CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS : County Voters Confront Lengthy Ballot

Orange County Registrar Donald Tanney says voters won’t be hustled in and out of the polls as they wend their way through today’s inordinately long ballot, but he’s advising them to do a little homework before they show up to vote.

“There is something in the statutes that talks about 10 minutes,” said Tanney. “But we are not in the business of forcing people out of voting booths. . . . If they’re in there working on their ballots, they’ll be given time to vote.”

Tanney said no special measures were being taken to allow for what might be lengthier than usual stays behind the curtain. Each precinct will, as usual, have six voting booths.

“I can’t imagine someone standing in there for hours, although if they haven’t read the pamphlets beforehand, they could be in there awhile,” Tanney said. “We’re encouraging them to mark their sample ballot at home and arrive at the polling place ready to vote.”

Besides scratching their heads over 28 statewide initiatives and enough local measures to get into double letters, Orange County voters will be a critical factor in the battle for governor between Sen. Pete Wilson and former San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein. Wilson will almost certainly win heavily Republican Orange County, but the outcome of the race could hinge on the size of his winning margin here. No Democrat in recent history has won a statewide race after losing Orange County by more than 200,000 votes. Recent polls showed Wilson’s lead hovering around that mark.

The importance of Orange County to Republicans was underscored Monday by a massive rally in Mission Viejo that was attended by almost the entire slate of statewide GOP candidates, a host of elected county, state and federal officials, and one former President: Ronald Reagan.

Tom Fuentes, the county GOP chairman, was nearly beside himself with joy as he introduced one honorable after another: Reps. William E. Dannemeyer (R-Fullerton), Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach), Ron Packard (R-Carlsbad) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-Long Beach); state Sen. Frank Hill (R-Whittier); Assemblyman Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach); and County Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez.

“I urge you to say no to the Democrat bosses and to say yes to Ronald Reagan,” Fuentes shouted, leaving no doubt about who the star of this show was.

An equally enthusiastic Vasquez then introduced the GOP slate, from Wilson to secretary of state candidate Joan Milke Flores and state controller hopeful Matt Fong, along with Gov. George Deukmejian.

After about 90 minutes of speeches and patriotic songs, Reagan finally spoke to the crowd of about 2,000--including many students--and asked them to do one more thing for him: “Will you go out there and win one for the Gipper?”

Democrats, meanwhile, with no similar cavalcade of stars to parade across the stage, manned phone banks in North and South County and hoped to keep their losses here respectable enough to allow more liberal parts of the state to carry their candidates to victory.

In local races, the Democrats’ best chance is in the 72nd Assembly District, currently represented by Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove). Pringle won the seat in 1988 by 800 votes in an election marked by the GOP’s use of uniformed guards at several precincts in Santa Ana, ostensibly to keep away unregistered voters.

Democrats complained that the guards were intended to intimidate Latinos and have made recapturing the former Democratic stronghold a top priority this year. Their hopes rest on the shoulders of Tom Umberg, a former federal prosecutor who won a tough June primary battle and has gone toe-to-toe with Pringle this fall, with both candidates making allegations of dirty tricks and deceitful campaign practices.

Three county government races will be closely watched today. Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder, the first incumbent supervisor to be forced into a runoff election in a decade, could have a close race against Westminster Councilwoman Joy L. Neugebauer. Wieder’s political strength hasn’t been tested since her disastrous 1988 bid for Congress, in which it was revealed that she had lied for years about earning a college degree.

Meanwhile, Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi, who was appointed to the position when Cecil Hicks resigned to become a judge, faces a tough challenge from Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. James G. Enright.

A third county official, Supt. of Schools Robert Peterson, was forced into a runoff last June. Peterson is facing John Dean, a Whittier College professor who lives in Newport Beach.

In city races, Fred Hunter, Anaheim’s brash mayor and sports arena proponent, is trying to hold off a challenge from plain-spoken council veteran Irv Pickler, while three Santa Ana City Council members--Miguel A. Pulido Jr., Richards L. Norton and Ron May--have faced allegations of impropriety from their opponents, Coween Dickerson, Glenn Mondo, Irene Martinez-Griffith, Rob Richardson and Robert Banuelson. In Santa Ana, however, such allegations are becoming part and parcel of any election.

In Huntington Beach, a plank of council candidates backed by slow-growth and environmental groups is squaring off against a trio of candidates supported by pro-development forces.

The environmentalist-backed group includes incumbent Grace Winchell, former Planning Commissioner Mark Porter and Linda Moulton-Patterson, president of the Huntington Beach Union High School District Board of Trustees.

The development-backed group consists of Planning Commissioner Ed Mountford, former Police Chief Earle Robitaille and former Mayor Jack Kelly.

The other candidates in the race are Tony Passannante, a pharmacist; Dirk Voss, a marine patrol officer; George Arnold, a self-employed businessman; and Steven J. Roy, a carpenter.

Tanney is predicting a 55% to 60% turnout today. The registrar’s office has sent out 135,000 absentee ballots--the largest number in the county’s history.

The huge number of absentee voters should keep the lines down at polling places, but Tanney said he is still advising people to vote in the middle of the day rather than during peak morning and evening hours.

Today’s Election Ballot

Voters face a lengthy ballot, featuring a host of issues and candidates at the state, county and local levels, as they go to the polls in today’s General Election.

In the statewide contests, voters will decide on governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, controller, treasurer, attorney general and insurance commissioner.

In addition, there are 28 ballot initiatives, including the sweeping and controversial Proposition 128, also known as “Big Green,” and Propositions 131 and 140, which seek to set term limits on state legislators.

Orange County voters will decide on Measure M, a proposed half-cent sales tax increase to fund transportation projects. They will also decide on whether to return to office a county supervisor, the district attorney and the county superintendent of schools.

Rounding out local ballots are 24 city council elections, 14 school board elections, 16 special district elections and 14 legislative and congressional elections.

Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

For voter information, call the registrar of voters office at (714) 567-7600.