CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS / 41ST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT : 8 Vying for Seat in Race Without Incumbent

In the world of politics, the new 41st Congressional District is a land of opportunity.

Without an incumbent to claim the district that stretches from northern Orange County into parts of Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, eight candidates are seeking their parties’ nomination in the June 2 primary.

That is in sharp contrast to Orange County congressional races in the 39th, 47th and 48th districts, where two incumbents and a state senator have staked out those seats and are considered front-runners.

* In the 47th District, Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach) faces two underfunded opponents in the primary.

* In the 48th District, Rep. Ron Packard (R-Oceanside) faces two political newcomers.

* In the 39th District, state Sen. Edward R. Royce (R-Anaheim) is running unopposed.

Of the eight contenders in the 41st District, one is a Democrat and one carries the banner for the Peace and Freedom Party.

The front-runners in the Republican race include former Assemblyman Charles W. Bader, 52, of Pomona; Diamond Bar Mayor Jay C. Kim, 53, who owns an engineering design firm; and businessman James V. Lacy, 39, who was an attorney with the U.S. Department of Commerce before moving to Yorba Linda to enter the race.

Also seeking the Republican nomination are John Hoover, 39, of Fullerton, who develops industrial training programs; George Henry Margolis, 61, of Yorba Linda, an unsuccessful Democratic primary candidate in the 1990 election; and James Todhunter, 47, of Irvine, a small-business owner.

One of Bader’s greatest assets as he entered the race--his lengthy political record--is being targeted by his primary opponents as a liability.

Lacy, who holds his own credentials as a political insider, is nonetheless hoping to capitalize on voters’ anti-incumbency fever by casting Bader as a career politician.

“He has run for office 20 times in the last 21 years,” Lacy said. “I am convinced that the voters are sick and tired of seeing the same, tired old faces.”

But Bader replied, “I won all except three elections,” indicating to him that voters support his voting record.

He first served on the Pomona City Council beginning in 1971 and later held a seat in the state Assembly from 1982 to 1990. He left the Assembly for an unsuccessful bid for a state Senate seat in 1990.

In the contest for endorsements from political allies, Bader has won the support of former Gov. George Deukmejian, Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands), and a number of state officials, including Assemblyman Ross Johnson (R-La Habra), 18 mayors and council members from within the district, and local police unions.

Bader said he supports political reform measures such as term limits for House members; opposes abortion rights except in the cases of rape, incest or if the mother’s life is in danger; and opposes legislation requiring a waiting period to purchase a handgun.

Pointing to his Assembly record as a barometer of his support for fiscal constraints on government, Bader said he does not support President Bush’s proposed tax cuts for low- and middle-income families to get health care, although he would support tax credits to small businesses so that they may provide coverage for employees.

Lacy is selling himself as the most conservative candidate in the race and one who has actively campaigned for term limits for House members.

Having held numerous posts during the administrations of Presidents Reagan and Bush, he also highlights his background as a former aide to the late Howard Jarvis during the Proposition 13 campaign and points to endorsements from the head of Americans for Tax Reform, the California Republican Assembly, and Orange County Reps. Cox, Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove), and Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach).

Lacy supports another cycle of Reagan-style cuts in personal income taxes; opposes abortion rights; generally supports the President’s health care plan but would seek better care for senior citizens; and opposes legislation that would require a waiting period on the purchase of handguns.

Unlike the other two front-runners, Kim--who won his first City Council election two years ago--has positioned himself as the political outsider.

Kim said he entered the race because he resented the fact that non-residents of the district were seeking the Republican Party nomination, even though residency is not legally required.

“It’s pathetic,” Kim said. “I am the only one who lives in the district and pays property taxes here.”

While claiming to refuse the “political endorsement” contest waged by Bader and Lacy, Kim said he received unsolicited support from Rep. David Dreier (R-La Verne) and from U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Tex.).

As for the issues, Kim said he holds strong objections to abortion and does not believe that abortions should be federally funded. But he said women’s abortion rights should not be dictated by government because “this is a moral issue, not a government issue.”

Kim also has proposed a health care plan that includes a tax break for people who make annual contributions to a health care fund--similar to an individual retirement account. He supports a waiting period for the purchase of handguns.

If the 1992 political season is the year of the outsider, then Hoover hopes to be the Republican who runs against his own party--criticizing Republican stalwarts for “self-aggrandizement” while ignoring key social issues that he feels must be addressed to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor.

“For some of the candidates in this race,” Hoover said, “going to Congress is the ultimate perk.”

Margolis, who ran unsuccessfully in the 1990 Democratic Primary for the congressional seat currently held by Cox, said he switched parties last year because he felt more comfortable with Republican Party politics.

“I have a picture with Oliver North, so does that explain myself?” Margolis said.

Finishing the Republican field is Todhunter, who promised to be an advocate for small-business owners.

The current officeholders, he added, are “from the planet Mars” because they have forgotten what it means to draw a paycheck from a small business.

In the Democratic Primary in the 41st District, Bob Baker, 40, of Anaheim is unopposed.

Baker, who works as an analyst for a major defense contractor, said his professional experience would allow him to “act as a surgeon and not a butcher,” when defense budget cuts are decided by Congress.

Although voter registration in the district is 51% Republican to 40% Democrat, Baker said he hopes to be the recipient of anti-status quo voters.

The Peace and Freedom Party candidate is Mike Noonan, 52, a pharmacist who lives in Claremont. Noonan ran in five previous congressional races during the 1980s against Dreier.

In the 39th District race, Royce, 40, will not face any opponents until the November general election.

The two candidates on the Democratic ballot are Fullerton City Councilwoman Molly McClanahan, 54; and Garry Hamud, 44, an attorney and educator from La Habra, who previously lost a Democratic primary contest for the seat held by Dreier. The Libertarian candidate is Jack Dean, a 44-year-old business executive from Fullerton.

McClanahan has served on the Fullerton council for 10 years and is the director of the Anaheim Youth Employment Service.

In the Republican primary in the 47th District, incumbent Cox, 39, is being challenged by Steven J. Frogue, 49, a high school history teacher from Lake Forest; and Robert L. Moore, 50, an Irvine resident and businessman who has served on the Saddleback Community College District board for the past 12 years.

Democrat John F. Anwiler, 48, of Lake Forest is unopposed in the June primary, as is Peace and Freedom Party candidate Maxine B. Quirk, 70, of Orange, a frequent candidate in federal and state elections.

In the 48th District, Packard, 60, is facing primary opposition from Fountain Valley businessman Ed Mayerhofer, 27, and Stephen Todd, 49, an economic adviser from Mission Viejo.

Running unopposed in the Democratic primary is Escondido businessman Michael Farber, 31.

The Libertarian Party candidate is Ted Lowe, 50, of Oceanside, and the Peace and Freedom candidate is Donna White of San Diego.