Inquiry on Registration Efforts Urged : Johnson, Citing Democrats’ Flyer, Writes to Atty. Gen.

Assembly Republican leader Ross Johnson of La Habra called Tuesday for Atty. Gen. John K. Van de Kamp to investigate Democratic voter registration efforts in Orange County, alleging that Assembly Democrats may have used taxpayers’ money for political purposes.

Democrats immediately said that Johnson’s accusation was based on an error in a brochure Orange County Democrats distributed last weekend at the state Democratic convention.

The brochure was part of the effort by Orange County Democrats to persuade their colleagues to support a recall effort against Assemblyman Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove), whose 1988 campaign included the use of 20 uniformed security guards hired to monitor polling places in heavily Latino areas of Santa Ana.

Johnson cited a section of the flyer that says Orange County Democrats “lobbied the Assembly Majority Services Office to implement an aggressive, paid, voter registration campaign in the 72nd Assembly District.” The brochure said the registration effort began in March, 1988, and helped increase the Democrats’ edge in the district.

The office of Majority Services is part of the operation of Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco). Because the office is operated with tax dollars, it is prohibited from engaging in political activity.

‘Brazen, Blatant’

“If the facts in the brochure are true, this is the most brazen, blatant use of taxpayer money to run political campaigns I have ever seen,” Johnson said in a statement released Tuesday by his office.

Michael G. Balmages, chairman of the Orange County Democratic Central Committee, said the brochure was in error. Balmages said the county party’s actual contact was with the Assembly Democratic Caucus and its privately funded campaign committee. The same account was given by Michael Galizio, Brown’s chief of staff, and Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sepulveda), who oversaw the campaign of Pringle’s Democratic opponent, Christian (Rick) Thierbach.

“It’s a proofreading error,” Balmages said. “Assembly Majority Services doesn’t do this, and we didn’t have any contact with them.”

But Johnson said he doubted the truth of the Democrats’ assertion.

“Maybe they made mistakes in the rest of the brochure,” Johnson said. “Maybe they don’t know what they’re talking about. Maybe they’re lying through their teeth now.”

A state Justice Department spokesman said the letter from Johnson requesting an investigation had not yet reached the desk of Deputy Atty. Gen. Nelson Kempsky, who will review it before forwarding it to Van de Kamp.