63rd Assembly District Primaries Become Battles of Alliances : Democrat: Epple-Ohanesian Contest Pits Party Loyalists Versus ‘Gang of 5’ Rebels

More than anything, the June 7 Democratic primary contest between would-be assemblymen Robert D. Epple and Peter Ohanesian is a duel of alliances--present and future.

The 63rd District race has become a front line of the skirmish between Assembly Speaker Willie Brown and rebel Democrats, attracting money, attention and support from Sacramento as both sides seek to strengthen their ranks, as well as the party’s legislative majority.

Ohanesian said: “The dynamics of this race are going to determine Democratic power in California. . . . The party future, Willie Brown’s future, reapportionment, everything.”

Epple, a lawyer from Norwalk with a history of party activism, has emerged as the Establishment’s standard-bearer who could help stave off the attacks of the so-called “Gang of Five” that is challenging Brown’s leadership.

Epple’s list of endorsements is long and impressive. The state party, the state attorney general, congressmen, Sen. Alan Cranston and a host of labor unions have anointed Epple as their man. The state party is pouring money into his campaign; Assembly Democrats loyal to Brown are sending substantial checks.

Ohanesian, the owner of a marketing firm who tried for the district nomination four years ago, is a longtime friend of Assemblyman Charles M. Calderon (D-Alhambra), one of the Democratic insurgents trying to weaken the control of Brown, whom they view as too liberal for the party’s good.

As he did in 1984, Calderon is contributing to Ohanesian’s campaign, about $30,000 thus far. A former Calderon aide is helping run Ohanesian’s campaign. Also, Ohanesian’s mailers align him with Gang of Five legislation.

The tug of war has left little running space for other contenders, forcing Marshall Story of Cerritos out of the race earlier this month. Story, another party activist who ran in the 1984 primary, complained that he could not raise enough money and threw his support behind Epple.

Ohanesian has since said that Story may have struck a deal with Brown, endorsing Epple in exchange for help in paying campaign bills. Story and a spokesman for Brown have denied that speculation.

Story’s campaign manager refused to endorse either Ohanesian or Epple, asserting that both would be puppets of Sacramento interests.

Epple and Ohanesian are expected to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in their pursuit of the nomination. Much of it is coming from outside the district, which covers Cerritos, Downey, Santa Fe Springs, Artesia, Hawaiian Gardens, Norwalk and a small portion of east Long Beach.

Ohanesian, who is of Armenian descent, is drawing substantial financial support from the state’s Armenian community, just as he did in 1984.

The campaign has become ruthless, said George Medina, the president of a local Democratic club that endorsed Story and is now backing Ohanesian.

Sacramento maneuverings, he said, have robbed local party workers of any meaningful say in the primary.

A third contestant, Humberto (Bert) Lujan, of Norwalk, remains in the race, conducting a little-noticed campaign without money, endorsements or even a headquarters. An engineering aide at McDonnell Douglas, Lujan was a primary candidate in both 1978 and 1984.

Both Declare Independence

Epple and Ohanesian chafe at the loyalist labels and declare their independence from any one camp. Yet Ohanesian said he will never vote for Brown as Speaker, and Epple said he will not join the Gang of Five, which has worked with disgruntled Assembly Republicans to oust Brown.

Issues have taken a back seat in the race, but to the extent that they are discussed, Ohanesian and Epple speak of the need for insurance reform, anti-crime legislation and anti-drug measures.

Ohanesian, a Downey resident, said he is unsure how he and Epple differ on the issues, “because (Epple) doesn’t want to talk about his position.” Ohanesian challenged Epple to debates, an invitation that was rejected by Epple’s campaign manager, former state Sen. Paul Carpenter, now a member of the state Board of Equalization. Carpenter, who supported Ohanesian in the early primary season, said his experience in previous campaigns has shown him that debates are a waste of time.

Epple’s campaign literature stresses his personal background. One brochure paid for by the state Democratic Party brims with family photographs of Epple’s wife and daughter and his childhood in Norwalk. Another mailer took the form of a letter from Epple’s mother, in which she describes her 39-year-old son as a devoted father and a caring husband.

In a letter Carpenter sent to district voters explaining his change of endorsements, he points out that Epple has a longer record of community service than has Ohanesian; that Epple is married and Ohanesian is single, and that Epple is a veteran and Ohanesian is not.

Ohanesian, 32, said Carpenter’s points are irrelevant and in “poor taste.” For his part, Ohanesian has distributed a bright red brochure warning Democrats to “Beware of the smear, because Bob Epple will do anything and say anything to get your vote.”

The pamphlet was written “in anticipation,” Ohanesian said, adding that the stakes of the race are so high that he expects “all plugs to be pulled” as the primary nears.

Stances of the Candidates

While Ohanesian’s foes said he will undermine the Democratic Party with his ties to the Gang of Five, Ohanesian said he simply wants to help steer the party back to its roots.

“I believe the Democratic Party has drifted far from the traditional philosophy of the party,” said Ohanesian, echoing the rebel Democrats, who complain that Brown’s liberalism is out of sync with the party mainstream.

Citing several bills passed with help of the Gang of Five, Ohanesian said he favors legislation imposing the death penalty on killers whose victims are 14 or younger and mandatory testing of convicted prostitutes and their clients for acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

Epple, a Cerritos College trustee for the last seven years, is calling for tougher penalties for drug pushers and users and for state regulation of the insurance industry.

Lujan, 62, espouses free distribution of drugs to addicts to control their consumption. But addicts unable to rid themselves of their dependency should be committed to treatment centers, he said. Lujan also advocates an 11-month school year.

Times staff writer Mark Gladstone contributed to this report.