<i> A behind-the-scenes look at Orange County’s political life</i> : That Giant Humming Sound Is the No on R Group’s Fax Machines

Chain-letter politics: Members of the Committees of Correspondence, the citizens watchdog group that was the first organization in the No on Measure R campaign, readily concede that they won’t be spending nearly as much money in the campaign as the measure’s proponents. But what they lack in money they are trying to make up with their own brand of pamphleteering.

The group regularly faxes cartoons that ridicule Measure R, the proposed half-cent sales tax hike on the June 27 ballot, and poke fun at county officials who support it. This nationwide fax freeway runs via computer-driven phone lists and arrives with morning coffee.

“We just turn on our computers when we go to bed,” said Bruce Whitaker, a No on Measure R campaign spokesman.

The group also plans to ask members to send chain letters to friends who might be potential No on Measure R voters. The letters would explain the measure and urge them to campaign against it. The letter will also ask recipients to send copies to five others.

“We’re going to win this on a neighbor-to-neighbor basis,” Whitaker said. “That’s what we do best. We have a lot of people who don’t have a huge amount of money but have the time to volunteer.”

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Signing on: Mike Stockstill is joining the Yes on Measure R Committee as campaign director. Stockstill will be taking a leave of absence until July 1 from his post as public affairs officer with OPTIMA, the new public agency that will administer medical care in Orange County beginning this fall.

Stockstill is relocating this weekend to the Newport Beach offices of Butcher, Forde & Mollrich, the consulting firm coordinating the Yes on Measure R campaign.

Stockstill will be coordinating day-to-day operations and fund-raising. The campaign’s goal is to raise $3 million. Fund-raising is “going reasonably well. . . . It is a very tight timetable,” Stockstill said.

The key process of selling the Yes on Measure R story to prospective contributors, especially corporations, is taking place right now.

Stockstill is a veteran of the county’s three campaigns for a sales tax increase for transportation projects, which voters finally approved in 1990. He also has worked for the Irvine Co. and most recently for the Transportation Corridor Agencies as a public affairs officer.

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Wither Doris: The tug-of-war between Democrat Speaker Willie Brown and the Republicans for the Assembly’s top post may intensify in the next few weeks. And there has been much speculation about where Assemblywoman Doris Allen (R-Cypress) will cast her lot.

Dissatisfied with her treatment by her Republican colleagues, Allen talked openly only a few weeks ago about bolting from the party, an act that would throw the leadership fight to Brown and the Democrats.

Since then, Republicans have tried to assuage some of Allen’s concerns, most notably by bowing to her wishes to have several bills dealing with health maintenance organizations referred to the Health Committee, which the longtime assemblywoman chairs. Republican leaders had originally hoped to steer the bills to the Insurance Committee, which is friendly turf for the HMOs.

But there remains one rough spot Republicans will be hard-pressed to smooth--Allen’s ongoing ire that most of the Assembly’s GOP caucus backed Assemblyman Ross Johnson (R-Placentia) over her in the race for the vacant 35th Senate District seat. Powered by Sacramento money, Johnson easily defeated Allen and former Assemblyman Gil Ferguson of Newport Beach in the March 14 primary and is expected to best Democrat Madelene Arakelian in a runoff Tuesday.

Republicans remain optimistic that Allen would back GOP Leader Jim Brulte over Brown, but Democrats think otherwise. Although many don’t believe Allen would vote for Brown, Democrats remain hopeful she will at least refuse to support Brulte, throwing the process into disarray and allowing Willie Brown to remain as Speaker.

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Election sidebars: There are a couple of side issues to watch in Tuesday’s Johnson-Arakelian race.

First, this special election will cost taxpayers approximately $350,000. And, like most special elections, it probably will be settled by a fraction of the electorate. There are 398,307 registered voters in the sprawling 35th Senate District.

Acting county Registrar of Voters Rosalyn Lever won’t predict voter turnout, but most of the votes may already have been cast. The county has issued 36,433 absentee ballots in the election, and 24,187 had been returned by Friday, Lever said.

Second, if Johnson wins as expected, will he hang around the Assembly long enough to help Republicans unseat Brown?

A week after the 35th District election is the recall election of maverick Assemblyman Paul Horcher (I-Diamond Bar). If he loses the election, the GOP could pick up another seat, making the line up 40 Republicans to 39 Democrats. But if Johnson leaves the Assembly, the tally would be back to deadlock: 39 to 39.

Susie Swatt, Johnson’s chief of staff, predicts Brown will be ousted this month, but without her boss’s help.

“Ross plans to move to the state Senate as soon as possible,” Swatt said. That could be as soon as the election results are certified later this week.

Brown is also doing everything he can to clear the way for Johnson’s departure. Capitol insiders say that the Assembly Speaker agreed to move up the hearing date for Orange County’s bankruptcy recovery bill’s to this Thursday--they previously had been set to be heard May 25 at the earliest--because Brown wanted to eliminate any excuse for Johnson to stick around until after the Horcher recall election.

UPCOMING EVENTS

* Wednesday: Orange County Young Republicans have scheduled a general meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the Westin South Coast Plaza Hotel. The speaker will be Jim Righeimer, campaign chairman for Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach). For information, call (714) 754-5955.

* Saturday: The Jim Beam for Assembly campaign has scheduled a fund-raiser from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Call Betty Presley at (714) 540-0461 for information and the location.

Compiled by Times political writer Peter M. Warren, with contributions from staff writers Eric Bailey, Len Hall and correspondent Shelby Grad.

Politics ’95 appears every Sunday.