Perot’s Dark Horse Saddled in Irvine for Long-Shot Bid

To Bob and Betty Anderson of Fullerton, Texas billionaire Ross Perot represents everything that politicians are not.

“He’s truthful, has integrity, gives you straight answers and cares for the working man,” said Anderson, 58. “He’s a breath of fresh air.”

“We’re just so glad he’s running,” added Betty Anderson, who, like her husband, was sporting a “Perot for President” T-shirt.

The Andersons were among the hundreds of county residents who attended a Perot rally here Saturday at the plaza outside the Flour Daniel building. They signed petitions aimed at qualifying Perot for the state’s November presidential ballot.

Sounding a common theme at the rally, Anderson declared that he and his wife were there “because our country needs a change.”

The rally, complete with red, white and blue balloons, campaign posters and a country band, started the regional petition drive for Perot, who has said he will run for President if supporters qualify him for the ballot in all 50 states.

Merrick Okamota, chairman of the county campaign, estimated that more than 3,000 people had attended the event by noon.

“I feel like I’m on a stagecoach trying to hold the reins of 18 horses,” Okamota said. “There’s no way to rein in the enthusiasm of Orange County. The people here are way ahead of us.”

Indeed, a steady stream of people flowed in and out of the rally, where there were dozens of booths for petitions and voter registration.

Initial plans to send petitioners to shopping malls and supermarkets throughout the county to collect signatures were changed in favor of the rally because of the civil unrest in Los Angeles sparked by the acquittals in the Rodney G. King beating trial.

Starting Monday, after an identical rally today, Perot supporters will be sent out to seek the nearly 135,000 signatures needed to get Perot a spot on the state ballot. The number of signatures gathered Saturday was not available, but Okamota did say more than 6,000 county residents have signed up to be volunteers.

“We’re getting a lot of people,” Okamota said, “from 70-year-old vets to an 18 year-old bicycle repairman. . . . Most of them are saying that they are upset with the current leadership.”

Ken Reynoso, 35, of Irvine was one who voiced discontent over the country’s leadership.

“I’m pretty sick of all politicians,” said Reynoso, who was reading a flyer on the Perot candidacy. “This guy has a lot of guts.”

Reynoso’s wife, Pierrot, said she thinks that Perot would address the country’s problems head-on and not avoid them, like most of the politicians in Washington.

“Look at the crisis in Los Angeles and the way Bush handled it,” she said. “His speech had no substance, it was just filler material. We’re going to hell in a handbasket, and he doesn’t say anything. . . . (Perot) is much more down to earth, more caring for the average man.”

Perot has not detailed how he would address many of the nation’s problems, but that did not seem to bother those at the rally. Anderson said Perot would “be more specific when he gets to Washington and gathers the facts.”

In the meantime, supporters seemed content just listening to Perot’s fiery and humorous rhetoric on today’s issues. Scores of people huddled around a TV and watched a videotape of a Perot speech in which he bashed politicians and denounced the federal deficit.

Rodger Benson, 45, of Costa Mesa said he likes Perot because he “doesn’t have to explain his past away” as other candidates often do.

“He’s obligated to the people,” he said. “He doesn’t have a lot of big (political) contributors he’s obligated to.”