ORANGE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT : 3 Conservatives Carry Day With Help of GOP Politicians

Three conservatives endorsed by several well-known county Republicans swept aside two incumbents and other candidates to capture seats on the school board here Tuesday.

In Area 1, incumbent John Hurley lost to Martin Jacobson, a 40-year-old accountant, and in Area 7, school board member Alan E. Irish lost his post to Rick Ledesma, a 31-year-old corporate cost analyst. Backed by former U.S. Rep. William E. Dannemeyer and state Sen. John R. Lewis (R-Orange), both Jacobson and Ledesma opposed new taxes, while portraying their opponents as tax supporters.

“I was giving an anti-tax message,” Jacobson said. “I think their (Lewis’ and Dannemeyer’s) endorsements backed that up. It certainly helped.”

In Area 5, Max Reissmueller, a 25-year-old electronics technician supervisor, ran on a similar “anti-tax” platform. In candidate forums and campaign mailers, Reissmueller accused his toughest challenger, Mara Brandman, a 48-year-old community activist, of being controlled by the local teachers union and having a “tax-and-spend” mentality. Reissmueller received support from Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove), Lewis and Assemblyman Mickey Conroy (R-Orange).

The only setback for conservative candidates came in Area 4, where James H. Fearns, a 63-year-old probation officer, easily outdistanced challengers Frank C. Noble and William L. Parker. Fearns, who ran unsuccessfully for the board in 1989, was the only candidate backed by the teachers union to win a seat on the board.

Still, the more conservative composition of the seven-member board is certain to play a major role in its selection of a school superintendent.

The four new school board members, whose four-year terms begin Dec. 3, said hiring a new superintendent should be the body’s top priority. The Orange Unified School District has been without a permanent superintendent for more than a year.

Board seats in Areas 4 and 5 were vacated by President Lila Beavans and Barry Resnick, both of whom served just one term. Both said continuing frustration with the board’s contentiousness influenced their decision not to run.

Interestingly, Jacobson’s and Ledesma’s public support of the school voucher initiative also on Tuesday’s ballot did not hurt their campaign, even though the controversial measure was widely rejected by Orange County voters. Reissmueller would not divulge his stand on the measure, saying the public should make its decision.

“I think the voters are intelligent and they saw that the school voucher initiative is just one issue and you can’t judge a school board member on just one issue,” Ledesma said.

County election officials cautioned that results will be tentative until it can tally an estimated 20,000 absentee ballots. Final election should be released sometime next week, officials said.

“Until we get a final count, any of these races could change,” said Lysa Pisarski with county’s registration and elections division.

One of the largest districts in the county, the sprawling Orange Unified has about 26,000 students in schools in Orange, Villa Park, Anaheim, Garden Grove, Silverado Canyon and Santa Ana.