Ferguson Faces New GOP Challenger--a Badham

Fresh from a narrow defeat in a bid for the state Senate, conservative Assemblyman Gil Ferguson has returned to his Newport Beach district only to find that, once again, he is being challenged for reelection by a GOP colleague.

This time, Ferguson’s opponent in the June 5 primary is Phyllis Badham, daughter of former Rep. Robert E. Badham, who was southern Orange County’s congressman for 10 years. Phyllis Badham proudly says that she is following in her father’s footsteps by seeking the same Assembly seat with which he launched his 26-year political career in 1962.

Badham also says that at age 30, she is starting in politics at the same age her father did.

“There is a lot of respect for my father (in the district), and he has taught me to have respect for the system,” Badham said. “I have a 10-year career in business and a thorough understanding of the political process. Given those ingredients, I am a game and talented opponent.”

Political experts say it will be tough for Badham to overcome Ferguson’s advantage as a three-term incumbent in the 70th District. But some also think that Ferguson, 66, could be vulnerable because he is so outspoken in his conservatism that he might be out of step with his constituents.

At a time when many politicians who oppose abortion are trying to downplay their position on the issue, Ferguson has recruited Operation Rescue, the sometimes militant anti-abortion group, to help with his campaigns. And he recently made headlines when he used the word faggots to refer to a group of gay protesters at one of his campaign events.

Moderate Republicans have tried to defeat Ferguson before, but he won decisively each time. In 1988, Ferguson beat back a primary challenge from Newport Beach Councilwoman Evelyn Hart, winning 60% to 33%.

He also demonstrated that he has a loyal following in the Feb. 6 special primary to replace former state Sen. William Campbell (R-Hacienda Heights). With a strong showing from southern Orange County, Ferguson finished barely 900 votes behind Assemblyman Frank Hill (R-Whittier), who faces a runoff in the 31st District race April 10.

The 70th Assembly District is known as the most solidly Republican turf in California, with the GOP holding a commanding 61%-to-27% lead over Democrats in voter registration. The district includes most of the county’s southern coast from Newport Beach to Dana Point, and it stretches inland to Coto de Caza.

Ferguson said that he is disappointed that Badham would challenge him, especially since he came to the aid of Robert Badham when he faced a hostile primary opponent in 1986.

“We said at that time, ‘You don’t run against an incumbent,’ ” Ferguson said. “If you’re a Republican and you want to stay in the party, you don’t run.”

However, Robert Badham said Thursday that he does not believe a contested primary is unhealthy for the party and that a fellow Republican challenged him in nearly every one of his 13 races.

He added: “I stress . . . Phyllis is my daughter, and this is her race. I’m not in it.”

Robert Badham said, however, that he expects to do some fund-raising for his daughter as well as provide advice to her campaign.

Phyllis Badham met in Sacramento last week with most of Orange County’s legislative delegation to ask for its support--or at least its neutrality. Republican Assembly leader Ross Johnson of La Habra said the tone of the meeting was positive but that Badham’s mission was unsuccessful.

“We all made very clear that we would be supporting Gil and that . . . an unnecessary Republican primary did not make a lot of sense,” Johnson said. “Obviously, she has every right to file and run a campaign, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it is a smart thing to do.”

Phyllis Badham said that she does not consider herself disloyal just because she thinks Republicans are not well served by their current representative.

She mentioned the oil spill that soiled about 20 miles of Orange County coastline, including parts of Newport Beach, and said that she plans to campaign heavily on environmental issues.

She pointed out that Ferguson was recently listed by the California League of Conservation Voters as one of the five worst legislators on environmental issues.

Ferguson responded that the conservation league is liberal-oriented and that, therefore, “those lists don’t mean very much.”

Transportation will be another important issue in the race, Phyllis Badham said. But she acknowledged Thursday that she needs to learn more about the subject. She said that she does not have a position on the proposal for a 9-cent gas tax that will go before California voters in June. Ferguson supports the measure, which would generate money for new roads and other transportation improvements.

Badham said that she will also campaign in favor of choice on abortion because she believes that her position is more reflective of the district than Ferguson’s.

If Ferguson is indeed out of step with a majority of his constituents, it has not hurt him in his previous three Assembly races. He said that his campaign theme in 1990 will simply be to remind voters of his record as their legislator since 1984.

“I think on some issues I’m more conservative than they are. . . . But I think 90% of what I do receives a very high approval rating,” he said. “After six years of taking their pulse, receiving their votes and appearing at their forums, I think I really do reflect the majority of the community.”

Badham described the district as “rational, open-minded and progressive. . . . We can develop better solutions to more problems in Orange County without taking an extremist position,” she said.

But some Orange County political experts said that even if Ferguson is more conservative than his constituents, Badham will have a tough time defeating him.

Democrat Howard Adler, a political consultant and developer, said, “The ideological right has just out-campaigned the moderate and business-oriented Republicans.”

“Can he be defeated?” Adler asked. “The answer to that seems to be fairly obvious: It’s almost impossible to defeat the incumbent in a one-party district.”

Adler said that he unexpectedly became the sole Democratic challenger to Ferguson when the deadline for filing approached last week and the party did not have a candidate. Adler said that he decided to file because “I believe in the two-party system.”

Eileen Padberg, a Republican Orange County political consultant, said Badham’s success will depend largely on her ability to raise money.

“I don’t think the district necessarily embraces Gil Ferguson as their great love,” she said. “But when push comes to shove, the district just votes incumbent.”

Times staff writer Ralph Frammolino contributed to this story