Campaign Promises to Be Quick and Dirty : Politics: With less than a month left in battle over William Campbell’s vacated state Senate seat, candidates don’t feel they have time to form issues. That leaves mudslinging.

With the prospect of a charged debate over ethics and abortion in a short five-week campaign, the special election to replace former state Sen. William Campbell truly promises to be quick and dirty.

“I didn’t think they were going to sling so much mud so fast,” said Sal Russo, a political consultant for Assemblyman Frank Hill, the candidate who so far has drawn most of the dirt. “It started right away.”

Gov. George Deukmejian decided just before the holidays to set the special primary for Feb. 6, in part so that Republican assembly members could run without risking their seats in the June election.

Hill (R-Whittier) and Assemblyman Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach) are among eight candidates running for the predominantly Republican district that straddles the Los Angeles and Orange County border.

The candidates waited until the New Year and then launched a mad five-week dash last Tuesday. So far, almost every day has involved accusations and name-calling. Candidates have criticized both Hill and Ferguson for accepting what their opponents say are excessive honorariums, and last week Hill was attacked by three candidates for mailing a letter that they said implied he was endorsed by Campbell.

Campbell, first elected to the 31st Senate District from Hacienda Heights in 1976, resigned last month to become president of the California Manufacturers Assn. He has told the candidates that his contract prevents him from endorsing a successor.

Looking ahead, the major factors expected to influence the race are:

* Pro-choice forces that are hoping to turn the campaign into a repeat of California’s last two special elections, in which their candidates upset anti-abortion opponents. This race has some of the same dynamics, with a pro-choice Republican encouraging Democratic crossovers and two anti-abortion Republicans who could split their constituency.

* An ongoing FBI investigation of Hill involving an influence-peddling scandal at the Capitol. Hill, meanwhile, has been the prime target of the other candidates because he appears to be the best financed and he has the backing of Republican leaders in the Assembly and the Senate.

* The heavy negative campaigning that is likely to limit the discussion of issues and discourage voters in an election that was already expected to have a low turnout of about 20%. The shortness of the race and the presence of some little-known candidates have contributed to the attacks, since it is easier to sully an opponent than it is to sell an unknown candidate.

The district stretches from Whittier and West Covina in Los Angeles County to Laguna Beach in southern Orange County. Its registration is solidly Republican, about 60% to 30%.

Of the eight candidates who filed on Dec. 26, only Hill and Ferguson have served in the Legislature. But Ron Isles, a city councilman from Brea, has been included among the leaders because of his claim that he will spend up to $500,000 of his own money on the campaign, if necessary.

Isles, a consultant who sold his electronics manufacturing company in 1981, is also a pro-choice Republican.

The other candidates are Republican Gary C. Miller, a city councilman from Diamond Bar; Democrat Bradley J. McFadden, a councilman from West Covina; Janice L. Graham, secretary of the Orange County Democratic Party; Thomas M. Whaling, a Democratic attorney from El Toro, and Robert W. Lewis of Rowland Heights, who filed for the race with the American Independent Party.

If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote on Feb. 6, a runoff between the top Republican and Democratic vote-getters will be held April 10.

Ferguson said he is counting on a strong showing in Orange County to win the race, since 60% of the Republican voters in the district are on his side of the county line.

He also said he expects to have less money--about $350,000--than either Hill or Isles.

Instead of running a negative campaign, Ferguson said, he will stress his background as a family man who has worked in business, served in the military and has won three terms in the Assembly.

Likewise, Hill said he hopes to campaign on his accomplishments during eight years in the Assembly and on his “reputation for getting things done in Sacramento.”

And he said his geographic base is stronger than Ferguson’s because half of the population in the Senate district is within the boundaries of his Assembly seat.

Isles’ campaign is counting on the race becoming topsy-turvy with a groundswell of voters turning out either because of the ethics issue or abortion, two of the hottest political subjects of the 1990 election cycle.

Isles has repeatedly attacked Hill and Ferguson, charging that they have been unethical in office. Most often he has criticized Hill for being a subject of the FBI’s Capitol sting operation.

Hill has been accused in court testimony during the corruption trial of state Sen. Joseph B. Montoya (D-Whittier) of accepting a $5,000 honorarium in return for his support of legislation for a shrimp company.

“I haven’t done anything wrong,” Hill said Friday. “I know as much about the investigation as anybody who reads the papers.”

Hill also said he does not know how the investigation will affect his race.

Last week, Miller blasted Hill for the FBI investigation saying: “Frank Hill has no ethics. He is trying to deceive the voters . . . that is arrogance personified.”

Hill charged in response that Miller has not voted in several past elections.

Isles was endorsed Friday by Pro-Choice Orange County, a bipartisan organization that was formed in response to the Supreme Court’s Webster decision in July, which gave states more authority to regulate abortion.

The California Abortion Rights Action League in Santa Monica has also endorsed Isles. The league campaigned for Tricia Hunter and Lucy Killea in their upset special election victories last October and December, respectively.

Both groups plan to provide volunteers and phone banks for Isles’ candidacy.

Linda Schwartz, a Democrat and president of Pro-Choice Orange County, said she expects Democrats to vote for Isles because of his pro-choice position on abortion and the likelihood of a Republican winner, the same incentives that were followed in Hunter’s race.

“This race will be the beginning,” Schwartz said. “This is the beginning of turning around the Orange County legislators.”

The spoiler for Isles’ scenario, however, may be Graham. She is the Democrat who ran against Campbell in 1988 and she has the potential to prevent the Democratic vote from breaking up.

That’s why Ferguson said recently, “The happiest day of my life was when Mrs. Graham entered the race.”

Most of the candidates believe that nobody will get more than 50% of the vote and that, as a result, there will be a runoff between the leading Republican and Democrat. That’s where Graham expects to win.