ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : Umberg for Assembly

Even if there weren’t an acceptable alternative, it would be difficult to support Assemblyman Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove) for reelection to his second term. Fortunately, his Democratic opponent, U.S. Assistant Atty. Tom Umberg, is not only acceptable but far preferable as a representative for Orange County’s 72nd Assembly District.

Pringle came to office under a cloud that has not cleared in the past two years. It was his campaign manager who requested that the Orange County Republican Party pay for uniformed poll guards at 20 largely Latino Santa Ana precincts, an incident that stood out in the state as among the most ignominious of the 1988 fall election. Pringle’s campaign and the county GOP paid $400,000 to settle a civil lawsuit brought over the use of guards. Criminal investigations of voter intimidation are pending.

Pringle has spent much of his first term trying to distance himself from the poll-guard hiring. Partly because of that, he has accomplished little in Sacramento. It doesn’t help that he sees himself as someone elected essentially to vote no on most legislative proposals, ostensibly in order to hold government in check.

But what Orange County needs are lawmakers who are willing to tackle head-on the many serious problems facing the county, such as crime, health care and transportation.

Umberg, who won the Democratic nomination after a tough primary, has demonstrated that he has the energy and commitment for the job.

Umberg graduated cum laude from UCLA and got his law degree from Hastings College of Law. In 1987, he was appointed an assistant U.S. attorney in the federal court in Santa Ana, where he has prosecuted drug, gang and white-collar criminals. He successfully prosecuted a white supremacist who burned a cross on the lawn of a black family in Westminster. He has the endorsements of numerous law-enforcement organizations, including the Garden Grove and Santa Ana police associations.

Unlike Pringle, Umberg supports abortion rights for women. He also offers an exemplary armed services record, including U.S. Army assignments in Korea and in Italy, where he was a paratrooper. He is now a major in the Army Reserve.

As an added benefit to Orange County, Umberg will be able to work more closely with the Assembly’s majority leadership to negotiate a fairer share for Orange County, which long has been shortchanged in health-care dollars in particular.

Umberg deserves an opportunity to represent the 72nd District--which includes parts of Westminster, Santa Ana, Anaheim, Garden Grove and Stanton--in the Legislature.

Umberg is the clear choice, but there is something else to be said about this campaign. The race has given Orange County a spirited political debate that shows what might be possible if there were more competitive districts. As things stand, the 72nd District is the only congressional or legislative district in the county where Democratic and Republican registrations are close enough to give rise to serious opposition candidates. In all other districts, one party, the GOP, dominates to such an extent that there are no general election campaigns to speak of. That means that, once in office, incumbents need not worry about reelection.

The reasons for this are historical as well as political, and national as well as local. The GOP, already strong in Orange County, expanded its base here during the Reagan years with successful registration efforts. At the same time, the Democratic Party in Orange County splintered and failed to rally its troops.

It is only in the 72nd District that Democrats have retained enough strength to offer a real contest. They actually hold a 51.7% to 39.5% edge in the district, while Republicans dominate by a 55.6% to 34% advantage in the rest of Orange County. That has forced incumbent Pringle, who narrowly won his seat, to defend his policies and his effectiveness. A good, vigorously contested race is good for democracy.