ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : Umberg for Reelection to Assembly

Assemblyman Tom Umberg had all the markings of a good legislator when he ran for the Assembly two years ago--energy, independence and good judgment. It is gratifying to see that he has fulfilled his promise. Now facing reelection in a district reconfigured in last year’s reapportionment, the Garden Grove Democrat is the clear choice over his Republican opponent, college instructor and businesswoman Jo Ellen Allen, in the 69th Assembly District.

As an example of his accomplishments, Umberg fought a powerful Northern California state senator to get Orange County exempted from a measure that would have blocked construction of toll roads in the state. The legislation would have stopped local efforts to get toll roads under way in this traffic-congested county.

Umberg, a former federal prosecutor, also intervened forcefully in Orange County’s jail overcrowding controversy. He did this by carrying legislation that would have made it easier for the Board of Supervisors to condemn land on its selected jail site, in Gypsum Canyon near Anaheim Hills.

Though the issue later proved moot when the board backed away from the site altogether, Umberg’s action showed he was not afraid to step into a tough issue.

But Umberg didn’t stop there. He carried bills--later signed by Gov. Pete Wilson--that increased penalties on white-collar and hate crimes and that reactivated the California-Nevada Super Speed Ground Transportation Commission.

He helped lobby for a federal courthouse in Santa Ana. He served on the California Council on Criminal Justice. He was an active member of several Assembly committees, including transportation and public safety. He launched health screening fairs in the 69th District, which includes most of Santa Ana and parts of Anaheim and Garden Grove. And he did all this while balancing his legislative duties with three brief stints in the Army Reserve.

Umberg, Orange County’s only Democratic legislator, so distinguished himself in Sacramento that the California Journal last April ranked him highest of any Orange County legislator--or, for that matter, any other freshman legislator in the state--in terms of overall effectiveness. Not bad for a beginner.

Yes, it is true that Umberg is better positioned than his GOP colleagues to get things done because he is a Democrat in the Democrat-controlled Assembly. But he also has shown more roll-up-your-sleeves spunk than most other members of Orange County’s delegation.

Republican Allen, who is backed by the conservative Christian movement, has conducted a spirited campaign. But there’s no need to replace Umberg, who is doing a fine job.