<i> A behind-the-scenes look at Orange County’s political life</i> : Allen Is No Puppet, Onetime Opponent Gil Ferguson Contends

New Assembly Speaker Doris Allen (R-Cypress) may be getting lambasted and targeted for recall by her Orange County colleagues, but she has at least one veteran local politician in her corner: former Assemblyman Gil Ferguson of Balboa Island, who, like Allen, lost to Ross Johnson in the race for state Senate in March.

Ferguson said he respects Allen’s conservative voting record and blames the local Republican power brokers for not heeding her warnings or taking her seriously. He also said Allen is not the kind of politician who serves as a puppet to any master.

“I’ve known her for 14 years and I can tell you she is not a woman to be taken lightly,” said Ferguson, a 10-year member of the Assembly before giving up his seat last year to run for state Senate. “What they are doing to her is unfair. I can tell you she is not going to be bossed around by Willie [Brown]. Just wait until the Democrats get a dose of her.”

Any attempt to recall her would be “a serious mistake,” Ferguson said.

“She is a very popular figure in her district,” Ferguson said. “I intend to support her and defend her.”

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In or out?: The rumors persist that Orange County Republican Party Chairman Thomas A. Fuentes will challenge Board of Supervisors Chairman Gaddi H. Vasquez for his board seat next year.

It is a well-known fact that despite their common party affiliation the two men aren’t the closest of friends. But Fuentes insists that he hasn’t decided to take on Vasquez. He doesn’t, however, say flatly it will not happen.

“I keep hearing this from the strangest sources,” Fuentes said last week with a laugh. “I just hope my wife doesn’t hear about it, or my 9-year-old daughter, my 8-year-old son or my 1 1/2-year-old son. I’ve got a pretty full plate right now with that family.”

Fuentes, a resident of Lake Forest and the Orange County GOP chairman for 11 years, says he finds it “flattering to keep hearing this repeated and repeated and repeated, but it’s not a rumor I’ve started.”

Fuentes added that all bets on any supervisorial races should wait until after the Measure R vote. He is an adamant opponent of the so-called bankruptcy recovery initiative.

“Anybody who is thinking about the Board of Supervisors ought to wait until June 27 comes and goes,” Fuentes said. “We will have a new political landscape three weeks from now. This will be a big, big watershed moment.”

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On the road: No, former state Democratic Party boss Richard J. O’Neill is not kicking the party out of its longtime headquarters at 824 N. Broadway in Santa Ana. But, yes, the party is leaving.

It turns out that O’Neill, a San Juan Capistrano rancher and restaurateur and one of the county’s wealthiest men, is selling the building that houses the headquarters. The building, home of the party since the mid-1970s, is in escrow and could close by Thursday, O’Neill said.

Party Chairman Jim Toledano said a new headquarters has yet to been found, but “we are trying to find a nice, central county place that is accessible and attractive.”

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Campaign bosses: A group of high-powered consultants has been hired by the three Republican candidates in what promises to be the county’s next hot race--after the Measure R election June 27.

It is the special election in the North County on July 18 to fill the Assembly seat vacated last month by Ross Johnson, now a state senator in the 35th District. The 72nd Assembly District, where Johnson reigned for more than 16 years, includes all or parts of Fullerton, Yorba Linda, Buena Park, Placentia and Anaheim.

Running former Fullerton Mayor Richard Ackerman’s campaign is Dave Gilliard and Associates, a Sacramento-based firm that also works for U.S. Rep. Ed Royce (R-Fullerton), Assemblyman Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove), and state Sen. John R. Lewis (R-Orange).

Yorba Linda Councilwoman Barbara Kiley will have her husband, Robert Kiley, run her campaign, assisted by Dan Wooldridge and Jerry Pierson. Robert Kiley ran the successful Yes on Prop. 187 initiative last fall.

Fullerton Councilman Chris Norby has chosen political consultant Mark Thompson to run his campaign. Thompson is busy, since he is simultaneously heading up the No on Measure R campaign.

On the Democratic side, no candidate has yet been announced, although is has been rumored that Shirley Hafner, a union official, might jump into the race.

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Quote of the week: “There’s a pond in the middle of our office complex and dead fish are beginning to float to the top of the pond. I can’t tell whether it’s the smell of dead fish or treachery that’s worse . . . “--Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach), scornfully noting his new discomfort at sharing space at a local office complex with newly installed Assembly Speaker Doris Allen, the Cypress Republican who broke ranks with the GOP and lined up with Democrats to get herself elected to the leadership post.

UPCOMING EVENTS

* Tuesday: A panel forum on Measure R featuring Sheriff Brad Gates and Mark P. Petracca of UC Irvine, among others, will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Mission Viejo Country Club, 26200 Country Club Drive. Information: (714) 459-6000.

* Wednesday: A No on Measure R rally sponsored by two South County units of the California Republican Assembly will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Laguna Niguel Senior Center, 24602 Aliso Creek Road. Information: (714) 362-4342.

* Wednesday: A forum on Measure R featuring Sheriff Brad Gates and Bruce Whitaker will be held at 11 a.m. at Cannons Restaurant, 34344 Street of the Golden Lantern, Dana Point. Information: Lois Nicholson at (714) 496-8559.

* Thursday: Sheriff Brad Gates and former Assemblyman Gil Ferguson will debate Measure R at 7:30 p.m. at the office of the Saddleback Valley Board of Realtors, 25555 La Paz Road, Laguna Hills. Information: Dorothy Hughes at (714) 586-6584.

Compiled by Times staff writer Len Hall, with contributions from staff writer Gebe Martinez.

Politics ’95 appears every Sunday.