessman Nathan Rosenberg, 35, and former White House senior assistant counsel C. Christopher Cox, 35.

Other Republican candidates are:

Costa Mesa City Councilman Peter Buffa, 39; Tustin City Councilman John Kelly, 26; Charles S. Devore, 25, of Laguna Hills, a former congressional liaison for the Pentagon; corporate financial officer Peer Swan, 43, of Tustin; airline pilot John Hylton, 42, of Newport Beach; attorney and businessman William Yacobozzi, 46, of Newport Beach; businessman Dave Williams, 52, of Livermore, in Northern California (residency in a congressional district is not required of those who file as a candidate); businessman Adam Kiernik, 37, of Huntington Beach; management consultant Patricia Gunter Kishel, 39, of Laguna Hills; entrepreneuer and business consultant Kathleen B. Latham, 46, of Irvine, and accountant Larry F. Sternberg, 60, of Santa Ana.

Supervisor Stanton, 50, another Republican who had contemplated joining the fray in the 40th District, announced Friday that he would run for reelection to the board instead.

Close to Home

“I was seriously considering it up until, I’d say, two weeks ago,” said Stanton, who has long had an interest in running for Congress. “But I talked to a number of good friends, and I made the decision to stay on the board.” As a supervisor, he said, “I have the luxury of working very close to home.”

The two Democrats in the 40th District race are Laguna Beach Councilwoman Lida Lenney, 55, and veterans hospital administrator George Henry Margolis, 56, of Newport Beach.

The Libertarian Party’s candidate is Roger Bloxham, 49, of Newport Beach, and the Peace and Freedom Party candidate is Gretchen J. Farsai, 46, of Irvine, who lists herself as a “working mother.”

The district includes Corona del Mar, Costa Mesa, El Toro, Fountain Valley, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Newport Beach, Orange, Santa Ana, Tustin and part of Huntington Beach.

In other congressional primaries, Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove) is unopposed in the 38th District. Others running are Democrat Jerry Yudelson, a business executive from Santa Ana, and Libertarian Bruce McKay, who describes himself as an engineer-scientist from Garden Grove. Frank German, a retired teacher from Long Beach, filed as a Peace and Freedom candidate.

In the 39th Congressional District, William E. Dannemeyer (R-Fullerton) has Republican John M. Gullixson, an attorney from Yorba Linda, as an opponent. Also running in the 39th District is Libertarian Lee Connelly, a businessman from Buena Park.

In the 43rd Congressional District, Rep. Ron Packard (R-Carlsbad) has no primary opponent. Slow-growth advocate Howard Greenbaum, 58, of Leucadia in San Diego County, is seeking the Democratic nomination, and Daniel L. Muhe, a financial planner from Carlsbad, is seeking the Libertarian Party’s nomination. The district straddles Orange and San Diego counties.