<i> A behind-the-scenes look at Orange County’s political life</i> : Candidate Clarifies His Thoughts About the Party’s Intelligence

“Brain dead” politics: Women’s Alert, a bipartisan newsletter, recently quoted Democratic 70th Assembly District candidate Jim Toledano as saying: “For all practical purposes, the leadership of the Orange County Democratic Party is brain dead. It doesn’t exist.”

Toledano, an attorney, said he did not know he was being interviewed for the newsletter, and his comments were taken out of context.

Running in one of the most Republican districts in the state, Toledano said his message is that he is counting on voters to choose on the basis of substance, not labels. The Democratic Party, he said, is not running a unified campaign for all of its local nominees, but instead has splinter groups supporting individual candidates. That was the context of his comments, he added.

Toledano insists he was not talking about the local Democratic Party organization--only the process of choosing candidates--and he did not call his political party “brain dead.”

“That would be attacking myself,” Toledano said. “Whatever I am, I don’t think I am brain dead.”

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Gil and Rush: At a gathering at his local office this week, Assemblyman Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach) announced that the one and only Rush Limbaugh has agreed to be his honorary campaign chairman in his run for the soon-vacant state Senate seat now occupied by Marian Bergeson, also a Newport Beach Republican.

Ferguson proudly says that Limbaugh has raised money for only two politicians ever--Ferguson and former Assemblyman and Vietnam War vet B.T. Collins. Limbaugh came to California in 1990 and 1992 to help Ferguson and could come again during this campaign, Ferguson said.

“My wife and I are going back to New York to be with Rush in October, and we’re trying to get him to come out here one more time for me,” Ferguson said. “It would certainly be a big shot in the arm for my campaign, even more than his agreeing to be my honorary chairman.”

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None of the above: The president of the Fountain Valley Police Officers Assn. recently sent a letter to the head of the Peace Officers Research Assn. of California, or PORAC, complaining about the state group’s endorsement of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Kathleen Brown.

But that doesn’t mean that James R. McNeff, the local president, supports Republican Gov. Pete Wilson.

“Unfortunately, our political choices have been ‘slim pickins’ recently,” McNeff stated in his letter. “When that is the case, I would strongly encourage PORAC to remain neutral in such situations.”

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Impartial analysis: Want a nonpartisan analysis of the California senatorial, gubernatorial and Orange County congressional candidates? Project Vote Smart will send you one, free of charge for the first time this fall.

The organization, based in Corvallis, Ore., with grant funds from the James Irvine Foundation, has interviewed all the candidates and “pinned them down on a range of issues. We consider it a job interview,” said Adelaide Elm, the group’s spokeswoman.

Project Vote Smart, which was founded by former Sens. Barry Goldwater and George McGovern, among others, also gathers information on the candidates’ voting records, campaign finance reports, including contributions from political action committees, and their ratings by a variety of special interest groups.

For a pamphlet or more information, call the hot line at (800) 622-SMART.

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Quote of the week: “Democracies make mistakes and I recognize that. But as long as democracy is retained, then the mistake (by the Clinton Administration) can be undone in the next election.” . . . former U.S. Senate candidate Bruce Herschensohn, speaking last weekend at the state GOP convention in support of the planned U.S. invasion of Haiti, while also criticizing the Administration’s handling of affairs. Herschensohn argued the United States must be the protector of democracy, even though most Republicans attending the meeting were against the proposed military invasion that was averted at the last minute in favor of a phased-in occupation.

UPCOMING EVENTS

* Tuesday: A dinner will be held in honor of state Sen. Rob Hurtt of Garden Grove and his wife, Nancy, at 7 p.m. at the Le Meridien Hotel, 4500 MacArthur Blvd., Newport Beach. Tickets are $1,000 per couple. Call Judy Westburg at (714) 551-9607.

* Tuesday: A debate pitting 2nd District supervisorial candidates Linda Moulton Patterson and Jim Silva will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Irvine Marriott hotel, 18000 Von Karman Ave., Irvine. Tickets are $35. Call 975-0793 for information.

* Wednesday: A reception sponsored by the Orange County Women in Support of Linda Moulton Patterson and Donna Chessen will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Santa Ana home of Linda and Herb Schwarz. Moulton Patterson is a Democratic candidate for a 2nd District seat on the Board of Supervisors, Chessen is a Democratic candidate for the state Senate, 34th District. Call (714) 832-8046.

* Thursday: The Health Care Council of Orange County will sponsor debates on Proposition 186, the health care measure on the Nov. 8 ballot, and Proposition 187, the immigration initiative, from 2 to 4:15 p.m. in the multipurpose room of St. Joseph’s Motherhouse College, 480 S. Batavia St., Orange. Call (714) 263-6114.

* Thursday: Supervisor William G. Steiner will host a fund-raiser for Gary Granville, candidate for county clerk, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Antonello Ristorante, 1611 W. Sunflower Ave., Santa Ana. Tickets are $100. For more information, call Nancy Pusanik at (714) 724-1148.

* Saturday: The Elections Committee of the County of Orange will have its 11th annual dinner at the Radisson Plaza Hotel Orange County Airport, 18800 MacArthur Blvd., Irvine. Cocktails and a silent auction will begin at 5 p.m. Call (714) 975-0866.

Compiled by Times political writer Gebe Martinez and staff writer Len Hall

Politics ’94 appears every Sunday.