CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS: 58TH ASSEMBLY DISTRICT : 2 Opponents Say Alban Spread Lies

Seymour Alban, the best-financed candidate in the race to replace Assemblyman Dennis Brown, was assailed Thursday by two of his opponents, who charged during a campaign forum that he has distorted their records in “hit pieces” mailed to the district’s voters.

In the final debate of a hard-fought campaign in the 58th Assembly District’s Republican primary, candidates Thomas J. Mays and Jeffrey A. Kellogg said Alban mailed literature to voters that contained “lies” about them.

“I would like to thank Jeff Kellogg for setting the record straight,” said Mays, the mayor of Huntington Beach, as he took the podium during the forum. “I actually have gotten the same hit pieces down in Huntington Beach. They are exactly the same.”

Among other issues, Alban’s mail criticized Mays and Kellogg for not supporting abortion rights. Mays is against abortion rights, while Kellogg supports restrictions on abortion but not prohibitory laws.

The other two candidates in the race, Jan Hall, a Long Beach councilwoman, and Peter E. von Elten, a Huntington Beach development company executive, looked on as Kellogg and Mays went after Alban, a Long Beach doctor.

Alban said later that the so-called “hit pieces” were only mailers to voters containing information about the candidates. “I am just merely repeating what (Kellogg and Mays) have said publicly,” he said. “They would really be politicians if they denied saying what they have said so many times publicly.”

In financial statements released Thursday, Alban reported that he had a total of about $197,000 to spend in the race. Mays had almost $90,000, while Kellogg and Hall had raised just less than $50,000 each.

Von Elten’s campaign reported a debt of $102,725 after spending $160,750 on the race.

Assemblyman Brown (R-Los Alamitos) sparked the crowded Republican primary when he announced in March that he would not seek reelection. The predominantly Republican district stretches from Huntington Beach to Long Beach.

Von Elten, a vice president of Mola Development Corp., told the audience at the Golden Sails hotel and restaurant that he believes that he could make a difference in Sacramento.

Hall said she has the experience in government to allow her to work efficiently and effectively in Sacramento.

Alban said this is the first time he has run for a public office. “I am not a professional politician,” he said.