ELECTIONS ’88 ORANGE COUNTY : Thierbach Mailer Invokes Longshore’s Name; Widow Is ‘Livid’

Angered by a political mailer using her late husband’s name, the widow of Republican Assemblyman Richard E. Longshore on Friday accused the Democratic candidate in the 72nd Assembly District of trying “to cash in on my husband’s reputation.”

Linda Longshore said Friday that she was “livid” when she opened her mailbox and found her husband’s name printed on a black band across the front of a mailer sent by Christian F. (Rick) Thierbach. Inside the brochure is a letter, signed by five district residents, praising Longshore’s legislative record and his ability to “tackle the tough jobs.”

The same letter also says that voters “can count on Rick Thierbach to get tough jobs done.”

The mailer, Longshore said, is a “blatant attempt to tie Rick Thierbach” to her late husband. “He is trying to cash in on my husband’s reputation in this district, and I resent it,” said Longshore, adding that it was tantamount to seeking her husband’s “endorsement from the grave.”

Sought Nomination

Longshore actively sought the Republican nomination to run in her husband’s place after he died June 8. But the Orange County Republican Central Committee, in an unprecedented series of events, eventually chose 29-year-old Curt Pringle, chairman of the Garden Grove Planning Commission, as the GOP nominee.

Longshore, 32, was sharply critical of the selection process but has since kept a low profile.

That may change today, however, when Longshore is expected to endorse Pringle at his Garden Grove campaign headquarters. Longshore confirmed Friday that she will appear with Pringle today but declined to say whether she will endorse him.

The race in the 72nd District is one of the key legislative battles in the state because each party believes it can win, thus strengthening their positions in preparation for the redistricting process in the Legislature that is to begin in 1990.

Exploitation Denied

Thierbach consultant Richard Lichtenstein denied that the mailer mentioning Longshore was exploitative. Its intent, he said, was to show that the late assemblyman put “community service and constituents above partisan politics” and that Thierbach will do the same.

“Frankly, we believe it has some nice things to say about (Longshore). . . . I don’t understand what the concern is,” he said.

Pringle said the mailer was “unfortunate” and called it another example of the “deceptive campaign” being waged by Thierbach, a prosecutor with the district attorney’s office in Riverside County. “He is again misleading voters by leading them to believe he has Longshore’s support,” Pringle said after the taping of a candidates forum at KOCE-TV, Orange County’s public broadcasting station at Golden West College in Huntington Beach.

Thierbach was not present for the taping.

Less than three hours before the “Election ’88 Series” taping was to begin, Lichtenstein called the program’s moderator, James L. Cooper, to say Thierbach would not show. Cooper said Lichtenstein did not like the format of grouping candidates from the 72nd District with those of two other Assembly races on the same program.

Lichtenstein said in an interview that the format “stacked the deck against” Thierbach because the other GOP assembly candidates “could gang up on Rick.” Lichtenstein added that Thierbach has repeatedly proposed a series of debates between the candidates, but so far only one, Oct. 26 at Rancho Santiago College, has been agreed upon.

In recent days, the Pringle campaign has tried to paint Thierbach as a political opportunist and outsider who moved into the district, with the backing of Sacramento Democrats, to run for the seat.

Scott Taylor, Longshore’s former chief of staff, said the Thierbach mailer was a sign that his campaign is “getting desperate. . . . Dick Longshore had a good name here, and they are misusing it. They might as well have mailed out a tombstone.”

Endorsement Sought

At one point, shortly after Pringle’s selection in late July as his party’s choice in the 72nd District, Linda Longshore said Thierbach had phoned to ask her about a possible endorsement, but the two never met face to face.

“A lot of things were going on in my life--the kids, the campaign,” Longshore recalled. “We were trying to get our lives straightened out, so I told Mr. Thierbach it wasn’t a good time to discuss it. As it turned out, it’s best we never did.”

Longshore said her husband was a “Christian man, who strongly supported the pro-life movement. Mr. Thierbach doesn’t agree.” She also said that Democrats consistently tried to thwart her husband’s legislation in Sacramento.

Lichtenstein said Thierbach approached Longshore after her “negative comments about Pringle and the way he was selected. Politically, it was the smart thing to do.”

At the time Pringle was picked, Longshore accused county Republican leaders of “looking for an image, not someone who can serve the community.”