Decision ‘94: The Primaries : Former Wilson Aide Leading in 24th District

A former aide to Gov. Pete Wilson narrowly led a group of Republican candidates seeking to challenge Thousand Oaks’ congressman, while an art history professor closed in on the Democratic nomination for an open Assembly seat representing western portions of Ventura County.

In early returns, former Wilson aide Richard Sybert took a slight lead over Robert K. Hammer and three other Republicans competing for the chance to take on Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills) in the 24th District that includes Thousand Oaks and portions of the San Fernando Valley.

“It’s certainly better to be ahead than to be behind,” Sybert said. “Anytime you have five candidates and a turnout as low as this, you can expect a certain amount of volatility.”

Beilenson handily defeated his Democratic opponent, a Sherman Oaks businessman and follower of political extremist Lyndon LaRouche, and said he will take any Republican challenger seriously. “No matter who it is, it is going to be a very competitive election.”

In the 35th Assembly District, Mindy Lorenz jumped to an early lead over former legislative aide Bob Ream in the Democratic primary--a remarkable feat for a politician who ran as a Green Party congressional candidate two years ago.

“I couldn’t be happier,” Lorenz said Tuesday night. “I think my message has really gotten out that I’ll be a legislator who makes the legislators really work.”

If her lead holds up when all ballots are counted, she will face Santa Barbara winery owner Brooks Firestone in the general election. Firestone ran uncontested in Tuesday’s Republican primary in the 35th District, which covers Ventura, Ojai, Santa Paula and all of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.

In the congressional district that covers most of Ventura County, Kevin Ready, Santa Barbara County deputy counsel, racked up an early lead over Democratic rival Frank Stephenson, a college placement consultant, for a shot at incumbent Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley).

And in the state’s 18th Senate District, former San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Steve MacElvaine held a slim lead over Santa Barbara businessman Steve Decker with about half the vote counted. The winner of that GOP nomination will go up against Democrat Jack O’Connell of Carpinteria.

O’Connell, a 12-year veteran of the state Assembly, has already raised more than $316,000 in contributions and ran unopposed in Tuesday’s Democratic primary.

In the 37th Assembly District, incumbent Nao Takasugi (R-Oxnard) and challenger Dorothy Maron ran unopposed in their respective party primaries and will square off in November to represent a district that covers most of Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, Port Hueneme and Oxnard.

In the 38th Assembly District--which includes Simi Valley and Fillmore--Simi Valley attorney Donald A. Cocquyt and 18-year-old Josh Arce of Chatsworth were neck and neck in the Democratic primary. The winner will challenge Assemblywoman Paula Boland (R-Granada Hills) in the November election.

Meanwhile, two local politicians made their first step toward claiming statewide offices.

State Sen. Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley) had a substantial lead over a Northern California assemblyman for the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor. If the lead holds, she will face Democrat Gray Davis, now the state controller, in November.

And former Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks) leads a Los Angeles businessman for in the Republican primary for controller. If he wins, he will be matched against Democrat Kathleen Connell, an investment banker making her first bid for elective office.

The 24th Congressional District, which covers most of Thousand Oaks, is considered one of the most politically competitive in the state.

Beilenson, seeking his 10th term in Congress, has proved a resilient politician even after being thrust out of his solidly Democratic district in Los Angeles’ Westside and forced to run in the decidedly more conservative 24th District after the 1990 redistricting. Two years ago, he easily withstood a challenge from former Assemblyman McClintock.

Still, Republicans who wrangled over their party’s nomination in Tuesday’s primary agreed on one point: that the 18-year congressman can be defeated by a popular Republican.

In the GOP primary, voters chose from among five candidates: Sybert; Hammer; Mark Boos Benhard, a one-time aide to former Rep. William Dannemeyer (R-Fullerton); Sang Korman, a Newbury Park businessman, and Emery Shane, a commercial real estate broker.

All of the GOP candidates support legislation to curb illegal immigration, cut taxes, reduce crime and slash government spending. Most of them have focused their attacks on Sybert’s recent move into the district and his large personal loan to his campaign.

Sybert, president of a small toy design firm and former head of Wilson’s Office of Planning and Research, held a huge political cash advantage over his GOP opponents, boosted by a $430,000 loan to himself.

In Ventura County’s other congressional race, Gallegly said he believes the campaign leading to the November election will show clear philosophical differences between himself and his Democratic opponent.

Both Ready and Stephenson ran as strong supporters of President Clinton’s economic and health care plans--programs that Gallegly delights in skewering.

“I’ve lived in this community for 27 years and I think I know the issues,” Gallegly said Tuesday. “Democrats and Republicans alike are not going to embrace larger tax hikes, unchecked illegal immigration and the remaking of our health-care system.”

For the first time in a dozen years, the state’s 18th Senate District will be represented by someone other than Sen. Gary K. Hart (D-Santa Barbara), who is leaving public office.

Shortly after Hart announced his retirement, O’Connell announced that he would seek to fill the seat of his political mentor. Hart immediately endorsed O’Connell, saying he wanted to avoid a bruising Democratic primary in a district where Democrats hold just a slight advantage over Republicans in registered voters.

But Republican leaders say 1990 reapportionment, which shoved the district into conservative San Luis Obispo County, has increased the party’s chances of taking the seat away from a Democrat this year.

Meanwhile, the race to fill O’Connell’s Assembly seat has focused on the Democratic primary, where a 20-year age difference separated the two candidates.

Lorenz, 47, focused on her life’s experiences, explaining how she went from being a single mother living on food stamps to earning a doctoral degree and becoming a college professor. At age 27, Ream was among the youngest candidates running for the state Assembly this year.

On the Republican side, Firestone, 57, was unopposed in the primary.