The Orange County Vote : Morrissey, Hammond Lead Races : Legislature: Moreno holds edge over Metzler in Democratic fight for party’s only seat in the county.

Backed by the financial might of conservative state Sen. Rob Hurtt, Republican Jim Morrissey jumped to an early lead in the 69th Assembly District primary and Irvine City Councilman Barry J. Hammond clung to a narrow margin over two opponents in the 70th District GOP race.

In the Democratic primary in the 69th Assembly District, Santa Ana City Councilman Ted R. Moreno staked a surprising early lead in the race to retain the seat held by Orange County’s only Democratic legislator, Assemblyman Tom Umberg (D-Garden Grove), who ran for state attorney general.

Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce President Mike Metzler, the favorite in the race, was trailing Moreno by a small margin with about a third of the votes tallied.

The Morrissey campaign immediately began planning strategy for the general election in November.

“It is the No. 1 target of the state Assembly Republicans, to regain this seat,” said Mark Q. Thompson, Morrissey’s campaign consultant. “The fight for the general election starts now.”

In the 70th District, the trio of newcomer GOP candidates resorted to everything but four-letter words in a burst of negative campaigning days before the election.

With incumbent Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach) making an exit to run for the state Senate, the GOP primary victor can almost be anointed the winner come November because the district is overwhelmingly Republican.

The California Political Week newsletter proclaimed the battle the “hottest and perhaps most negative GOP primary in this election cycle.”

Part of the problem: With few differences on issues, the campaign focused on personal histories. Businesswoman Marilyn C. Brewer had to defend herself against the dreaded L-word as “liberal” stickers began appearing on her campaign signs. The 56-year-old former aide to Supervisor Thomas F. Riley supports abortion rights.

Besides questioning Brewer’s conservative credentials, attorney Thomas G. Reinecke also called attention to Hammond’s past financial problems. Hammond went through a bankruptcy in 1991.

Meanwhile, Reinecke had to shout down a whisper campaign that he had been sued for non-payment of a bill for a former girlfriend’s abortion, an allegation he strongly denied. Reinecke said the bill related to a knee injury.

Hammond had a distinct fund-raising advantage, as Hurtt’s conservative Allied Business Political Action Committee contributed nearly $160,000 in cash and aid to the campaign.

In the 70th District Democratic primary, Jim Toledano, who faces a difficult task in the general election, had no opposition.

But the 70th District hardly had all the mudslinging.

In the 69th Assembly District race, Umberg’s departure set off a free-for-all in both the Republican and Democratic primaries.

The local GOP viewed the seat as a good opportunity to seize from county Democrats the only state legislative or congressional seat they hold.

On the Republican side of the 70th District, Virgel L. Nickell, who works for a nonprofit organization, was forced to dispatch a hastily prepared mailer over the weekend, denying anonymously-made allegations that he had left his former wife in the lurch without child support. Worse yet, the charge went, he had forced her onto the welfare rolls.

But Nickell’s current wife sent out a mailer that called her husband a good provider.

Anaheim manufacturer Morrissey built a huge advantage over his Republican opponents by securing the backing of party conservatives, including the financial support of Hurtt and his Christian/business organization, ABPAC.

For the Democrats in the 69th, most of the barbs were traded by Latino activist Zeke Hernandez and Santa Ana Councilman Moreno.

In a dispute that has attracted the attention of the Orange County district attorney’s office, Hernandez alleged that Moreno offered him money to stay out of the race. Moreno, in turn, claimed Hernandez illegally taped their telephone conversation to set up the bribery charge. Both issued strong denials.

Metzler helped his chances by winning Umberg’s endorsement and the support of labor and teachers.

The Democratic primary in the 68th Assembly District stood in stark contrast to the races in the 69th and 70th districts. With Anaheim Councilman Irv Pickler confined to a wheelchair after a car accident and educational assistant Linda Kay Rigney suffering from pneumonia, the candidates were more concerned about taking their medicine than taking potshots.

Rigney, who was running neck and neck with Pickler, had to overcome Pickler’s greater name recognition.

In other races, Hurtt (R-Garden Grove) and Assemblywoman Doris Allen (R-Cypress) attracted only token opposition in the 34th state Senate District and 67th Assembly District GOP primaries, respectively.

Hurtt will face Democrat Donna L. Chessen, a Buena Park city councilwoman who took an early lead in her race, or insurance broker Wayman L. Nelson in November. Democrat Jonathan Woolf-Willis was unopposed in the 67th Assembly District race.

Republican Assemblymen Curt Pringle of Garden Grove (68th district), Mickey Conroy of Orange (71st), Ross Johnson of Placentia (72nd), Bill Morrow of Oceanside (73rd) and Republican state Sen. William A. Craven of Oceanside (38th) all ran unopposed in their GOP primaries. In early results consultant Thomas Berry was leading attorney Genaro Lara for the Democratic nomination and the right to meet Craven in the general election.

Democrats Jeanne Costales, Allan L. Dollison and Lee Walker in the 71st, 72nd and 73rd Assembly districts, faced no opposition this time around, but will have uphill battles against Republican incumbents in November.