Brewer a Breath of Fresh Air for Assembly : She Offers Moderate Voice as Rivals Battle Over 70th District’s Conservative Legacy

The 70th Assembly District is some of the most solidly Republican territory to be found anywhere. When Assemblyman Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach) decided not to run again in the hopes of replacing Marian Bergeson in the state Senate, the question of succession inevitably focused on what kind of Republican representation the district would get.

But that question, at least for those who are looking for the ultimate conservative, has not proven so easily decided.

Hard-core conservatives have found themselves divided between Thomas G. Reinecke, a general practice attorney and vice chairman of the county Republican Party, and Barry J. Hammond, an Irvine city councilman who wears his city’s political rejection of former liberal mayor Larry Agran as a badge of honor.

Of these two, Reinecke is by far the weaker candidate. Though active in state and local party politics, he is ideologically rigid and, at this point at least, seemingly short on real-life experience. Hammond has pushed the hot-button of an immigration “invasion” during his campaign but is well informed on local issues.

The problem with the battle for the conservative mantle is that: 1) the people of the 70th district are not as a group necessarily so politically extreme in 1994, and 2) the district ought to be represented by somebody who is willing to work with people across the aisle, since it is a fact of life that the Democrats control the legislature.

For years, Ferguson has been a card-carrying member of the Legislature’s “cavemen,” opposed to almost everything and accomplishing very little. The district needs a breath of fresh air and moderation, someone who is reasonable. By almost any standard, Marilyn C. Brewer, an aide to outgoing Supervisor Thomas F. Riley, passes muster. She is a solid candidate and someone very much in step with the concerns of her district.

Brewer has a close knowledge of district issues because of her position. At a time of mounting public concern about crime, she has been Riley’s criminal justice adviser, working with law enforcement agencies and on the first anti-gang effort in South County. She also has extensive business experience as founder and co-owner of a manufacturing company.

Brewer will not appeal to all the conservatives in the 70th, but she certainly is someone with whom many of them can be comfortable. Republicans in the district who do not customarily vote in primaries should make the effort to get out this time and cast a vote for Brewer.