Volunteers Find Perot Highly Qualified : Campaign: The Texas billionaire’s bid for a place on the ballot generates major support in the South Bay.

The telephone jangles nonstop at Manhattan Beach real estate agent Nancy Morgan’s house, but the callers aren’t asking about the must-see condo or the darling 3BR craftsman w/pool.

On the line are South Bay residents interested in putting Texas billionaire H. Ross Perot on the presidential ballot. As South Bay coordinator for the Perot campaign, Morgan is learning firsthand how strong that interest has become.

“You don’t have to sell this guy,” she said. “My phone has been ringing off the hook.”

Perot, the founder of a $2.5-billion computer services company, has said he will run for president as an independent if volunteers qualify him for the November ballot in all 50 states.

There are signs that South Bay residents will contribute heavily to that effort in California, where volunteers must collect the signatures of at least 134,781 registered voters to get Perot on the ballot.

Last Sunday, a South Bay organizational meeting in Manhattan Beach drew more than 500 people willing to circulate petitions. Meanwhile, a phone line being used for the local Perot drive has attracted a steady stream of calls from new volunteers.

“I would describe the South Bay efforts as being farther along than any in the county at this point,” said Mike Norris, a Studio City retail consultant who is coordinating the Perot campaign in Los Angeles County. “In the county we’re doing well, but in the South Bay we’re doing extraordinarily well.”

With the local response for Perot strong, Perot organizers say the South Bay is one of two places in Los Angeles County where they will set up offices immediately for the petition campaign. The other will be in the San Fernando Valley.

“We’re getting a real cross-section of people involved, from lawyers to public relations people to housewives, secretaries and retirees,” said Alana Handman of Hermosa Beach, who is coordinating South Bay volunteers. “You’re looking at a seven-day-a-week operation.” Talk to South Bay residents offering to pitch in for Perot, and some common themes emerge. The two main ones: deep concern about the country’s economic and social problems and severe doubt about the ability of this year’s presidential candidates to address them seriously.

Dennis Pelaccio, a 37-year-old aerospace engineer from Redondo Beach, expresses alarm at the lack of detailed proposals on how government should help struggling defense contractors make the transition to civilian markets. The cause, he says, is a lack of vision on the part of President Bush and Democrats challengers Jerry Brown and Bill Clinton.

“Out of the 250 million people in this country, we end up with these politicians,” he fumes. “Every day I work with far better people.”

Betty Yee, a 47-year-old Hermosa Beach secretary, agrees. The shortcomings of the candidates have become amplified in the campaign, she says, making a mockery of this year’s election.

“We’ve got Moonbeam out there and we’ve got slick Willie and we’ve got wimpy George Bush,” Yee said. “Pretty pathetic.”

And Perot?

Few know much about the positions held by Perot, who has indicated in speeches and interviews that he would sharply cut federal spending, support abortion rights and push for tighter gun control.

But despite the lack of detail--or perhaps because of it--the Texan appears to hold strong appeal

Mamie Parnell, 62, a retired employment counselor from Inglewood, said that when she first heard Perot--in a recent interview aired by the CBS television news magazine “60 Minutes”--he seemed to provide a breath of fresh air.

“I haven’t heard a politician talk like that in a long time,” Parnell said. “He was sincere and honest, and the things he said I could relate to.”

Such qualities, volunteers say, would not be muted in a presidential campaign since Perot’s personal wealth would allow him to finance a national campaign without having to pander to special interests.

Auto industry employee Doug Miller, 30, of Hermosa Beach said he became interested in Perot several years ago, when the Texan tried to use his seat on the General Motors board of directors to prod the auto maker to improve its efficiency. Miller said he was a GM employee at the time.

“People I worked with would talk at lunch, and we said we hoped he would get in and kick some butt because the company was losing its competitive edge,” he said. He acknowledged, however, that he is waiting for Perot to lay down the planks in his presidential platform.

Even Morgan, the South Bay campaign coordinator, said she may well end up voting for someone other than Perot if his stands on the issues depart widely from hers. Her goal, she said, is simply to stimulate serious debate.

“I want somebody who will talk about the issues and not just give people what they want,” Morgan said. “Perot is like that. Even if I don’t end up voting for him, my aim is to get him on the ballot so we can hear what he has to say.”