LOCAL ELECTIONS / COUNTY RACES : Narrow Margins Keep Incumbents On Toes

With few pressing issues to turn up the heat in races for county office, most incumbents had been widely expected to win easy victories, and early results Tuesday showed them leading, though some by uncomfortably close margins.

Three county supervisors were up for reelection, and two of them ran without serious opposition. Even without strong challengers, however, Supervisors Thomas F. Riley and Don R. Roth were holding surprisingly narrow leads in early returns.

The third supervisor, 2nd District representative Harriett M. Wieder, was facing four opponents, who lined up to take on the three-term incumbent. Early balloting had Wieder holding a bare majority, and she was fighting to hold onto 50% in order to avoid a November runoff.

Wieder, the only woman ever to hold a seat on the county board, was widely perceived as vulnerable in the wake of her unsuccessful 1986 campaign for Congress, a race that she lost amid revelations that she had lied on her resume, claiming a college degree that she never earned.

The supervisor’s strongest opposition came from Westminster Councilwoman Joy L. Neugebauer, who served three terms as mayor of that city. Also in the race were Sonia (Sonny) Sonju, a developer and former Cypress councilwoman; John D. Harper, a Huntington Beach businessman who served a term on the Fountain Valley City Council, and Marie Alexis Antos, a Seal Beach activist.

In District 5, Riley had only token opposition from Irvine corporate executive Peer A. Swan, who filed for candidacy only to withdraw three days later. Fourth District Supervisor Roth also faced an elusive opponent, Christian L. Basquette. Basquette waged a quirky, inconsistent campaign, refusing to let his picture be taken, never discussing what he did for a living, and telling reporters that he was 41 years of age when voter-registration records show that he is 21.

Nevertheless, Roth and Riley held surprisingly close leads in the early balloting.

Riley, who has come under some criticism in recent weeks for his role in shepherding the beleaguered construction at John Wayne Airport, conceded that he was surprised by the early returns. “They are a lot closer than I had anticipated,” he said.

In other campaigns, Sheriff Brad Gates, backed by a huge bankroll, was ahead of his only challenger, Fullerton Councilman Don Bankhead, a retired police captain. .

On a night when early returns showed incumbents holding the upper hand, albeit narrowly, County Schools Supt. Robert Peterson, 69, was clinging to a slim lead in his attempt to win a seventh term in office. He was beating John F. Dean, 63, a Whittier College professor, and Ron Detrick, 52, an administrator at National University in Irvine, for the $98,663-a-year job.

Both challengers argued that Peterson’s 24 years in office was long enough, and the absentee ballots left Peterson fighting to avoid a runoff.

The county’s other educational race also drew a fierce contest, as former congressional aide Chuck DeVore, 28, ran against incumbent Elizabeth Dorn Parker, 30, who has held the Board of Education post in Trustee Area 5 for eight years.

Parker dominated early returns, with DeVore far behind.

In the race for county recorder, incumbent Lee A. Branch faced off in a bitter showdown with Stanley L. Roach, a former computer analyst in the recorder’s office who was fired by Branch in July, 1988. Branch led by a huge margin after absentee ballots were counted.

The race for county assessor was also marked by intra-office squabbling, as incumbent Bradley L. Jacobs faced challenges from three of his underlings at the same time he fought area cable companies protesting their tax assessments. Jacobs took an early and solid lead.

In contrast to those races, the campaigns for county judgeships were marked by their civility. Six candidates vied for two seats on the bench, one at the Superior Court level, the other in Municipal Court.

Robert E. Thomas led in the Superior Court race, while Donald S. Macintyre was outpolling his opponents in the Municipal Court contest.

Several elected county officials breezed back into office without any opposition. They were: Auditor Steven E. Lewis, County Clerk Gary Granville, Public Administrator William A. Baker, and Treasurer-Tax Collector Robert L. Citron.

Times staff writer George Frank contributed to this report.