O.C. Elections ’92 : 2 Races Hinge on Absentees : Assembly: Tom Mays sees chances of winning as slim in 67th District. But Patricia C. Bates in the 73rd says to wait until all ballots are counted.

Despite inconclusive ballot returns a day after the polls closed, Assemblyman Tom Mays all but conceded defeat Wednesday even as he trailed Assemblywoman Doris Allen by less than 500 votes in their Republican primary battle.

But in the bitterly fought 73rd Assembly race, Republican Patricia C. Bates continued to hold out hope that some of the 15,000 to 18,000 absentee ballots yet to be counted in Orange County could help her catch attorney Bill Morrow, who led by more than 800 votes.

“We’ve still got our fingers crossed here,” said Mark Ferguson, campaign consultant for Bates. “We’ll wait until the very last ballot is counted. Then we’ll probably ask for a recount because I know it’ll be that close. So our hopes are still up.”

Officials in the Morrow campaign, however, predicted that the election math will fail to give Bates enough votes to win. Aside from Orange County, 53,000 ballots had not been counted Wednesday in San Diego County, the portion of the 73rd where Morrow ran strongest.

If the results hold, it would represent a solid validation of power politics, as both Allen and Morrow benefited greatly in the waning days of the election from huge infusions of cash from Sacramento power brokers intent on shaping the outcome of the races.

Allen received about $100,000 in campaign contributions during the last week before the race, the bulk of it from a Democratic-backed political action committee. Morrow, meanwhile, garnered about $150,000 in money and assistance from PACs and Sacramento powerhouses such as Sen. Frank Hill (R-Whittier) and Assemblyman Ross Johnson (R-Brea).

But nothing is over until it’s over, and election officials in Orange County said a complete tally of the remaining absentee ballots, which were received after 1 p.m. Monday, probably won’t be completed before Friday.

Donald F. Tanney, Orange County registrar of voters, said it remains unclear how many of the thousands of uncounted ballots are in the 67th or 73rd Assembly races.

Mays, who battled Allen and Assemblyman Nolan Frizzelle in a rare showdown among three incumbents for the 67th Assembly District primary nod, was not very optimistic that his fortunes would change, suggesting that even a flood of absentee ballots might not yield the margin of votes he needs to catch his opponent.

“It’s not official until all those absentee ballots are counted, but realistically speaking, it’s a long shot as far as my chances go,” Mays said.

With the absentee ballots still uncounted, Allen had 40.5% of the vote, compared to 39.4% for Mays and 20.1% for Frizzelle.

The close finish was indicative of a race that seemed a tossup from the very first moments of the campaign, which began cordially but turned nasty in the last days as the candidates railed against one another with “hit-piece” mailers.

Mays suffered a setback when six other Assembly conservatives, including Johnson and Assemblyman Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach), sent a letter to the district calling him “unreliable and hypocritical” because he voted last year to raise taxes. Mays said the real reason for the letter was his vote to oust Johnson from the Republican leadership last year.

“I think (the letter) made the difference,” Mays said, suggesting that it diverted enough conservative voters--who would have voted for him--over to Frizzelle to assure Allen the victory.

But the assemblyman said he was most troubled by the money that flowed to Allen from the Committee of Working Californians for an Effective Legislature, a PAC he called “basically the financial arm of the Democratic Party.”

“I’m disappointed that outside interests got involved in this campaign because we know we would have won if they hadn’t,” Mays said. “And you know it’s one thing for Republican interests to get involved in a primary race like this, but for Democratic interests to get involved is just outrageous.”

Mays said he is convinced that Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco) masterminded the diversion of PAC money to Allen.

“Willie Brown plays three games of chess, and you never know which move he is making,” Mays said. “It could be a move on our (Republican Assembly) leadership. It could be a move to protect his leadership because depending on how many seats the Republicans win in November, it could be close for him (to be reelected Speaker), especially if there are two or three renegade Democrats. So he might want to call in some votes, such as in this case.”

Jim Lewis, a spokesman for Brown, denied Wednesday that the Assembly Speaker had anything to do with PAC funds going to Allen’s campaign. “I find that absolutely preposterous,” he said. “I have no knowledge of anything like that.”

Frizzelle, meanwhile, was resolute in the face of defeat, declaring that his opponents had done little more than buy victory.

“They certainly ought to get a vote like that, outspending me 3 to 1,” the six-term assemblyman said. “They proved the money can win it. . . . However, I don’t mind losing, not spending as much as any one of them spent.”

Allen was finding little good cheer in her narrow lead as the election results trickled in early Wednesday. She stayed hidden from the GOP crowd at the Westin South Coast Plaza hotel on election night, emerging from her suite at 1 a.m. to express bitterness that she did not have a clear lead.

In particular, she criticized Mays for a Monday mailer that alleged that she had ties to the Democrats and showed her in a photograph with Willie Brown and Tom Hayden.

“It was a horrible hit piece,” Allen said. “It’s not fair to me. It’s not fair to the voters.”

Allen returned to Sacramento on Wednesday and did not return phone calls.

In the Republican primary race in the 73rd Assembly District, opponents ripped Morrow for outspending his nearest competitor 3 to 1 and conducting what one called a “smear campaign.”

Before the count of absentee ballots, votes for Morrow totaled 25.4%, while Bates had 23.3%, Claude (Bud) Lewis 15.5% and Dana Point Mayor Mike Eggers 12.3%.

Bates blamed a Morrow campaign brochure, which suggested that the Laguna Niguel councilwoman and her architect husband had conflicts of interest at City Hall, for undermining her campaign.

“It’s a blatant lie,” Bates said. “It was clearly a falsification of the record.”

Elections ‘92: The Gloom of Defeat Despite inconclusive election returns more than 24 hours after the polls closed, Assemblyman Tom Mays appeared resigned to defeat at the hands of Assemblywoman Doris Allen in their bitter battle for the 67th Assembly District Republican primary. With more than 15,000 absentee ballots yet to be counted in Orange County, the outcome of the race could remain in doubt until a tally is completed Friday.

Unofficial Final Returns

Votes % Doris Allen 17,586 40.5 Tom Mays 17,114 39.4 Nolan Frizzelle 8,718 20.1

Source: Orange County registrar of voters DANA POINT

Judy Curreri wins reelection to the City Council. B7

MISSION VIEJO

Voters reject a proposed $18-million City Hall. City vows new plan. B9

COUNTY SCHOOLS

Joan S. Primrose ousts incumbent in one of three board races. B9

Times staff writers Gebe Martinez, Greg Hernandez and Marla Cone and correspondent Lisa Mascaro also contributed to this story.