Elections ’92 : Takasugi Leads in GOP Bid for Assembly : Campaigns: Late returns show Cathie Wright winning in the GOP contest for a state Senate seat.

Taking the initial step to becoming the first Asian-American state legislator in 14 years, Oxnard Mayor Nao Takasugi on Tuesday night held a substantial lead over six other Republican candidates in the contest for Ventura County’s only open Assembly seat.

Late returns also showed Assemblywoman Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley) leading former Assembly rival Marian W. La Follette and Fillmore Councilman Roger Campbell in the Republican primary in the 19th state Senate District that stretches across most of the county.

And voters determined that Assemblywoman Paula Boland (R-Granada Hills) would face Democrat Howard Cohen, a 29-year-old unemployed North Hills resident, in the 38th Assembly that includes Simi Valley and Fillmore.

Two Santa Barbara Republicans were running neck and neck for the chance to compete against incumbent Assemblyman Jack O’Connell (D-Carpinteria) in the 35th Assembly District that reaches into Ventura, Ojai and Santa Paula.

Takasugi held a substantial lead over Madge Schaefer, a former county supervisor who lost reelection two years ago, and Alan A. Guggenheim, a French emigre who mounted an unexpectedly strong campaign with a surge of help from anti-abortion activists.

“It looks like we’re going to be able to claim victory by a comfortable margin,” Takasugi said at a party for his supporters at the Hilton in Oxnard.

But he said that Democratic candidate Roz McGrath, who was unopposed in the primary, will be a formidable opponent in the November election because of her family’s prominence in the county. “It’s a big race. We have our work cut out for us.”

Guggenheim said he was not surprised that Takasugi took an early lead and acknowledged that it would be difficult to catch up. “I don’t see that happening,” he said.

Four other Republicans in the race were trailing much further behind. They are: Camarillo podiatrist Jon H. Williams; Michael D. Berger, assistant principal of Moorpark High School; Oxnard trucker Ronald E. De Blauw; Kenneth L. Roberts III, a Newbury Park property manager.

The 37th District race sparked a costly and increasingly nasty battle among the seven Republican candidates seeking to replace Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks), who is running for Congress. The newly drawn district encompasses Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, Camarillo, Oxnard and Port Hueneme.

Takasugi, 70, spent the most money--about $150,000--a great deal of it on mailers attacking Guggenheim for bouncing checks in his business and for his support from “fanatic right-wing groups.”

Guggenheim, a 42-year-old financial consultant, received substantial contributions from anti-abortion groups, the National Rifle Assn. and an owner of Christian radio stations.

Spending nearly as much as Takasugi, Guggenheim’s campaign also received help from hundreds of volunteers from conservative, anti-abortion groups, including Operation Rescue and the Pro-Family Caucus. His small army hand-delivered nearly 100,000 mailers through the district in the past two weeks.

Guggenheim counterattacked by portraying Takasugi and Schaefer as big spenders who would not hesitate to raise taxes.

Although Schaefer was unable to match contributions collected by Guggenheim and Takasugi, she made news last week when she rejected the endorsement of Gov. Pete Wilson, who had endorsed Takasugi a day earlier. Schaefer, 50, said she was afraid that the endorsement would compromise her independence in the Legislature. She was unavailable for comment Tuesday night.

The planned retirement of state Sen. Ed Davis (R-Santa Clarita) set off a bruising battle for his seat representing the heavily Republican 19th Senate District that covers most of Ventura County and portions of the San Fernando Valley and Santa Clarita.

Attempting a comeback after her retirement two years ago from the Assembly, La Follette repeatedly attacked Wright for her unusual working relationship with Assembly Speaker Willie Brown, the Democrat Republicans love to hate.

La Follette, 65, said Wright was indebted to Brown because he once called a judge on behalf of her daughter, who was facing jail time for running up a series of traffic tickets. To sharpen the contrast, La Follette adopted a campaign slogan portraying herself as, “a Republican we can be proud of.”

La Follette, an independently wealthy widow, largely financed her campaign with her own money. She loaned her campaign $199,000, most of it in the final weeks to unleash a blizzard of political mailers to Republican voters, emphasizing her strong backing from law enforcement groups and needling Wright over past critiques on her integrity.

Wright fired back, accusing La Follette of being a “political opportunist” for moving from Orange County to Thousand Oaks earlier this year to make a bid for the open Senate seat. Wright, 62, maintained throughout the campaign that La Follette was recruited by Davis as his replacement. Wright and Davis have been feuding for years.

More recently, Wright charged that La Follette was trying to buy a seat in the Senate with her infusion of cash from her personal wealth. Most of their bickering focused on differences in style. Both women share similar conservative philosophies and voting records during the 10 years they were both in the Assembly.

La Follette said she was disappointed with the early returns. “In the past I’ve always been ahead in absentee ballots,” she said, suggesting that Campbell may have peeled off some of the “anti-Wright votes” who otherwise would have cast their ballots for her.

Lacking the money and name recognition of his opponents, Fillmore Councilman Campbell, 41, played up his outsider status, saying it was time “for middle America to take back Sacramento.” Campbell said La Follette and Wright, who have more than 20 years of legislative experience between them, were partly to blame for the state’s budget problems.

In November, the winner will face Henry Phillip Starr, a Bell Canyon attorney who ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.

In the 35th Assembly District Republican primary, Alan O. (Lanny) Ebenstein, a political science lecturer at Antioch University of Santa Barbara, held a very slim lead over his two opponents, Paul Pillmore, a financial analyst, and Aaron Gray, a self-employed hat maker.

The winner of the primary will face Assemblyman O’Connell in the November contest for the district that includes Ventura, Santa Paula, Ojai and stretches in Santa Barbara County.

Meanwhile, Cohen, an unemployed North Hills activist, held a substantial margin over Northridge attorney James Blatt to become the Democratic nominee who challenges incumbent Assemblywoman Boland in November.