Epple’s Slim Win a Boost for Brown

By a razor-thin margin, Democrat Robert D. Epple has defeated Assemblyman Wayne Grisham (R-Norwalk) in Los Angeles County’s 63rd Assembly District, boosting Willie Brown’s prospects for remaining Speaker.

When the final count of all ballots in the Nov. 8 election was finished Tuesday, Epple outdistanced Grisham by 220 votes--48,611 to 48,391--according to Marcia Ventura, a spokeswoman for the county registrar-recorder’s office.

The secretary of state’s office said the 220-vote margin of victory was one of the closest legislative contests in Los Angeles County in decades.

In conceding his loss, Grisham said: “I think the election is over and I’m the ex-assemblyman.

“The Democrats are now better organized and better campaigners . . . and that spelled the difference,” Grisham said in an interview.

Grisham campaign officials said they have decided against filing a legal challenge to 701 absentee ballots that they believe may have been improperly returned to polling places on Election Day. Grisham also ruled out a recount as impractical.

Grisham, 65, is a former congressman who was first elected to the Legislature in 1984. The suburban district includes Artesia, Cerritos, Downey, Hawaiian Gardens, Santa Fe Springs, almost all of Norwalk and parts of Lakewood, unincorporated Whittier and Long Beach.

Epple, 39, a lawyer and member of the Cerritos College Board of Trustees, said he is “very happy that we’ve won.” The day after the election, Epple flew to Sacramento and declared himself the victor by 87 votes. But then he faced a nerve-racking two weeks when county election officials tallied another 5,807 absentee and other ballots.

The final tally is considered semi-official until it is certified next week by the Board of Supervisors.

3rd Loss for GOP

Grisham’s defeat was the third loss for Republicans in three high-spending Assembly contests. In the other two, Republican incumbent Paul E. Zeltner of Lakewood lost to Democratic challenger Willard Murray Jr. of Compton, while Democrat Ted Lempert, a San Mateo attorney, ousted freshman Republican William P. Duplissea of San Carlos.

Assemblyman Pat Nolan of Glendale earlier this month cited these losses as among the reasons for his decision to quit as Assembly Republican leader. Nolan said he resigned because he had failed to make progress toward his goal of electing a Republican majority for the 1990 census and the reapportionment of legislative and congressional districts that will follow.

When the Legislature reconvenes Dec. 5, the 80-member Assembly will be made up of 46 Democrats and 33 Republicans. There will also be one vacancy created by the death of Assemblyman Curtis R. Tucker (D-Inglewood). It generally is anticipated that another Democrat will be elected to represent the heavily Democratic district.

Even if five rebel Democrats known as the “Gang of Five” refuse to support Brown, the San Francisco Democrat--with Epple’s victory--is expected to have the 41 votes necessary to retain his speakership.

Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sepulveda), a Brown lieutenant who advised the Epple campaign, said Tuesday that Epple’s victory “helps Willie” because he does not need Republican votes to continue as Speaker.

‘41 Solid Votes’

Grisham agreed, saying Epple’s victory gives Brown “41 solid votes right now. And he can tell the Gang of Five to go to hell and he can tell the 33 Republican Assembly members to go to hell and he will do just that.”

Assemblyman Stan Statham of Oak Run, a Republican who criticized Nolan’s leadership, said Epple’s win “puts Willie Brown and the Democrats clearly back in charge.” The Gang of Five is “a glitch in political history,” Statham said.

A legislative aide close to the dissident Democrats disputed predictions of the group’s political death, saying, “We’re not going to fold up our tent and go away.”