Countywide : Vasquez Leads Way in Contributions

With three seats up for grabs on the County Board of Supervisors this year, the local fund-raising competition is being won by an incumbent who doesn’t stand for reelection until 1996.

Campaign contribution reports filed Monday show that Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez is sitting on a whopping $316,450.

Long rumored as a possible candidate for a number of statewide offices, Vasquez said Monday that “right now” he intends to remain on the board.

“I don’t have any specific intentions other than to do a good job here,” Vasquez said. “Tomorrow is another day, but right now, at this hour, I wouldn’t read anything into it.”

Vasquez’s available bankroll far surpasses totals amassed by the five candidates vying to succeed longtime supervisors Thomas F. Riley and Harriett M. Wieder, both of whom are retiring this year.

In the third seat, Supervisor William G. Steiner--who was appointed to fill the remaining term of former Supervisor Don R. Roth, convicted early last year on state ethics violations--so far is running unopposed.

Most of the political interest in the county board races has been focused in Huntington Beach, where three candidates are running to fill Wieder’s seat.

Due in large part to a personal loan of $200,000, local businesswoman Haydee Tillotson leads the district’s money wars with an additional $50,000 raised in individual contributions.

Tillotson’s campaign financing strategy, however, has become a target for criticism from at least one other candidate, Huntington Beach Mayor Linda Moulton-Patterson.

“I think she’s trying to buy this election,” said Moulton-Patterson, who has raised $33,480 during the past reporting period for a total of $71,000. “I don’t think you can buy an election. We’re doing a good job getting a lot of $50 and $75 contributions. That’s the way we want to run.”

But Moulton-Patterson’s statement does include larger contributors, most notably the Irvine Co., with a $1,000 contribution.

Huntington Beach City Councilman Jim Silva is also in the race, having raised nearly $40,000 during the past six months, for a total of $56,604.

In Riley’s South County district, state Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach) has raised just less than $70,000 in the past six months for a total of $73,415.

So far, Bergeson has one opponent in the 5th District race, Laguna Hills businesswoman Madelene Arakelian, who has pledged to raise at least $200,000. Arakelian’s contribution report was not available Monday.

Although Steiner so far is running without opposition, that hasn’t stopped him from raising funds.

Steiner lists total contributions during the past six months at nearly $100,000 for a total of $156,555.

“Nobody said I couldn’t dial for dollars,” the former city of Orange councilman and 4th District incumbent said. “I don’t want to assume anything.”

Mention of possible challengers have included Anaheim Mayor Tom Daly and Councilman Irv Pickler, but neither have declared themselves candidates for the board race.

Included in Monday’s filings was the final required contribution statement filed by Roth. The former supervisor listed total contributions of $100 during the past six months. But all cash on hand, $10,594, was paid to the clerk of Orange County Municipal Court related to his conviction last year.