ELECTIONS / STATE SENATE : 2 Familiar Faces in Close Fight for New Ground : Campaign: Observers say the race between Democratic Assemblyman Jack O’Connell and Republican Steve MacElvaine is a tossup.

It’s just like starting over.

That’s how Assemblyman Jack O’Connell (D-Carpinteria) describes it when asked what it’s like to be running for a new public office in a new and more conservative district.

After 12 years in the Assembly, O’Connell has decided to run for the seat being vacated by retiring state Sen. Gary K. Hart (D-Santa Barbara). Hart’s 18th state Senate District covers Ventura, Santa Paula, Ojai and all of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.

O’Connell, 43, faces Republican Steve MacElvaine, a former San Luis Obispo County supervisor and state coastal commissioner, in the Nov. 8 general election.

O’Connell has always enjoyed strong bipartisan support in his Assembly district, which covers western Ventura County and most of Santa Barbara County. He has never lost an election.

But MacElvaine, 50, said it won’t be so easy for O’Connell in the state Senate race. The reason, MacElvaine said, is because 1990 reapportionment shoved the district into conservative San Luis Obispo County, his home turf.

“Once you’ve crossed those mountains, you’re in conservative territory,” MacElvaine said. “And Jack O’Connell is not a conservative.”

The thrust of MacElvaine’s campaign is to paint O’Connell as a liberal, career politician, one who stood by and watched as California’s economy took a nose dive.

“You don’t get to be the No. 2 man in the state Assembly and not be part of the problem,” MacElvaine said, referring to O’Connell’s job as speaker pro tem.

O’Connell said he is proud of his record, noting that he has supported and in some cases authored legislation to protect the environment, extend education programs for gifted and developmentally disabled students, and to increase penalties for drunk drivers and drug dealers.

He said the election will come down to one central question: “Have I represented my (Assembly) district in a thoughtful and responsible manner? If people believe that I have, they will vote for me. If they don’t, they won’t.”

Despite O’Connell’s confidence that he has served his constituents well, the 18th state Senate District has long been coveted by Republicans. Hart has held the seat since 1982.

Reapportionment narrowed the voter registration gap, leaving Democrats a slight edge with 44.7% of the registration, compared to 40.1% Republican. Yet, officials with both parties consider the district a tossup because Republicans traditionally go to the polls in larger numbers than Democrats.

“I would say right now (the race) is about even,” said Bob Larkin, chairman of the Ventura County Republican Central Committee. “A lot depends on the voter turnout. If it’s a low turnout, I think MacElvaine wins it.”

But Democratic officials point out that the better-known and better-financed O’Connell is a tireless campaigner, one who doesn’t take his constituency for granted.

“He won’t run as a sure bet, no way,” said Paul Chatman, chairman of Democrats United, the fund-raising arm of the Ventura County Democratic Party. “He’s going to (campaign) like he’s the new kid on the block.”

Despite their different political backgrounds, both O’Connell and MacElvaine share the same views on a number of issues. Both support the death penalty and abortion rights. And both are opposed to Proposition 187, a statewide ballot initiative that would ban health and education benefits to illegal immigrants.

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But they hold far different views on other issues, in particular the economy.

MacElvaine said his extensive business background is what sets him apart from O’Connell in this area. The owner and operator of a cattle ranch and mobile home park, MacElvaine said he believes too much regulation and high taxes and fees have driven businesses out of the state.

“By hurting business, you’re driving out the money that comes into the state’s pocket,” MacElvaine said. “We can’t continue to do that. If we do, businesses will continue to leave, and as their revenues leave, there will be less money for schools, law enforcement and everything else.”

Although O’Connell acknowledges his voting record has received low marks from business organizations in the past, the lawmaker said he has worked hard in recent years to focus more attention on business leaders’ concerns.

O’Connell points to his support of workers’ compensation reform and tax incentives for expanding businesses as steps to boost the economy.

Closer to home, he said he has played a key role in securing funding to establish and promote a commercial satellite launch facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base.

O’Connell is also credited with helping to provide tax breaks for companies that want to use the facility, which will see its first commercial launch at the end of the year.

“I have to give all the kudos I can to Jack,” said Donald Smith, executive director of the Western Commercial Space Center, the private nonprofit organization that operates the launch site. “He’s not known for helping business. That’s not his bag. But he has done a tremendous amount to help us.”

Smith said companies are already lining up to use the spaceport, which he said would create hundreds of aerospace jobs locally and thousands of manufacturing jobs throughout the state.

“We’re building the (equivalent of) LAX” for the space business, Smith said.

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Another issue the candidates differ on is offshore drilling along the district’s coastline.

MacElvaine said he favors a moratorium on offshore drilling. But he stops short of supporting an O’Connell bill that would ban drilling within three miles of the coast, except in the event of a national emergency. The bill passed the Legislature and awaits Gov. Wilson’s signature.

MacElvaine wants to preserve options for tapping the state’s offshore oil fields. He points out how Mobil Oil is developing onshore oil rigs that use special “slant-drills” to tap into oil deposits offshore without exposing oil-carrying pipes to water. He said if the new technology proves to be environmentally safe, it could help generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues for the state.

“I support the new technology,” MacElvaine said. “But I do not support any more (oil drilling) projects at this time. I would like to see how well it works first.”

O’Connell said he believed the oil ban would actually help the local economy by protecting tourism and commercial fishing industries.

“It will also save government’s money that they would spend in the event of a spill,” he said, adding that most of the state’s coastline is already protected from oil drilling.

O’Connell’s television commercials have slammed MacElvaine for voting in support of offshore oil drilling while serving as a member of the California Coastal Commission between 1983 and 1992.

MacElvaine said he had supported some drilling, “but I don’t recall ever seeing Jack come down to our meetings to protest.”

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Meanwhile, both candidates are doing their best to canvass the 8,000-square-mile district, which stretches from western Ventura County to the southern Monterey County line.

MacElvaine, a licensed pilot, said he has been campaigning since April, 1993, often using his Cessna 182 to hopscotch around the tri-county district.

“It’s one advantage,” MacElvaine said. “But then Jack is better known.”

O’Connell, who keeps a pair of Nike tennis shoes in the trunk of his car, said he has been walking precincts, particularly in San Luis Obispo County, since July, 1993.

“I enjoy it,” O’Connell said. “That’s a hallmark of our success.”

The candidates are also mounting media campaigns, running television and radio spots as well as newspaper ads.

MacElvaine, who had less than $3,000 in his campaign account after the June primary, has been getting help from the Republican Party to subsidize his media campaign. He would not disclose how much he has received.

“We won’t ever have as much as Jack, but we’ll have enough,” said MacElvaine, who has dipped into his own pocket to loan his campaign $90,000.

For his part, O’Connell had more than $247,018 in his bank account during the last campaign finance reporting period. But O’Connell said that money will not be the deciding factor in the race.

“We’re going to have a battle of the airwaves, a battle in print, a battle on the radio and battle in the mail,” he said. “But I think the difference will be our grass-roots operation.”

State Senate Candidates

Jack O’Connell

Age: 43

Party: Democrat

Residence: Carpinteria

Occupation: Assemblyman

Education: Bachelor’s degree in education from Cal State Fullerton, secondary teaching credential from Cal State Long Beach.

Background: Ventura County high school teacher, 1975 to 1979; elected to the state Assembly, 1982 to present; elected speaker pro tem, 1991 to present; serves on the Education, Insurance, and Ways and Means committees, one of three Assembly members to sit on the California State Coastal Conservancy.

Quote: “The bottom-line issue in this campaign is have I represented (the 35th Assembly District) in a thoughtful and responsible manner. If people believe I have, they will vote for me. If they don’t, they won’t.”

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Steve MacElvaine

Age: 50

Party: Republican

Residence: San Luis Obispo

Occupation: Cattle rancher and operator of Rancho Colina Mobilehome Community.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in farm management from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.

Background: Owner and operator of his own cattle ranch and mobile home park for nearly 30 years; elected San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors, 1979 to 1983; appointed member of the South Central Regional Coastal Commission, 1979 to 1981, appointed member of the California State Coastal Commission, 1983 to 1992.

Quote: “The mass of people out there is saying the economy is horrible, crime is bad. I’m stronger than my opponent is in both these areas.”