LOCAL ELECTIONS / COUNTY SUPERVISORS : Wieder, Neugebauer Spar Over Attendance Record, Medfly, Jail

County Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder and Westminster Councilwoman Joy L. Neugebauer clashed repeatedly Wednesday in the first face-to-face encounter of their campaign for Wieder’s 2nd Supervisorial District seat.

In the debate, taped at the studios of KOCE-TV, Neugebauer wasted no time attacking Wieder, a board member since 1978, using her introductory statement to blast the incumbent for missing 23 board meetings in the last 21 months and abstaining on 69 votes over that period.

“In 18 years of City Council service, I have missed three meetings,” Neugebauer said. “I have never abstained because of conflict.”

Wieder responded by saying that Neugebauer’s attack represented a lack of knowledge and information and that many of her absences were due to her attending to other important county business.

“It’s not where you are, but what you’re doing. The bottom line is what you contribute,” Wieder said. “Mudslinging doesn’t get anywhere.”

Neugebauer also attacked Wieder for a vote she cast last year to declare a state of emergency in the county in accordance with the state’s malathion spraying program for the Mediterranean fruit fly. In subsequent votes, Wieder voted against the emergency declaration.

“Let’s get our facts straight,” Wieder said. “Of the five members of the board, there were two of us who did not vote for allowing” the state of emergency.

When she was not rebutting criticism from Neugebauer, Wieder used her time to remind voters of what she sees as the highlights of her 12 years on the Board of Supervisors: bringing together warring sides to preserve the Bolsa Chica wetlands; creating a network of “super streets,” including Beach Boulevard, a major artery in the 2nd District; formulating a plan to increase access to health care for the county’s poor; and trying to improve the county’s air quality.

When Neugebauer was asked why voters should choose her over Wieder, she answered: “My strongest asset is that I am not an expert on anything. Every issue that comes before me deserves every inch of my attention span.”

Both candidates said they oppose Measure M, the proposed half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements, although for different reasons. Neugebauer said she objects to the measure’s 20-year plan, particularly its provision to expand the use of car-pool lanes. Wieder said she thinks the measure is good but “cannot vote for it” because county voters have shown repeatedly that they oppose tax increases for transportation.

Neugebauer called, instead, for increased funding for new freeways but did not clearly specify where the new money would come from.

Wieder used her opponent’s omission to her advantage.

“There’s no magic wand, no bank to be robbed, no largess to find from someplace,” Wieder said. “Building more freeways is something the populace of Orange County does not want.”

The candidates also differed on where a new county jail should be built, with Wieder favoring the current plan to place it in Gypsum Canyon and Neugebauer opting for Rancho del Rio, a ranch seized by narcotics agents in remote South County.

Neugebauer never raised the issue of Wieder’s false claim until two years ago of a college degree, an issue that cost her dearly in her unsuccessful 1988 bid for Congress. After the debate, Neugebauer said the issue just “never came up,” although she does intend to use it in her mail campaign.

Wednesday’s debate airs Oct. 25 at 6:30 p.m. on Channel 50. The candidates go at it again today at 12:30 p.m. in a live debate in the Golden West College Student Center.