Democrats Target Assembly Seat in Heart of GOP Country

Assembly Democrats in Sacramento usually do not turn their eyes toward heavily Republican Orange County when they look for target races in election years. But this year is different.

There, in the middle of the county, is the 72nd Assembly District, which Democrats believe they can win. That has drawn the attention of Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco), who needs additional votes to bolster his leadership position in the wake of a 10-month siege from the so-called “Gang of Five” dissident Democratic legislators.

But Republicans are not about to let Democrats have it without a fight. They won the district in a hard-fought battle two years ago after the seat was vacated in 1986 by six-term Assemblyman Richard Robinson (D-Garden Grove) when he ran unsuccessfully for Congress.

Now the GOP views the 72nd District as important in a plan to take control of the Assembly before legislative and congressional districts are redrawn after the 1990 census.

“It’s a major peg in the reapportionment war,” said Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sepulveda), a close ally of Speaker Brown.

“Both parties want this seat badly,” said Assemblyman Dennis Brown (R-Long Beach), chairman of the GOP caucus in the Assembly. “We consider the 72nd a Republican incumbent seat. We have given it the absolute highest priority we can.”

The seat is open because of the death of Assemblyman Richard Longshore (R-Santa Ana) on June 8, the day after he won the Republican primary in the district.

Curt Pringle, 29, a Garden Grove drapery merchant who is a city planning commissioner and a GOP activist, was chosen by Orange County Republican leaders to take Longshore’s place on the ballot. His Democratic opponent is Christian F. (Rick) Thierbach, 38, of Anaheim, a veteran Riverside County prosecutor and member of the Anaheim Union High School District board.

Together, the two are expected to spend more than $1 million on the race. As of Sept. 30, Pringle had received $395,543 in cash and non-monetary contributions, including $187,000 from local and state GOP leaders and groups.

As of the same date, Thierbach had received $286,283 in money and in-kind contributions, about half from elected Democratic officeholders or political groups, including about $96,000 from organizations controlled by Speaker Brown.

The stakes in the 72nd District are high for Brown. It takes 41 votes to elect the Speaker of the Assembly. There are 43 Democrats, 35 Republicans and two vacancies. Subtracting the Gang of Five, this means Brown needs three new seats to ensure his speakership.

Both Pringle and Thierbach also have received hands-on assistance from their parties. Pringle has had the guidance of Assemblyman John Lewis (R-Orange), who is well known for his aggressive mail campaigns. Thierbach has been helped by Katz, chairman of the Assembly Transportation Committee.

Initially, much of the money from both sides went for voter registration efforts that concluded Oct. 11. Even Republicans admitted that they were out-hustled by Democratic efforts on that score: Democrats boosted their registration advantage over the Republicans to 53.5% to 37.7%. In all of Orange County, Republicans outnumber Democrats by 55% to 37.7%.

Both candidates have been walking precincts, hoping that direct voter contact will not only win supporters but inspire them to go to the polls Nov. 8.

“The only things I enjoy about campaigning are getting out and meeting people on the doorstep,” Thierbach said. “That’s where you really find out what’s going on in the community, what people are concerned about.”

But the most important skirmishes will be played out in the mails, the only way to reach the district’s voters on a mass basis.

Hit Mail Campaign

So far, Pringle has sent out several pieces of hit mail, accusing Thierbach of being a carpetbagger and a pawn of Speaker Brown. Thierbach, who grew up in the district, lived slightly outside the 72nd before he decided to run but since has moved within its boundaries.

Thierbach, who said he feels the attacks are vicious, has maintained that he will refrain from similar mailings, but the close race has increased pressure to return the hit mail.

One prominent Democratic leader suggested his party might take the gloves off by pointing out the Republicans’ problems with the recent FBI sting in Sacramento, in which Assembly Minority Leader Pat Nolan (R-Glendale) was among the targets.

Targeting mail to various voter groups within the 72nd District will be important to the candidates. Surrounded by more affluent, conservative areas, the district is a collection of aging cities where housing, by Orange County standards, is comparatively cheap.

Young families and new immigrants are moving in, changing the social and political makeup of Westminster, Garden Grove and Santa Ana, the core of a district that also includes Stanton and parts of Anaheim.

Not surprising, both candidates have chosen crime as their major issue.

On that topic, Democrats believe Thierbach has the advantage. A senior deputy district attorney in Riverside County, where he has prosecuted hundreds of criminal cases over the last 11 years, Thierbach has been endorsed by every major law enforcement organization and union in Orange County and several around the state.

Candidates’ Goals

As an assemblyman, Thierbach said, he wants to be on Public Safety, Judiciary or Education committees. Specifically, he said, he wants to eliminate “good time credit”--one day’s credit for each day served--for people convicted of crimes of violence and for certain drug dealers and residential burglars. He also wants legislation allowing prosecutors to seek the death penalty for drive-by murders and freeway killings.

Pringle said he wants drug dealers to receive automatic prison sentences and he wants to toughen laws to make it easier to seize drug dealers’ property.

“I want drug dealers to know that if they deal out of their house, they could lose it if arrested,” Pringle said.

Both men have pledged to fight attempts to build a new county jail in the 72nd District.

The final push for both of the campaigns will be to get their voters to the polls, a job that will be tougher for Thierbach than for Pringle, as GOP voters generally vote in greater percentages than Democrats.

CANDIDATES IN ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 72 Christian F. (Rick)

Thierbach, Democrat

Thierbach, 38, an Anaheim resident and veteran Riverside County prosecutor, wants to eliminate “good time credit” for people convicted of violent crimes and for some drug dealers and burglars.

Curt Pringle,

Republican

Pringle, 29, a drapery merchant and a Garden Grove planning commissioner, wants drug dealers to receive automatic prison sentences and he wants to toughen laws to make it easier to seizedrug dealers’ property.