Flores’ Election Day Is Hardly Dramatic : Supervisors: The candidate, whose primary victory was scuttled by a court ruling, does a few chores and reflects on what might have been.

Sarah Flores was supposed to make history Tuesday.

But instead of becoming Los Angeles County’s first Latino supervisor this century, Election Day found her only a passive observer. With her campaign placed in limbo by a federal court ruling, she was perhaps California’s loneliest candidate.

On Tuesday morning, there were no precinct workers in her West Covina headquarters, no volunteers working the phones to get out the vote. Her only company was a television blaring the theme song to “The Price is Right.”

“I put on the TV to see the news about the races,” Flores explained, slightly embarrassed. “This is my quiet day. . . . It’s very different from the last election. That time, (the headquarters) was packed with people.”

Flores’ upset victory over nine other candidates in the June primary turned out to be meaningless. Ironically, her first-place finish was invalidated when U.S. District Judge David V. Kenyon ruled the Board of Supervisors long ago drew district boundaries that discriminate against Latinos.

The runoff election once scheduled for Tuesday against Superior Court Judge Gregory O’Brien was canceled. A new election for the seat now held by retiring Supervisor Pete Schabarum has yet to be scheduled.

“It’s kind of sad because I have the feeling that I could have won it, I should have won it,” Flores said. “But I’m still working like hell.”

Flores said she will resume her campaign for supervisor today. If the federal court ruling is upheld--the Board of Supervisors may appeal all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court--Flores will campaign against new candidates in a new, redrawn 1st District. A date for an election may be set at a court hearing this week.

On Tuesday, however, Flores gave most of her campaign workers the day off. She spent what she said was the saddest day of her fledgling political career answering a few phone calls at her campaign office and tending to family chores.

It was a day filled with ironies for Flores, a longtime Schabarum aide who declared her candidacy for supervisor in March when her boss announced he would retire.

As she voted early Tuesday morning, she ran into O’Brien, who finished second in the June primary. O’Brien and Flores live eight doors apart in a Glendora neighborhood and vote in the same precinct.

“Greg told me, ‘Isn’t it different this time, there’s no cameras,’ ” Flores recalled. “I said, ‘Greg, you shouldn’t be surprised, we don’t have an election. After all, there’s so many more important things going on.’ ”

Shortly afterward, Flores dropped off her 10-year-old daughter, Lucretia, at La Fetra Elementary School in Glendora. She then drove to West Covina to tend to the campaign headquarters, an innocuous storefront wedged between a Holiday Spa Health Club and Judy’s Frozen Yogurt.

Two campaign workers joined Flores about 10:30 a.m.--Leida Erickson and Mary Hackney.

All of the trappings of a political campaign surrounded the three women--telephone lines and fax machines were in place, and campaign posters of all sizes lined the walls.

“It’s like, what’s wrong with this picture?” Erickson observed. “We have a candidate. There’s an election today. I voted in it. Sarah was supposed to be county supervisor today. . . . We have a campaign office. It’s just not fair.”

Flores said she fills most of her days with visits to San Gabriel Valley schools and occasional appearances at small fund-raisers, usually held at the home of a supporter. Although she raised more money than any of her challengers for the June primary--nearly $400,000--Flores said she has found it nearly impossible to solicit contributions since the court invalidated her victory.

“People are not going to give money to a non-candidate while there’s all these statewide races going on,” she said.

Hackney prepared Flores’ schedule for Election Day, which contained a single item--a visit to the Monterey Park campaign headquarters of Sophie Wong, who is running for a seat on the Alhambra Board of Education.

A short notation followed the calendar entry. “Committee to Elect meeting normally held Tues. eves has been cancelled. . . .”

Despite the difficulties, Flores seemed as determined as ever to triumph in a supervisorial race.

“I do have momentum. It has not gone away,” she said. “I am still a viable candidate. I think the momentum will grow even stronger.”