Undecideds, Scant Interest Put 2 O.C. Races Up in Air : Politics: D.A. and schools superintendent contests fail to excite voters. A poll shows the challengers leading.

In a pair of countywide races that have generated intense debate among the candidates but little interest among the electorate, voters are overwhelmingly undecided in their choices for Orange County district attorney and county superintendent of schools, according to The Times Orange County poll.

With less than two weeks to go before the election, nearly half the voters in Orange County remain undecided in the race between appointed incumbent Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi and Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. James G. Enright, according to the poll.

Similarly, more than half of the voters have yet to choose between incumbent Supt. of Schools Robert Peterson and his opponent, Whittier College professor John. F. Dean, the poll results show. The races are the only countywide campaigns in which incumbents are running. Both offices are nonpartisan.

What is also significant is that the challengers, both of whom captured enough votes in the June primary to force runoffs in the general election, continue to lead slightly despite heavy odds against them.

“These are two unexpectedly close races in which current officeholders are being challenged by opponents you would think wouldn’t be able to mount such strong campaigns,” said pollster Mark Baldassare, who conducted The Times Orange County poll. “The interesting thing is two weeks before the election, there’s still a threat to the incumbents.”

The poll shows Enright leading Capizzi 29% to 23%, with 48% undecided, even though Capizzi has raised nearly four times as much in campaign funds as Enright. Among voters most likely to cast ballots, Enright leads 30% to Capizzi’s 25%, with 45% undecided.

In the superintendent of schools race, Dean leads Peterson 24% to 21%, with 55% undecided, despite Peterson’s heretofore unchallenged, 24-year tenure as county schools chief. Among likely voters, Dean leads 28% to 22%, with 50% undecided.

“There’s a real sense of people saying we at least want to take a look at the alternatives to current officeholders,” Baldassare said. “There are still a lot of undecideds out there, but clearly it could end up going either way.”

The poll was conducted Monday through Wednesday of this week. Six-hundred Orange County registered voters were surveyed by telephone; the poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4%.

While the poll results are favorable for the challengers in both races, they by no means sound a death knell for the incumbents. Given the margin of error, the candidates are essentially even, and, traditionally, undecided Orange County voters have overwhelmingly ended up voting for the incumbent in nonpartisan races.

But there are unusual factors in this year’s election in both races. While Capizzi may take solace in past voting records in favor of incumbents, the difference in his campaign is that he was appointed, not elected. He was named to complete the term of Dist. Atty. Cecil Hicks, who resigned to accept a judgeship.

And while Peterson is an elected incumbent, he has run unopposed so many times in the past 24 years that he has more or less been elected by default. Few voters can actually name the county superintendent, and neither Peterson nor Dean has enough campaign funds available to get his name and position out to the general populace.

With most voters yet to decide on either candidate, Peterson is faced with the possibility that the undecideds will simply jump on an anti-incumbency bandwagon and vote for Dean.

The same may hold true in the Capizzi-Enright contest. The district attorney’s race, however, significantly differs from the low-profile superintendent of schools race--Capizzi has enough resources and support for a high-profile campaign and thus may be able to counteract anti-incumbent sentiments.

But Baldassare said anti-incumbent feelings appear widespread, based on poll results showing challengers hanging tough and with most voters in favor of limiting terms of office. “It seems to be a year in which incumbency isn’t necessarily an advantage in local politics,” he said.

Helen Barker, a Huntington Beach resident, was among poll respondents who expressed a strong bias against incumbents. Barker, who has lived in Orange County for less than a month and has received little information on the candidates, said she would not vote for an incumbent “unless I absolutely had to.”

“I think we need a turnover,” Barker said. “When people are in office too long, they get complacent.”

Virginia Kern, a Garden Grove resident, said she also had little information about the candidates, but unlike Barker, Kern is a longtime resident of Orange County. Nevertheless, Kern said that while she has heard of Capizzi, she had no knowledge of Peterson and was surprised to learn that he has been in office for more than two decades.

Kern said that she, too, is likely to vote for Dean just to “give somebody else a chance.”

“I don’t believe in keeping those people in office so long,” Kern said. “They sort of sit back and get relaxed.”

TIMES POLL: District Attorney and School Superintendent Races

The campaigns for district attorney and county superintendent of schools are the only countywide races featuring incumbents. In both cases, the challengers are slightly ahead. District Attorney Likely Voters “If the election for district attorney were held today, whom would you vote for?” James G. Enright: 30% Michael R. Capizzi: 25% Don’t Know: 45% Superintendent of Schools Likely Voters “Whom would you vote for in the election for Orange County superintendent of schools?” Robert Peterson: 22% John F. Dean: 28% Don’t Know: 50% Source: Times Orange County Poll