Johnson, Arakelian Face Runoff for Senate Seat : Election: Veteran Assemblyman will be heavily favored in the 35th District, a wealthy GOP stronghold.

Republican Ross Johnson, a veteran assemblyman, will face Democrat Madelene Arakelian, owner of a trash-hauling firm, in a May runoff for the state Senate in the 35th District, following Tuesday’s special election.

Johnson, 55, who moved from Placentia to Irvine to qualify for the election, was the top vote-getter among six Republicans, including former Assemblyman Gil Ferguson of Newport Beach and Assemblywoman Doris Allen of Cypress.

Arakelian, 61, who lives in Balboa, outpolled the only other Democrat, Mike Palitz, a hotel owner from Corona del Mar.

Because no candidate received more than 50% of the vote, the top vote-getters in each party will compete on May 9 for the seat vacated by Marian Bergenson, now a county supervisor, to represent one of the wealthiest districts in California.

Johnson, who was backed by most of the prominent Republicans in the state and endorsed by Bergeson, said support from the party was the key to his candidacy.

“That’s an indication of the kind of trust and respect I’ve earned from my colleagues,” said Johnson, a 16-year member of the Assembly.

Johnson will be heavily favored in the runoff because the coastal district, which runs from Seal Beach to the southern border of Laguna Beach, is heavily Republican--about 56% to 32% of the 400,000 registered voters.

As expected in a special election, Tuesday’s turnout was low, just under 15%.

Tuesday’s ballot consisted of eight candidates, but the fiercest competition was waged by two of the veteran Republican favorites--Johnson (R-Placentia) and Ferguson of Newport Beach. Their infighting caused the campaign to be characterized by some local observers as setting a new standard in nastiness in Orange County politics.

Although the county is mired in the depths of an unprecedented bankruptcy, Johnson and Ferguson paid it only scant attention in a blizzard of mailers distributed in select portions of the district.

Name-calling was frequent in the campaign. Ferguson, a 10-year assemblyman who left the Legislature to run for this seat, was continually labeled a traitor by Johnson for allegedly conspiring to aid Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco).

Ferguson called Johnson, an ally of state GOP leader Jim Brulte (R-Rancho Cucamonga), a “liar” for his attacks on Ferguson and a “carpetbagger” for moving from Placentia to Irvine to register in the district.

Some suggested that the other Republican favorite--Allen of Cypress--would be the beneficiary of he nastiness by appearing to be above the fray. Others suggested the low voter turnout was at least partly due to the low standard of politicking.

“I think people were just turned off,” said Howard Klein, an Irvine attorney and member of the county’s Republican Central Committee and who has been a political player in Orange County for years. “I think it’s a direct function of the type of campaign being waged. In my mind, the public’s perception of the democratic process is at stake here.”

Johnson said that he tried to accentuate the positive, even though a political race sometimes deteriorates in the heat of the battle.

“Campaigns sometimes develop in these ways,” he said. “But we had an awful lot of positive things to say as far as my record and what I hope to accomplish.”

The final results will have ramifications statewide. Because Johnson is a member of the Assembly, his victory could disrupt the delicate partisan balance in that house.

Brown currently clings to a one-vote majority, and the departure of any Republican could allow him more time at his leadership post.

Times staff writer Greg Hernandez and correspondent Geoff Boucher contributed to this report.

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Election Returns Special Election 35th Senate District 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Ross Johnson (R): 17,839 (31.3) Gil Ferguson (R) 14,430 (25.3) Doris Allen (R) 12,571 (22.1) Madelene Arakelian (D) 4,519 (7.9) Michael D. Palitz (D) 3,037 (5.3) Robert F. Ruper (R) 1,719 (3.0) Dan Worthington (R) 1,624 (2.8) Long Pham (R) 1,256 (2.2) If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the top vote-getters from each party (in bold type) will face each other in a May 9 runoff. Results are not official and could be affected by absentee ballots.