CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS: 58TH ASSEMBLY DISTRICT : Mays Riles Rivals on Special Interests Issue

After two months of mostly polite dialogue among the five Republican candidates vying for the open seat in the 58th Assembly District, candidate Thomas J. Mays ignited a feud Wednesday by charging that two of his opponents are controlled by special interests.

Mays’ attack prompted his Huntington Beach opponent, Peter von Elten, to say: “I think he’s got a hell of a lot of nerve to make accusations about me. I think Tom is becoming a little hysterical now.”

At a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Mays charged that most of von Elten’s campaign money came from developers who would command his attention in the Legislature. Von Elten is an executive at Mola Development Co. in Huntington Beach.

Mays also charged that Long Beach Republican candidate Dr. Seymour Alban, a physician, would be similarly compromised because he has so many contributions from the medical community.

“I think he’s desperate,” Alban said. “I think he’s just flailing about because he’s out of touch with the electorate.”

Mays, the mayor of Huntington Beach, said his campaign will probably be outspent at least 3 to 1 by both von Elten and Alban. He called on all of the candidates to limit campaign expenditures to $150,000 each.

“I am appalled at the hypocrisy of the candidates who talk about ethics in their campaign but who are using big monetary contributions from special interest groups in an attempt to buy the election,” Mays said.

The candidates are running in the June 5 Republican primary for the seat held by Assemblyman Dennis Brown (R-Long Beach), who said he will not run for reelection. The mostly Republican district stretches from Long Beach south to Huntington Beach.

In addition to Mays, von Elten and Alban, the Republican candidates are Long Beach City Council members Jan Hall and Jeffrey A. Kellog. Democrat Luanne W. Pryor and Libertarian candidate Scott Stier, both of Long Beach, are running unopposed.

An angry von Elten responded to Mays by charging that Mays has been a “puppet of the Huntington Beach Co.,” a large developer in the city. Mays has voted recently on issues benefiting his contributors, von Elten said.

Because von Elten declined to identify the contributors, Mays said he could not respond.

“I’m really insulted when he makes those accusations because he truly is the one who has shown favoritism for those special interests that have supported him,” von Elten said.

The environment has been a major issue in the district, and Mays attacked his opponents’ claims of protecting the beaches by pointing to their connections with the oil industry. He noted that Alban has more than $110,000 invested in Union Oil Explorers Ltd. and Mesa Petroleum Co.

“That is a small part of my portfolio and it has nothing to do with my opposition to any offshore oil drilling,” Alban said.

Mays also said von Elten’s employer, the Mola Co., owns several oil wells in Huntington Beach. But von Elten charged that Mays has taken thousands of dollars in contributions from oil companies in his City Council races.

“This is a state campaign with a whole different set of problems and a different set of rules,” Mays responded.