Democrat Lashes Out at ‘Insiders’

A feud that has been simmering for months among Orange County’s Democratic leaders erupted again Wednesday when party Chairman Michael Balmages complained about a “small group of . . . Democrats who have dominated the party’s losing tradition.”

In a letter to Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco), Balmages charged that Orange County’s “old-time political insiders” are trying to thwart his efforts by “anointing” a candidate to run against Assemblyman Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove).

Instead, Balmages said the party should unite behind Jerry Yudelson, the only announced Democrat in the Assembly race and the challenger who lost to Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove) in 1988.

Former Democratic chairman John Hanna responded angrily to Balmages’ complaint Wednesday, saying: “Mike is becoming the Ayatollah of Orange County Democratic politics. I think he ought to look into his own house and make sure that it’s clear before he starts taking on everybody else.

“Since he’s been chair he’s been unable to even raise enough money to pay his executive director,” Hanna said. “As we go into 1990, the chairman ought to be trying to unite people. . . . Mike’s a neophyte.”

Balmages declined to identify the group of Democrats to which he was referring, but privately, some observers said they believe it includes Hanna; Richard O’Neill, a former chairman of the state Democratic Party, and Audrey Redfearn, president of the county Democratic Foundation.

Balmages said the group has been working to recruit Assistant. U.S. Attorney Thomas Umberg as the candidate to challenge Pringle instead of Yudelson. Umberg has not announced his candidacy, but he recently moved from Irvine to Garden Grove, which is inside the 72nd Assembly District. He was unavailable for comment Wednesday.

Democrats--including Speaker Brown--have targeted Pringle’s seat, partly because of the freshman Republican’s role in hiring uniformed security guards at several polling places in predominantly Latino neighborhoods during the 1988 election. The FBI and the Orange County district attorney’s office are conducting a criminal investigation of the case.

On Monday, at a meeting of the party’s Central Committee, Balmages urged members to sign a statement asking Umberg not to run and calling on the party to unite behind Yudelson. He said 25 members signed the statement.

“We need to consolidate around the best candidate,” the statement said. “Jerry proved in 1988 that he could raise $200,000 against an entrenched incumbent, he has tirelessly worked the district for the past two years, he’s the current front-runner and he is simply our best candidate.”

George Urch, former executive director of the county Democratic Party, complained at the meeting Monday that the party leadership should not choose sides in a primary.

“It is a desperate act by a desperate chairman who has decided to use the local Democratic Party for his own personal activities,” Urch said Wednesday. “Tom Umberg is an independent-minded person who is not having his strings pulled by the Democratic Party.”

Because of the dispute, Hanna said he was concerned that Republicans “are laughing at us. Curt Pringle would like nothing more than to have this happen. Mike’s playing right into the hands of Curt Pringle.”

Last June, Balmages was involved in another dispute with Democratic leaders over raising money for the financially strapped party. He was accused of being “confrontational and demanding” for insisting that the Democratic Foundation, a support group of $1,000-per-year contributors, give more to the central committee.