3rd Prosecutor Enters Campaign for Dist. Atty. : Elections: Edgar A. Freeman has been a supervisor in the office for 20 years. He concedes that he will be viewed as an underdog.

Edgar A. Freeman on Thursday became the third prosecutor to announce that he will run for district attorney in the 1990 election to replace Cecil Hicks, who plans to retire.

Freeman, 62, a supervisor in the district attorney’s office for more than 20 years, said he decided to run after he was convinced that Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. James G. Enright probably would not get into the race against Hicks protege Michael R. Capizzi, who is the chief assistant.

Many in the legal community had viewed Enright as the only candidate with any real chance of defeating Capizzi.

Freeman said Thursday that he recognizes that he and Thomas Avdeef, a deputy who works under him, are viewed as underdogs.

“No question that Mike’s position as the front-runner in many people’s eyes has to be a pragmatic consideration,” Freeman said. “But I believe it’s possible to put together a campaign to show the voters that my experience and my philosophy make me the best candidate for the job.”

Though some believe Freeman would see the race as futile if he had to face both Enright and Capizzi, Freeman said his desire not to run against Enright was because the two share similar philosophies.

“Jimmy and I are longtime friends and associates; we think very much the same way,” Freeman said. “But Mike and I have very different styles.”

Avdeef was in court and unavailable to comment on Freeman’s candidacy. But several courthouse observers said Avdeef should be pleased to see a bigger race.

“Tom couldn’t possibly defeat Capizzi in June,” said one judge who knows all the candidates well. “But if he could get Mike into a runoff election, then he would instantly gain the media attention he needs to help him go one on one with Capizzi.”

Freeman said he is committed now even if Enright decides to run.

One problem for Freeman is that he has very little organization, and has only begun to think about financing a campaign. Freeman said he was still forming ideas for how much money he would actually need to put on a serious campaign.

Though Capizzi was also unavailable to discuss the new three-way race, Freeman said he informed Capizzi ahead of time and that the two were cordial.

“I’m going to treat Mike and Tom the same way I treat opponents in a courtroom,” Freeman said. “You can fight hard against them without any personal animosity.”

The nonpartisan election will be in June; a runoff, if needed, would be in November.

Freeman joined the district attorney’s office in 1963, after more than three years as a deputy public defender. He was named an assistant district attorney in 1966 and is now supervisor for the felony child division, the child abuse and sexual assault unit, the hard-core gang and career criminal unit and the juvenile division.

Freeman also likes to keep involved in trial work. In 1982 he successfully prosecuted Willie Wisely, who gained notoriety as a jailhouse lawyer and an advocate of inmate rights at Orange County Jail while awaiting sentencing for his murder conviction in the death of his stepfather.