Religious Right Loses Majority on GOP Panel : Central Committee: Moderate Republicans capture 15 of 22 seats after accusing the conservative faction of ignoring party chores.

Republican voters ousted a conservative Christian majority from the Ventura County Republican Central Committee on Tuesday, opting overwhelmingly for candidates who said the committee should not be used to advance an anti-abortion agenda or other socially conservative causes.

Moderate Republicans captured 15 of the committee’s 22 seats after mounting a campaign accusing the committee’s conservative religious faction of ignoring party chores in favor of promoting prayer in public schools and a constitutional ban on abortion.

Of the seven remaining seats, three will be filled by incumbents siding with the conservative Christian faction and four are candidates backed by the socially conservative Pro-Family Caucus of Ventura County. Voters returned only one of five anti-abortion activists who sought reelection to the committee after being arrested for blocking abortion clinics within the past two years.

Bob Larkin, a moderate Central Committee member, said the voters have sent a message to conservative Christians by taking away their two-thirds majority control.

“It’s a mandate from the voters to do the job we are elected to do,” Larkin said. “And that’s to register Republicans and get out the vote on Election Day. Period.” Larkin, a Simi Valley insurance agent, won reelection to a two-year term on the committee.

But even as they analyzed the results Wednesday, party activists noted that the conservative faction will remain in office until January. Both sides predicted that infighting on the lame-duck committee will continue through the upcoming general election season, hampering the committee’s efforts to help Republicans win election.

“We have said all along we want to work with them,” said Bill Jones, an incumbent who sides with the religious right. “If that were to happen, that would be great. But I won’t hold my breath,” said Jones, a Simi Valley salesman who won reelection.

The committee’s chairman, St. Thomas Aquinas College tutor Richard Ferrier, said before Tuesday’s election that he expects the committee to work together to support Republican nominees, regardless of the election’s outcome. But Larkin said he does not think that Ferrier, who supports the conservative Christian faction, will be able to negotiate a truce in upcoming months.

Ferrier, who was defeated in Tuesday’s primary election, did not return calls Wednesday.

If necessary, Larkin said, the moderates elected Tuesday are prepared to create a parallel party organization that will work outside the Central Committee over the next five months to raise funds, register voters and coordinate efforts to get out the vote in November.

“We’ve discussed that possibility if the current majority is not willing to cooperate,” Larkin said.

Supporters of the conservative Christians sought Wednesday to paint their loss in the best light. Steve Frank, a Simi Valley political consultant for conservative religious groups, noted that Assemblywoman Cathie Wright, Rep. Elton Gallegly and Senate candidate Bruce Herschensohn, all Republicans who support a ban on abortions, won their primary races.

“The goal of course was to win the Central Committee and of course we’re disappointed we’ve lost. But you have to weigh that with the victories,” he said.

But critics interpreted the results differently.

Camarillo businessman Ken Caldwell, who was elected Tuesday to the committee, pointed out that 37th Assembly District candidate Alan A. Guggenheim, heavily supported by anti-abortion forces and other conservative lobbies, lost to a more mainstream Republican, Oxnard Mayor Nao Takasugi. Guggenheim’s wife, Suzanne, lost her bid for a seat on the Central Committee, he said.

“Voters saw through the ‘traditional values’ theme to mean pro-life, and the voters obviously do not think pro-life is the only theme important in an election,” Caldwell said.