Packard’s Election Foe Facing an Uphill Battle : 48th District: Odds are long as challenger Stephen L. Todd takes on veteran Rep. Ron Packard in the newly created Congressional District.

Stephen L. Todd, a 48-year-old stock market handicapper from Mission Viejo, is waging what charitably can be called an “uphill” campaign to unseat five-term Rep. Ron Packard (R-Oceanside), who has represented southern Orange and northern San Diego counties.

The seat Packard holds was significantly affected by redistricting; it once contained just a slice of Orange County, but the new district is now about evenly split between the two counties and runs as far north as Mission Viejo.

So far, Todd has little money--less than the $5,000 minimum that triggers reporting requirements. He can’t afford newspaper advertising, much less television spots. His name recognition is virtually zero. But he thinks he’s come up with one winning issue for June’s Republican primary: telling the truth.

Todd is hammering away at Packard’s assertion, made in at least two newsletters to voters, that the former dentist and Carlsbad mayor has never voted for a tax increase during his decade in Congress.

In fact, Todd points out, Packard voted in favor of the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984. The legislation, approved by a 318-97 vote in the House on April 11, 1984, raised nearly $50 billion in revenue by increasing taxes on liquor and diesel fuel, slashing a planned tax reduction on cigarettes and cutting back on favorable treatment for taxpayers who reduce their tax liability through income averaging. The legislation did not include any increase in general income tax rates.

According to the Congressional Record, Packard twice switched his vote on the measure before finally casting a “yea.”

“As a challenger who cannot match (Packard) money-wise, fame-wise, or in any other way, I get upset when he has to play fast and loose with the truth on top of that,” Todd said. “To me, using tax-supported mailers to tell actual lies about your voting record is much worse than bouncing checks.” Packard has acknowledged overdrawing his House bank account on four occasions.

In a statement released by his office, Packard accused Todd of misrepresenting the record by suggesting that Packard had voted for an increase in the federal income tax.

The statement went on to cite recognition Packard has received as a friend of the taxpayer from groups such as the National Taxpayers Union, Citizens Against Government Waste, the American Conservative Union and Watchdogs of the Treasury.

“The campaign season brings out the worst in some people,” Packard said in the statement. “No one has ever questioned my integrity or my commitment to my constituents.” He characterized his vote for the Deficit Reduction Act as a vote to support “President Reagan’s plan . . .to reduce the deficit by $149 billion.”

However, Packard did not deny that the plan contained some tax increases, including a 4.5-cent a gallon increase in the levy on diesel fuel and a $3.75 a gallon increase in the federal tax on liquor. And the congressman did not deny that he has portrayed himself as a lawmaker who has never voted for a tax increase.

In a newsletter mailed to voters last fall at taxpayer expense, Packard wrote: “Since you first elected me to the House, I have never voted for a tax increase. . . .”

And, in a newsletter mailed to voters this spring and paid for under congressional franking privileges, Packard’s staff wrote: “Congressman Packard has never voted to raise taxes and has consistently supported legislation designed to put an end to wasteful government spending.”

Packard has been recognized for his parsimony. Last week, he received the “Taxpayers’ Friend” award from the National Taxpayers Union, which ranked him as one of the 31 most fiscally conservative members of the House of Representatives.

Todd, the publisher of Todd Market Timer, which offers subscribers advice on trends in the stock market, is one of two Republicans challenging Packard in the June primary in the newly created 48th Congressional District.

The new district was created as part of the decennial congressional reapportionment. It runs as far north in Orange County as Mission Viejo, and also along the coast from Laguna Beach south to Oceanside, and east into Riverside County. The other challenger, Edward M. Mayerhofer, lives in Fountain Valley, outside the district, and has not actively campaigned.

So far, Todd’s efforts have been confined to a few speeches before Republican women’s groups and complaining about the Packard tax statements in photocopied letters mailed to reporters. “As a non-incumbent, it’s tough,” he said. “I’m mailing out (requests for contributions) to various big money clients and (political action committees), and so forth, and I’ve been underwhelmed by their response.”

A conservative who describes himself as “slightly to the right of Attila the Hun,” Todd said Packard’s tax claim is not his only issue. If elected, Todd said, he would campaign to end welfare benefits for “career” welfare recipients, “take strong steps” to curb illegal immigration and attempt to toughen what he describes as “the most lenient criminal justice system on Earth.”

Born in Los Angeles, Todd said he has been a resident of Mission Viejo for 13 years and of Orange County for 19 years. Formerly an engineer with with Kaiser Steel in Fontana, Todd said he has worked in the financial services industry since 1975. He is married and has three children.