The Orange County Vote : LOCAL ELECTIONS / TREASURER : Citron Leads Nearly 2 to 1 Against 1st Opponent in 20 Years : Finance: Moorlach said he would consider himself victorious just for making the public aware of the way the incumbent invested public money.

Facing his first opponent in 20 years in a race that focused on his handling of Orange County’s vast investment portfolio, Robert L. Citron appeared headed back to his job Tuesday as treasurer-tax collector.

Citron held a nearly 2-1 edge over his challenger, John M.W. Moorlach, a Costa Mesa accountant heavily supported by the Orange County Republican Party, who waged a fierce attack on Citron’s investment policy.

“They tried their darndest and they did damage, but it all backfired,” Citron said. “By questioning my investment practices, (Moorlach) temporarily upset the national market in which we deal (but) with a lot of hard work, we’re gradually restoring the confidence” of investors.

Moorlach said that even if he lost the election, he would consider himself victorious just by making the public aware of the way Citron invested public money.

“I win either way because (Citron’s portfolio) is so bad,” he said. “I feel we dealt with the issues. We ran a clean campaign. I have no regrets.”

The race for treasurer-tax collector turned vicious this year when Moorlach, 38, attacked Citron by suggesting he was playing fast and loose with the county’s $7.5-billion securities portfolio.

Moorlach had gone so far as to suggest last week that Citron’s investment strategies have caused the portfolio to decline some $1.2 billion in the past five months alone. Citron dismissed the accusation as nonsense from a desperate candidate trailing badly in the polls.

The debate centered on Citron’s use of the county pool’s U.S. Treasury bills and bonds as collateral to borrow on a short-term basis at low interest rates. The treasurer invests the borrowed funds in bonds and securities that pay a higher rate of return.

While interest rates remain low, the investment plan can yield a bonanza. But because rates have been rising since since the beginning of this year, Citron has been forced to post additional collateral--some $300 million this year--because the value of his securities has declined.

Though risky, the strategy has served Citron well over the past 24 years, and has consistently earned him higher-than-average returns as he has tried to out-guess the market. Citron’s investment returns have been so lucrative that 185 cities and government agencies have turned over their funds for him to manage.

This year’s election made Citron the subject of national news, as the Wall Street Journal and business trade publications analyzed his portfolio and gave Moorlach and his supporters a sounding board from which to chastise the incumbent.

Unaccustomed to criticism, the 69-year-old treasurer-tax collector acknowledged that the attacks deeply hurt him and his wife of 39 years, Terry. He said this bid for another four-year term would be his last.

As Citron saw it, the race pitted county government’s only elected Democrat against the full weight of the Republican Party in Orange County.

Moorlach’s campaign committee contained Reps. Christopher Cox, Dana Rohrabacher, Robert K. Dornan and Ed Royce, as well as state legislators Mickey Conroy, Gil Ferguson, Doris Allen, John Lewis, Rob Hurtt, Bill Morrow and Curt Pringle.

State Sen. Marian Bergeson was also on the committee, but dropped off when she became concerned that Moorlach’s criticism of Citron was damaging the value of the county’s investment pool.

During the campaign, Citron found himself in the rare position of having to raise money for his reelection effort. Through late May, he had received $32,198, about one-fifth of which came from brokerage firms and banks that do business with the county. Citron said he saw no conflict.

Citron also said he didn’t believe he was in any danger of losing his job. Nearly three months before the election, Citron predicted that he would get at least 60% of the vote.