CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS / 71ST ASSEMBLY DISTRICT : Challenger in Republican Race Forces Conroy to Defend Record

As he announced his decision last March to enter the Republican primary in the 71st Assembly District, Charles R. Wall promised not to go easy on the incumbent, Mickey Conroy (R-Santa Ana).

Wall’s supporters circulated flyers that read, “Stop bigotry, hate & ignorance,” while Wall described Conroy as an out-of-touch, “back-stabbing” official who is ethnically biased.

Conroy, who won his Assembly seat in a special election last September, responded by pointing to an award he received in 1970 for his work with minorities in the U.S. Navy and then summarily dismissed his opponent’s criticisms.

If Conroy, 64, was feeling confident, it was because he had just dodged a potent political bullet. Two weeks before Wall’s announcement, Conroy’s allies had dissuaded Mission Viejo City Councilman Robert A. Curtis from entering the race.

Since then, Wall, 44, of Trabuco Canyon, has continued hammering away at Conroy, but the ethnic bias issue has faded from his campaign.

“The campaign is about leadership, and I think he’s not a leader,” said Wall, a sign manufacturing representative and chairman of the Santiago Aqueduct Commission.

Still, Conroy admits that he has been forced to defend his short-term legislative record.

“He has managed to basically put me in a position of spending monies that could better be put to electing Republican candidates (to the Assembly) who think like I do,” Conroy said.

While campaigning, Wall refers to a tax cut that he proposed on the local water commission and then criticizes Conroy for opposing new taxes without finding ways to cut the state budget.

“It’s just not enough to say ‘No, no, no’ ” to new taxes, Wall said. “Let’s do something creative.”

Wall has proposed cutting state administrative costs by privatizing some government agencies such as California Department of Transportation. He also supports a state law that would set a ratio mandating the number of students per administrator in each school.

When he started out, Wall was counting on Conroy’s unfamiliarity with the South County precincts that are not part of the incumbent’s current district. The newly created 71st District encompasses a large swath of the county, from Orange to Mission Viejo.

Wall also set out to capture the sentiment of voters who supported Conroy’s opponents in the primary that preceded the special election last year.

Wall’s early supporters included longtime political foes of Conroy: Barry P. Resnick, president of the Orange Unified School District Board of Trustees; Carole Walters, head of the Orange Political Action Committee; and Sam Rodriguez, a founder of the Hispanic Republican Committee of Orange.

Wall said he has also received the endorsement of the California Republican League’s Orange County chapter.

But Conroy, a Santa Ana resident, said Wall’s initial supporters were people “who were in total dislike of me personally” and have not whipped up strong support for Wall.

And Wall’s criticism of Conroy’s actions on the state budget reflect “no understanding of what’s going on up here” in Sacramento, Conroy said. He added that he is working with Republican Assembly members on a tax-cutting plan.

As he pushes his reelection bid, Conroy said the biggest issue continues to be the state’s recession--the business slump resulting from excessive state regulation and the subsequent slide in revenues for the state budget.

“If the regulating agencies are not brought under control, I assure you we are looking at total disaster in this state,” Conroy said.

He advocates reform of the workers’ compensation system, opposes health care plans that would burden small businesses, and opposes legislation prohibiting discrimination against gays and lesbians because he said he feels that it would encourage the filing of frivolous lawsuits against businesses.

The incumbent also takes credit for bringing together Orange city officials and TRW Inc. executives for talks that resulted in the company’s decision last week not to move its credit-reporting division and 1,200 jobs out of state.

But Conroy also faces criticism from Bea Foster, 54, the unopposed Democratic Party candidate who will face the winner of the Republican contest in November.

As an educator, Foster takes aim at Conroy’s opposition to bilingual education. She also supports the creation of civilian police review boards in every California city and advocates tax breaks for companies that attempt to find cures for AIDS and “other less glamorous diseases.”

Although Democrats make up only 28.6% of the district’s registered voters compared to 59% who registered Republican, Foster hopes to attract women voters and those generally opposed to the reelection of incumbents.

“I am running to make people aware of the issues and make them aware that Mr. Conroy is not representing the people who actually live here, except for the vocal few that turn out to vote,” Foster said.

71st Assembly District

Here are the candidates running for the 71st Assembly District seat in the June 2 primary.

The Issues

Following are questions asked each of the candidates:

Abortion rights--Do you support or oppose abortion rights?

Education voucher--Do you support the proposed education initiative, which would provide parents with a voucher they can use to send their children to the school of their choice, including a private institution?

Health care plan--Do you support the California Medical Assn.’s proposed health care initiative, requiring all employers to provide basic coverage for any employee working more than half-time?

Gay rights--Do you support legislation similar to AB 101, prohibiting discrimination by employers against homosexuals?

Welfare plan--Do you support Gov. Pete Wilson’s proposed welfare reform plan, calling for a minimum 10% reduction in welfare grants, incentives to stay in school and lower payments for new state residents?

Gnatcatcher--Should the California gnatcatcher, a rare bird that nests in areas targeted for development, be designated as a state endangered species?

REPUBLICANS

Mickey Conroy

Home: Santa Ana

Age: 64

Occupation: Incumbent

Background: Won election to the old 67th Assembly District in a special election last year; longtime GOP activist; spent 21 years in the U.S. Armed Forces; former executive director of the Veterans Charities of Orange County; founded the California War Veterans for Justice in 1983, a group organized to remove Assemblyman Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica) from office.

Issues: Abortion rights--opposes, except in cases of rape or incest, or if the mother’s life is in danger. Education vouchers--supports initiative and vouchers. Health care plan--opposes. Gay rights--opposes. Welfare plan--supports. Gnatcatcher--opposes.

Charles R. Wall

Home: Trabuco Canyon

Age: 44

Occupation: Sign manufacturing representative

Background: A 13-year member of the Trabuco Canyon Water District and chairman of the Santiago Aqueduct Commission; delegate to the Associated California Water Agencies; ran unsuccessfully in 1990 for the Saddleback Unified School District board; former member of the Orange County Specific Planning Committee for the Trabuco area.

Issues: Abortion rights--opposes, except in cases of rape or incest, or if the mother’s life is in danger. Education vouchers--opposes. Health care plan--opposes. Gay rights--opposes. Welfare plan--supports, except proposal to lower payments for new state residents. Gnatcatcher--opposes.

DEMOCRAT

Bea Foster

Home: North Tustin

Age: 54

Occupation: Rancho Santiago College instructor.

Background: Chairwoman of the committee to incorporate North Tustin; member of the Orange County Democratic Party Central Committee since 1980 and current member of party’s state executive committee; ran as a write-in candidate in last year’s U.S. Senate election against Republican John Seymour; served on the 1978 steering committee for the county’s TINCUP campaign finance reform measure.

Issues: Abortion rights--supports. Education vouchers--opposes vouchers but favors parental right to choose the school. Health care plan--supports more comprehensive plan that is not tied to employment. Gay rights--supports. Welfare plan--opposes. Gnatcatcher--supports.