CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS / 45TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT : War of Words Heats Up in Republican Race : Fight for the GOP nomination intensifies with Peter Buffa’s new radio ad featuring Reagan’s son Michael. It draws a sharp response from Rep. Dana Rohrabacher.

Heading into the climactic weekend before Election Day, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher and challenger Peter Buffa bared their knuckles Friday as their fight for the Republican nomination in 45th Congressional District intensified.

Buffa unveiled a radio ad featuring Michael Reagan, son of the former president, saying “we Reagans” are upset with Rohrabacher because he has claimed a major role in formulating the policies that helped end the Cold War.

In an interview, Reagan acknowledged that he was referring in the radio spot only to himself, sister Maureen--a congressional candidate in Los Angeles County--and their spouses.

A few hours later, Rohrabacher held a press conference to call for an FBI and Federal Election Commission investigation of the Buffa campaign, saying the Costa Mesa councilman has mounted a $100,000-plus election effort while reporting less than $50,000 in contributions.

He also spotlighted ties between Buffa’s campaign consultant, Glen Greener, and the Dougher family, the trailer park moguls whose political connections to county Supervisor Don R. Roth and other Orange County politicians are drawing scrutiny from the FBI and other agencies.

Noticeably absent from the skirmishing was the third Republican candidate in the 45th District primary, Huntington Beach Councilman Peter M. Green, who has remained content to run a grass-roots campaign and keep clear of the escalating war of words between Buffa and Rohrabacher. The district sprawls across the northwest corner of Orange County and includes Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley and Costa Mesa.

Friday began with the Buffa announcement of the Reagan radio advertisement. Buffa played a recording of the ad on his son’s boombox tape player, then held a conference call with Michael Reagan and reporters.

“As President, Ronald Reagan left a legacy of peace and security unequaled in history,” the son says in the advertisement. “Now, there’s a congressional candidate--Dana Rohrabacher--who’s trying to claim credit for that. We Reagans are upset.”

The ad, which will play on three Orange County stations over the weekend and three Los Angeles stations during Monday’s commuting hours, goes on to repeat the reference to “we Reagans” two more times and to compliment Buffa for understanding “the ideals my father stands for.”

Talking with reporters from his home in Sherman Oaks, the younger Reagan said he has been upset that Rohrabacher, a former Reagan speech writer, has made statements suggesting that “if Dana Rohrabacher hadn’t been there . . . the Cold War wouldn’t have ended.”

Reagan said his father was not taking a stand on the race, saying he “believes in the 11th Commandment--I will not speak ill of another Republican.”

A spokeswoman for the former President confirmed that Reagan was remaining neutral.

“President Reagan has a longstanding policy not to endorse Republican candidates during a contested primary,” said Cathy Goldberg.

Rohrabacher scoffed at the radio ad, saying it stems from his own endorsement of Los Angeles Councilwoman Joan Milk-Flores in her race against Maureen Reagan for a congressional seat. He said his dislike of Maureen Reagan stems from his belief that she is “a liberal and has nothing to do with the Ronald Reagan legacy.”

He was no less blunt in his assessment of the Buffa campaign, arguing that the challenger is “bank rolling” the effort by incurring “an illegal debt” to campaign consultant Greener. Buffa’s latest campaign finance report says he has raised about $47,000 and owes Greener’s Irvine consulting firm more than $17,000.

“In this election, Mr. Buffa at the very least is incurring a huge debt” to Greener, Rohrabacher said in a prepared statement. He also noted that Greener has in the past lobbied the Costa Mesa City Council, saying that it is “highly questionable” for Buffa to be accepting “a large line of credit” from someone with such ties.

Rohrabacher said the challenger has bought expensive radio time, smothered the district with campaign mailers and plastered up signs, reflecting “a campaign effort that is much more highly financed than what he was reporting.”

“We know something is rotten,” Rohrabacher said. “The smell is in the air.”

Buffa countered that his opponent’s charges “are a jumble of unsubstantiated claims.”

“Frankly I don’t get it,” he said. “It seems to me that I have a debt to my campaign consultant, and apparently that’s shocking to Dana. He’s stunned that someone could run an efficient campaign for a small amount of money.”

Buffa also said he felt the charges were just a response to his earlier news conference.

“The first thing you have to keep in mind is that Dana is having a very bad day,” he said. “After the news he got of Michael Reagan’s endorsement, it’s the kind of day candidates have nightmares about.”

Greener, who served as a government consultant for the Dougher family for several years, said he has not lobbied the Costa Mesa council in more than a year and doesn’t expect to appear before it in the future.

He also said the Buffa campaign will probably end up about $40,000 in debt, but most of the money will be paid off with fund-raisers held after Tuesday’s election.

“My firm is not absorbing any cost,” he said. “The Buffa campaign has been billed for the work we’ve done. We’re waiting for the check. . . . Our terms are 30 days. I believe we start adding late fees on all our accounts after that.”