Calls Decision Personal, Not Political : Vasquez Won’t Run for Secretary of State

For now, Orange County Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez is staying home.

After weighing the impact on his family of a statewide campaign and a possible move to Sacramento, Vasquez said Thursday he will not run for secretary of state in 1990.

So far, no Republican candidates have emerged in the race. Tom Houston, former chairman of the state Fair Political Practices Commission, has said he will challenge incumbent March Fong Eu for the Democratic nomination.

The 34-year-old Vasquez, viewed as one of the Republican party’s bright hopefuls whose name surfaces routinely in connection with higher elective office at the state level, said he was urged privately by political supporters to consider the race.

But after several years of commuting from Mission Viejo to Sacramento as an official in the Deukmejian Administration before being appointed to the Board of Supervisors, Vasquez said he decided he did not want to disrupt his family again by launching a statewide campaign.

“It was a personal and family decision,” said Vasquez, who was named by Deukmejian in 1987 to fill the unexpired term of Bruce Nestande, who resigned. A year later, Vasquez easily won the seat in the 3rd District, which includes most of county’s eastern foothills and much of northern Orange County.

A key factor in opting not to run, Vasquez said, was the impact on his only son, Jason.

“I commuted to Sacramento for a couple of years, and I know what kind of disruption it caused my family,” Vasquez said. “My son will be 10 soon, and my family, at this point in time, is a priority.”

Before making his decision, the former police officer from Orange said, he talked with a number of friends and political allies, who encouraged him to enter the race. Vasquez said he was confident that he could run a credible statewide campaign. But the issue, he said, was not a political one, but personal.

As for the future, Vasquez said, time is on his side if he chooses to pursue higher office. “I’m relatively young, and at 34, I believe that I may have a number of options far down the road.

“Right now, I am happy being in Orange County doing the job of supervisor,” he said.