Ferguson Will Not Seek Reelection to Assembly : Politics: After five terms, he hopes to move to state Senate. Would-be replacements line up.

Veteran Assemblyman Gil Ferguson surprised county Republicans Friday and announced that he will not seek reelection so that he can pursue a campaign next year for an expected opening in the state Senate.

Ferguson (R-Newport Beach), serving his fifth term in the Legislature, said it would be inappropriate for him to seek election to the Assembly in November and then announce within a few weeks that he plans to leave the office.

Ferguson authored a bill recently that would prevent state lawmakers from doing exactly that. He said the special elections required to fill vacancies in the Legislature--sometimes costing $1 million--can be an unnecessary burden for taxpayers.

“I can’t ask you for your vote and then turn around and run for another office,” said the burly ex-Marine, known in Sacramento as an outspoken conservative. “I think this is the right thing to do.”

Ferguson said he plans to run next spring for the state Senate seat now held by Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach), who is a heavy favorite to win election this year to the Orange County Board of Supervisors.

Bergeson’s current term does not expire until 1996, so if she wins the county seat, a special election would likely be ordered next spring to fill the time remaining in her term.

Assemblywoman Doris Allen (R-Cypress), whose district also overlaps with Bergeson’s, has indicated she may run against Ferguson for a Senate vacancy, setting up a major showdown between two veteran Orange County lawmakers.

“It’s certainly something I’m looking at, (but) in this business, you don’t know what’s going to happen a year from now,” Allen said.

Allen also said she rejected Ferguson’s claim that he was trying to save taxpayers money. She charged that he was not running because he feared that he would lose to an expected moderate Republican challenger.

“I don’t want to sound too jaded,” she said, “but I would say that would probably be the case.”

Ferguson’s announcement quickly set off a mad scramble among ambitious candidates interested in filling one of the most coveted Republican seats in California.

Ferguson’s 70th Assembly District spans the coast between Newport Beach and Laguna Beach, stretching inland to include Irvine. It is rich in both wealthy constituents and Republican voters. GOP voters account for 60% of the district’s electorate, outnumbering Democrats by more than 2 to 1.

Within a few hours of Ferguson’s morning announcement, Republican insiders identified nearly a dozen potential candidates.

Tom Reinecke, an attorney and the son of a former California lieutenant governor, was the first to announce that he will definitely seek the office. By Friday afternoon, the candidate issued a press release announcing his plans under the campaign letterhead: “Reinecke, conservative for Assembly.”

Other Republicans who said they are considering a bid for Ferguson’s seat included Chuck DeVore, a former congressional staffer and White House aide in the Reagan Administration; Jo Ellen Allen, a former Assembly candidate and California director of the Eagle Forum; John Moorlach, an accountant and the assistant treasurer for the county Republican Party; Bruce Peotter, a Newport Beach lawyer, and Phillip B. Greer, an Irvine lawyer.

“This is no doubt one of the most attractive seats in the entire state,” DeVore said. “You’ve got a dynamic, business-oriented, entrepreneurial district. This is not a depressed area.”

GOP officials also offered a list of potential candidates that included Newport Beach City Councilwoman Evelyn R. Hart; Costa Mesa Councilwoman Mary Hornbuckle and Marilyn Brewer, a staff assistant to County Supervisor Thomas F. Riley.

Jim Toledano, an Irvine lawyer, said he plans to run as a Democratic candidate.

Since the incumbent for the seat will not file for reelection, the deadline for candidates to register with the county is extended until Feb. 14.