Senate Hopefuls Debate Fund Crisis, Crime

Candidates for a vacated state Senate seat agreed during a debate Friday night that crime, the Orange County bankruptcy and fostering business were the campaign’s major issues.

A special election will take place March 14 to fill the 35th Senate District seat, which was vacated early this year by Republican Marian Bergeson, who has replaced Thomas F. Riley as 5th District supervisor.

The field of eight for the hotly contested race includes three members of the Assembly. During Friday’s debate at Paragon Cable’s office in Garden Grove, most of the Senate hopefuls expressed similar positions about solving the county’s fiscal crisis.

“I think Orange County can take care of itself,” said Republican Dan Worthington, a member of the Costa Mesa Sanitary Board. Some suggested that the state government stand by to help the county only if it appears it will default on its upcoming bond payment; others suggested the state allow the county to keep a larger percentage of income taxes paid by county residents, or that the county borrow money from other counties or the state.

Former Newport Beach Republican Assemblyman Gil Ferguson noted that voters are “really angry that the Board of Supervisors never have said they’re sorry” for the financial crisis. Crime was another hot issue. “California, over a period of the last 25 to 30 years, has created a system that seeks to have a perfect trial instead of a fair trial,” said Assemblyman Ross Johnson (R-Placentia). “ ‘Three strikes’ is a good law.”

But Republican Robert Ruper, a Newport Beach eye surgeon, called the law “simplistic.” “Nobody’s spending the money on education” or other efforts to stop people from becoming criminals, he said.

Assemblywoman Doris Allen (R-Cypress) disagreed. “We’re spending a bloody fortune on crime prevention,” she said.

Other candidates at the debate included Democrats Madelene E. Arakelian, a Newport Beach business woman, and Republican Long Pham, a former candidate for the Newport Beach City Council. Democrat Mike Palitz, a Corona del Mar entrepreneur, could not attend.

The 35th district stretches along the north coast of the county and includes Anaheim, Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Irvine, La Palma, Laguna Beach, parts of Lake Forest, Los Alamitos, Newport Beach, Santa Ana, Seal Beach, Stanton, Tustin and Westminster.